If you are a New Girl fan there is no doubt in your mind about who Zooey Deschanel is. The actress is known for her deadpan socially awkward roles in comedy shows and movies and is also recognized for her signature big blue eyes and dark hair. Besides New Girl, Zooey has also worked on many successful projects such as 500 Days of Summer, The Good Girl, Yes Man, Almost Famous, The Happening, and many others.
Well, it is evident that the American actress has found immense success in her career. But many might not be aware of Zooey’s music career and few facts about her personal life. So today, in this biography let’s take a look at Deschanel’s early life, career, net worth, relationships, and motherhood journey.
Where Did Zooey Deschanel Grow Up?
The multi-talented beauty was born Zooey Claire Deschanel in Los Angeles, California on 17 January 1980 to Caleb Deschanel and Mary Jo Deschanel. She grew up alongside her older sister, Emily Deschanel. The Deschanel family is a known name in the entertainment world seeing as Zooey Deschanel’s father is a celebrated cinematographer, and both her mother and sister are actresses.
Zooey was born and brought up in Los Angeles, but she also spent much of her childhood traveling. Since her dad shot films on locations, the Deschanel family traveled around a lot. Despite the wonderful experiences, The New Girl star has stated that leaving her friends in LA and going to places where the thing and foods she liked was not available made her miserable.
As for her educational background, like many celebrity kids at the time, Zooey Deschanel was enrolled at the Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica. She attended the school alongside stars such as Kate Hudson and Jake Gyllenhaal and befriended them. Moreover, she had plans to pursue a career in the musical theater so she sang throughout high school.
Following graduation, Deschanel attended the private research university, Northwestern University in Illinois. However, she dropped out of college nine months later, so that she could pursue a career in acting.
When Did Zooey Deschanel Make Her Acting Debut?
Having dropped out of college, Zooey Deschanel’s acting debut came in 1998 when she played Elena in an episode of Veronica’s Closet. She then appeared in the movie Mumford before booking a supporting role in the semi-autobiographical film, Almost Famous. Following this Deschanel starred in the independent drama Manic opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt and her performance was well-received.
Throughout 2002, Zooey had supporting roles in feature films such as The Good Girl, Big Trouble, The New Guy, and Abandon. Then the following year, Deschanel booked her first lead role in the film All the Real Girls. She also worked on the comedy Elf opposite Will Ferrell and her deadpan performance was applauded. Moreover, the movie was quite successful, making over $220 million with a budget of $33 million.
Zooey Deschanel then played varied roles in movies like Eulogy, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Winter Passing, Failure to Launch, and Live Free or Die. She also made appearances in the projects, Once Upon a Mattress, The Wonderful World of Disney, Weeds, and Tin Man.
In 2007, she starred in the feature films, The Good Life, Bridge of Terabithia, Flakes, The Go-Getter, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. She also voiced the character Lani Aliikai in the Surf’s Up video game and film.
The blue-eyed beauty continued appearing in many popular movies over the year, some of which are listed below:
- The Happening
- Gigantic
- Yes Man
- 500 Days of Summer
- Our Idiot Brother
- Your Highness
- The Driftless Area
- Rock the Kasbah
- Trolls
- Trolls 2: World Tour
- Dreamin’ Wild
Apart from movies, Zooey also made appearances in numerous television series such as American Dad!, The Simpsons, Bones, Drunk History, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. However, it is her performance as the lead character, Jess Day in the sitcom New Girl that helped Deschanel find even more fame. The show premiered in 2011 and ended in 2018, and to this day the talented star is remembered as Jess.
Well, Zooey Deschanel has continued her acting journey and already has several projects on the horizon. We hope she finds even more success as an actress.
What Music Projects Has Zooey Deschanel Worked On?
Just like her movie and television journey, the New Girl star has also found much success in her music career. She first performed in If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies, the jazz cabaret act, with Samantha Shelton. The duo went around Los Angeles to perform in the early 2000s.
Zooey Deschanel then teamed up with singer-songwriter, M. Ward and formed the musical duo, She & Him in 2006. Two years after formation, the pair released Volume One, their debut album. They followed it with their second record titled Volume Two in 2010. The duo has since released a few other albums which are given below:
- A Very She & Him Christma
- Volume 3
- Classics
- Christmas Party
Having also found success with She & Him, it is no surprise that Zooey Deschanel’s net worth is estimated to be $25 million. The Los Angeles native has worked hard in both her music and acting career which has helped her earn millions. We hope to see Deschanel find even more success in the coming days.
Who Is Zooey Deschanel Dating?
Well, the question, Is Zooey Deschanel Married ? is frequently asked by many. And the answer to the question is No at the moment. However, she has been married twice, first to musician Ben Gibbard and then to producer Jacob Pechenik.
Zooey and Ben got engaged in December 2008 and tied the knot in September 2009 in Washington. However, their marriage did not last long and Deschanel reportedly cited irreconcilable differences while filing for divorce in November 2011. The divorce was then finalized in December 2012.
Following the failure of her first marriage, Deschanel found love again in Jacob Pechenik. The pair dated for a while before getting engaged in January 2015. Five months later the duo got married in a lovely ceremony. Moreover, Deschanel and Pechenik welcomed two kids, Charlie Wolf Pechenik, born May 2017, and Elsie Otter Pechenik, born July 2015.
The former couple announced their separation in September 2019 to everyone’s surprise. Their divorce, it was finalized in June 2020.
Well, despite two failed marriages, the actress/singer did not give up on love and has already moved on with her life. Zooey Deschanel’s boyfriend is Jonathan Scott, best known as the star of the reality show, Property Brothers. The duo met in August 2019 while filming Carpool Karaoke: The Series and started dating soon after.
Well, Zooey has kept much of her romantic life away from the spotlight. But we hope she is happy with her life with Jonathan and her two children.