Background
Her father was a Roman Catholic with Irish and Norwegian ancestors, while her mother was a Jew of Polish and Russian background.
Her father was a Roman Catholic with Irish and Norwegian ancestors, while her mother was a Jew of Polish and Russian background.
Balancing work and school, she studied English for two years at Yale University in 1988 and 1989, before transferring to Stanford University in 1990 to study drama. There, she trained with Roy London, Howard Fine and Harold Guskin. Encouraged by her parents to continue with her film career, Connelly left college and returned to the movie making industry the same year.
She appeared in magazine, newspaper and television advertising, before making her motion picture debut in the 1984 crime film Once Upon a Time in America. Connelly continued modeling and acting, starring in films such as the 1986 Labyrinth and the 1991 Career Opportunities. She gained critical acclaim for her work in the 1998 science fiction film Dark City and for her portrayal of Marion Silver in the 2000 drama Requiem for a Dream. In 2002, Connelly won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award for her supporting role as Alicia Nash in Ron Howard's 2001 biopic A Beautiful Mind. Her later credits include the 2003 Marvel superhero film Hulk, the 2005 thriller Dark Water, the 2006 drama Blood Diamond, the 2008 science fiction remake The Day the Earth Stood Still, the 2009 romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You and the 2009 biographical drama Creation.
Connelly was named Amnesty International Ambassador for Human Rights Education in 2005. She has been the face of Balenciaga fashion advertisements, as well as for Revlon cosmetics. In 2012 she was named the first global face of the Shiseido Company. Magazines including Time, Vanity Fair and Esquire, as well as the Los Angeles Times newspaper have included her on their lists of the world's most beautiful women.
Jennifer’s fortunes improved immensely in 2001, with a truly revelatory performance in “A Beautiful Mind” (2001), Ron Howard‘s acclaimed biopic of John Forbes Nash Jr., a brilliant mathematician, Nobel Prize winner in Economics, and schizophrenic. As the devoted wife of this complex man (played by Russell Crowe), Jennifer earned a wealth of critical accolades, including Golden Globe and American Film Institute Awards and a an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Actress (films) Once Upon a Time in America, 1984, Phenomena, 1984, Seven Minutes in Heaven, 1985, Labyrinth, 1986, Ballet, 1988, Some Girls, 1988, The Hot Spot, 1990, Career Opportunities, 1991, The Rocketeer, 1991, Of Love and Shadows, 1994, Higher Learning, 1995, Mulholland Falls, 1996, Far Harbor, 1996, Inventing the Abbotts, 1997, Dark City, 1998, Waking the Dead, 2000, Requiem for a Dream, 2000, Pollock, 2000, A Beautiful Mind, 2001 (Academy award for Best Supporting Actress, Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actress, Satellite award for Best Supporting Actress, BAFTA award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role), Hulk, 2003, House of Sand and Fog, 2003 (Kansas City Film Critics Cir. award for Best Actress), Dark Water, 2005, Little Children, 2006, Blood Diamond, 2006, Reservation Road, 2007, The Day the Earth Stood Still, 2008, Inkheart (cameo appearance), 2008, He's Just Not That Into You, 2009, voice 9, 2009, actress (TV films) The Heart of Justice, 1992, (TV series) The $treet, 2000, appearances in Italian, Canadian, British, and Argentinian films.