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Trivia
Son, Kai, born. Father is photographer David Dugan.
[July 1997]
Cut a single
in Japan, which she sang in phonetic Japanese. She says
her agent made up the idea that she is semi-fluent in
the language.
Speaks fluent
Italian and French.
Was born
in Catskills Mountains and raised in Brooklyn Heights.
Was named
one of the 50 Most Beautiful People by People Magazine
in 2002.
The character
"Veronica" in "Heathers" was originally
written with her in mind, but she turned the role down.
Daughter-in-law
of actor Thane Bettany.
1st child
with husband Paul Bettany, a son named Stellan, born
5 August 2003
Measurements:
34C/D-22-34 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
1st child
with husband Paul Bettany, a son, born 5 August 2003.
She is of
Irish, Polish, Norwegian and Russian descent.
Two sons:
Kai Dugan and Stellan Bettany
Named her
son Stellan after Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård
In three
of her movies - Dark City (1998), Requiem for a Dream
(2000), and House of Sand and Fog (2003) - she appears
standing at the end of a pier in a striking image. All
three directors created the shots for different reasons,
and they are not an homage or reference to each other,
just an unlikely coincidence.
Personal quotes
"I try to stay focused on my life and do try not
to be brought into the Hollywood fantasy."
"[talking
about her son]: "It's changed absolutely everything.
I mean, it's changed my life. I think I've changed as
a human being more since I've had Kai than in any other
period in my life. It's such an incredible catalyst
for growth. I found myself questioning absolutely everything:
how I spend my time, how I speak, what kind of projects
I work on, how I look at the world. I feel things differently,
I hear things differently, I feel so much more grounded,
I feel so much more myself. The last time I felt this
comfortably seated in myself was when I was about eight,
and I think that's largely because he's so present all
the time, he's so pure. And he demands that of me. There's
just so much less time for artifice, and I think that's
really affected my work. And I think about it on a conscious
level, I think about it in terms of the things that
I want to do. I'm constantly reading things and I think,
'Is it worth it for me to spend this time away from
him?' Because it's a big sacrifice for me to spend time
away. Is the project worth it for me to do that? Is
it responsible? Would I want him to see it? Is it going
to add anything to the world? Is it going to add more
confusion to the world? Will it bring any kind of light
into the world? So I think about it on those levels,
and then I just feel things so much more deeply. It's
like this layer of skin that I had over myself has been
removed."
"[on
working with Billy Crudup]: "I adore him, and I
love working with him,it's very fulfilling. Keith [Gordon]
had a lot to do with that too:he gave us room to explore
our characters, starting in the rehearsal process and
continuing throughout the shooting process."
"[talking
about how she became an actress]: "I was eleven
when my agent came and said, 'They're having an audition
for a part in Once Upon a Time in America.' It was shot
in Brooklyn and Rome. I remember having my 12th birthday
on the set in Rome. It was such a good experience, it
made me want to do more. Then an Italian horror film
came along and gave me an excuse and an opportunity
to get back to Italy. I loved it. Then, in a few years,
it began to change. I said, 'Do I really want to do
this? Or am I just doing it because it came along?'
So I took it all apart and put it back together and
said, 'Yes, I want to be an actor."
"[talking
about her career]: "I began working when I hadn't
yet come into my own, when I was this walking puppet.
Some of the movies I did...I look back and cringe. For
better or for worse, I feel responsible now. In Requiem
for a Dream, I'm a heroin addict, and I thought it was
being made for a reason--it wasn't about shock value.
It has something to say about hunger and a void."
"[talking
about what she felt about the script of Requiem for
a Dream]: "I was very much looking forward to doing
it. When I read the script, it was something I really
wanted to do. I thought the script was, in ways, really
brilliant. It was so creative, it was so interesting.
At the same time, I thought it was really brave. It
was talking about really important issues."
"[talking
about how she took the role she played in Requiem for
a Dream out of her system]: "I was really looking
forward to getting the role out of my system. I went
on vacation afterwards to Costa Rica. I took my two-year-old,
and my best friend, and we went and I floated in the
ocean for two weeks to cleanse myself. It was hard,
really hard to go through, emotionally. It was draining,
sad, and uncomfortable."
"[talking
about the films she did in the beginning of her career]:
"I think a lot of it was the level that I was operating
on at the time combined with people who were not interested
in unearthing the ability in me. I just couldn't do
those films anymore; I can't even watch them, it's like,
'Oh God, I can't believe that.' For me I feel like I've
changed a lot more in the last few years. I only went
to films that I wanted or felt good about: Waking the
Dead, Requiem, and I haven't seen Pollock, so I don't
know."
"Acting
is great. When it works it is so fulfilling. You do
the research and work with other talented people who
are creative and compassionate and use all your faculties.
The ability to express yourself completely is the most
wonderful feeling in the world. Each film is a chapter
in my life wherein I learn so much more about myself."
"I so
much enjoy being able to completely allow myself to
be consumed by a role, and really grow in the process,once
you've done that, it's hard to go back working on things
you don't care about."
"[talking
about the films she did in the beginning of her career]:
"You don't want to get rid of your experiences,
because they're your experiences - good or bad - and
you need them, but it would be great if they weren't
on the video shelf!"
"[talking
about her character in A Beautiful Mind]: "Alicia
is the person who's trying to ground John Nash in reality
and bring him home, literally, and back to what he was.
In A Beautiful Mind, there are scenes that were painful
and scary and sad. I didn't have to go through degradation
as I did in Requiem for a Dream, but there is a lot
of emotional terrain in this movie. There's a tragedy
in the family, and it takes a toll on each of them as
they try to live with each other."
"[talking
about her son Kai]: "We've already done plays together.
Very short plays. He dictates them to me. Sometimes
he casts me, sometimes he doesn't. And when I'm in the
play, he'll sometimes say to me, 'No Mom, you didn't
say that right!"
"I wore
a beautiful silver ballgown, which was a refreshing
change from the blue jeans I wore in almost every other
scene. It was really a gorgeous set, with masses of
huge chandeliers and thousands of flickering candles,
hundreds of silken cushions and curtains, and masses
of people in strange masks and ornate dresses. There
was the thrill of dancing with David Bowie to one of
the songs he composed especially for the film. There
wasn't enough room, for technical reasons, to really
dance around properly, but we just drifted slowly and
gracefully (I hope!) to David's music, and he looked
fabulous! It's all a sort of magical fantasy sequence
inside a huge bubble." -- Jennifer on "The
Ball Room Dance" scene, her favorite from "Labyrinth"."
"[about
her son]: "I don't think I would be doing this
quality of work if it hadn't been for my son. He's changed
me. He's helped me to understand myself and find my
place in the world."
Jennifer Connelly
- Filmography
Below is a complete filmography
(list of movies she's appeared in)
House of Sand and Fog (2003) .... Kathy
Hulk (2003) .... Betty Ross
Beautiful Mind, A (2001) .... Alicia Larde Nash
"$treet, The" (2000) TV Series .... Catherine
Miller
Pollock (2000) .... Ruth Kligman
Requiem for a Dream (2000) .... Marion Silver
... aka Delusion Over Addiction (2000)
Waking the Dead (2000/I) .... Sarah Williams
Dark City
(1998) .... Emma Murdoch/Anna
Inventing the Abbotts (1997) .... Eleanor Abbott
Far Harbor (1996) .... Ellie
Mulholland Falls (1996) .... Allison Pond
Higher Learning (1995) .... Taryn
Of Love and Shadows (1994) .... Irene
... aka De amor y de sombras (1995) (Argentina) (Spain)
Heart of Justice, The (1993) (TV) .... Emma Burgess
Rocketeer, The (1991) .... Jenny Blake
Career Opportunities (1991) .... Josie McClellan
... aka One Wild Night (1991)
Hot Spot, The (1990/I) .... Gloria Harper
Étoile
(1988) .... Claire Hamilton/Natalie Horvath
... aka Ballet (1988)
Some Girls (1988) .... Gabriella D'Arc
... aka Sisters (1988)
Labyrinth (1986) .... Sarah
Valley, The (1985) (V) .... Jennifer Corvino/Herself
Seven Minutes in Heaven (1985) .... Natalie Becker
... aka Deslices de joventud (1985) (USA: Spanish title:
dubbed version)
Phenomena (1985) .... Jennifer Corvino
... aka Creepers (1985) (USA: US version)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984) .... Young Deborah
... aka C'era una volta in America (1984) (Italy)
Jennifer Connelly - Notable
TV Guest Appearances
"Charlie Rose Show, The" (1991)
playing "Herself" 17 December 2003
"Tinseltown.TV" (2002) playing "Herself"
11 October 2003
"Rosie O'Donnell Show, The" (1996) playing
"Herself" 2 April 1997
"Tales of the Unexpected" (1979) playing "Young
Girl" in episode: "Stranger in Town"
(episode # 5.5) 23 May 1982
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