Jessica Chastain at the Salome BFI London Premiere (cropped)

Jessica Chastain is an American actress of film, television and stage. As a final-year student at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

, she was signed on for a talent holding deal by the television producer John Wells. From 2004 to 2010, she had guest roles in television shows, including '' ER'', ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series pr ...

'', and '' Law & Order: Trial by Jury''. She also appeared in stage productions with Michelle Williams for ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate editio ...

'' in 2004, and with Al Pacino for '' Salome'' in 2006. In 2008, Chastain made her film debut as the title character in the drama '' Jolene''. She had a minor role in ''

Stolen Stolen may refer to: * ''Stolen'' (2009 Australian film), a 2009 Australian film * ''Stolen'' (2009 American film), a 2009 American film * ''Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story'' (2010 film), a film based on the real life kidnapping of baby Kahu Durie ...

'' (2009), a critically panned mystery-thriller, following which she played the younger version of Helen Mirren's character in the action thriller film '' The Debt'' (2010). The year 2011 proved a breakthrough for Chastain. Among her six film releases that year, she starred with Brad Pitt in ''

The Tree of Life ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', an experimental drama from

Terrence Malick Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. His films include '' Days of Heaven'' (1978), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenp ...

, and portrayed an aspiring socialite in 1960s America in the drama ''

The Help ''The Help'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Kathryn Stockett and published by Penguin Books in 2009. The story is about African Americans working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s. A ''USA To ...

''. For the latter, Chastain received her first

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination, in the supporting actress category. In 2012, she voiced

Gia ''Gia'' is a 1998 American biographical drama television film about the life and times of one of the first supermodels, Gia Carangi. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Gia and Faye Dunaway as Wilhelmina Cooper, with Mercedes Ruehl and Elizabeth M ...

in the $747 million-grossing animated film '' Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted''. She also played a CIA analyst in

Kathryn Bigelow Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American filmmaker. Covering a wide range of genres, her films include '' Near Dark'' (1987), '' Point Break'' (1991), '' Strange Days'' (1995), '' K-19: The Widowmaker'' (2002), ''The Hurt Loc ...

's thriller ''

Zero Dark Thirty ''Zero Dark Thirty'' is a 2012 American thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal. The film dramatizes the nearly decade-long international manhunt for Osama bin Laden, leader of terrorist network Al-Qaeda, after the ...

''a partly fictionalized account of the

manhunt for Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden, the founder and former leader of al-Qaeda, went into hiding following the start of the War in Afghanistan in order to avoid capture by the United States and/or its allies for his role in the September 11, 2001 attacks, and having ...

which garnered her a nomination for

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

. Also in 2012, Chastain made her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut in a revival of ''

The Heiress ''The Heiress'' is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed and produced by William Wyler, from a screenplay written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 stage play of the same title, which was itself adapted from Henry Jame ...

'', playing a naive young girl who becomes a powerful woman. In 2013, Chastain starred in the horror film '' Mama'', and played an unhappily married woman in

Ned Benson Ned Benson (born April 3, 1977) is an American filmmaker. Biography He attended Deerfield Academy and graduated from Columbia University in 2001. Benson had a long-term relationship with Jessica Chastain, but they broke up in 2010. After working ...

's three-part drama film, collectively titled ''

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby ''The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby'' is the collective title of three films written and directed by Ned Benson in his directorial debut, and starring Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy, alongside a supporting cast of Viola Davis, Bill Hader, Kathe ...

''. Chastain's biggest live-action commercial successes came in the next two years with the science fiction films '' Interstellar'' (2014) and '' The Martian'' (2015), both of which grossed over $600 million worldwide. In the former, directed by

Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. His films have grossed $5&nb ...

, she played a scientist, and in the latter, directed by Ridley Scott, she featured as an astronaut alongside

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Ameri ...

. Chastain went on to play strong-willed titular protagonists in the political thriller ''

Miss Sloane ''Miss Sloane'' is a 2016 political thriller film directed by John Madden and written by Jonathan Perera. The film stars Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Stuhlbarg, Alison Pill, Jake Lacy, John Lithgow, and Sam Waterston. ...

'' (2016), the historical drama '' The Zookeeper's Wife'' (2017), and the crime film ''

Molly's Game ''Molly's Game'' is a 2017 American biographical crime drama film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin (in his directorial debut), based on the 2014 memoir of the same name by Molly Bloom. It stars Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, ...

'' (2017). In 2019, Chastain played the adult

Beverly Marsh Beverly "Bev" Marsh is a fictional character created by Stephen King and one of the main characters of his 1986 horror novel '' It''. The character is seen as a member of "The Losers Club" and a romantic interest of fellow members Bill Denbrough ...

in the horror sequel ''

It Chapter Two ''It Chapter Two'' is a 2019 American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti, with a screenplay by Gary Dauberman. A follow-up to '' It'' (2017), it is the second of a two-part adaptation of the 1986 novel '' It'' by Stephen King ...

''. In 2021, she starred in the HBO miniseries ''

Scenes from a Marriage ''Scenes from a Marriage'' ( sv, Scener ur ett äktenskap) is a 1973 Swedish television miniseries written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Over the course of six hour-long episodes, it explores the disintegration of the marriage between Maria ...

'', and produced and starred as the televangelist

Tammy Faye Tamara Faye Messner (née LaValley, formerly Bakker ; March 7, 1942 – July 20, 2007) was an American evangelist, singer, author, talk show host, and television personality. She gained notice for her work with ''The PTL Club'', a televangelist ...

in the biopic '' The Eyes of Tammy Faye''. For the latter, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Film

Television

Stage

Music video

Virtual reality

Footnotes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chastain, Jessica filmography

Filmography A filmography is a list of films related by some criteria. For example, an actor's career filmography is the list of films they have appeared in; a director's comedy filmography is the list of comedy films directed by a particular director. The ...

Actress filmographies American filmographies