Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and producer. Known for her roles in films with feminist themes, her accolades include a Golden Globe Award and nominations for two Academy Awards. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012.
Born and raised in Sacramento, California, Chastain developed an interest in acting from an early age. In 1998, she made her professional stage debut as Shakespeare's Juliet. After studying acting at the Juilliard School, she was signed to a talent holding deal with the television producer John Wells. She was a recurring guest star in several television series, including Law & Order: Trial by Jury. She also took on roles in the stage productions of Anton Chekhov's play The Cherry Orchard in 2004 and Oscar Wilde's tragedy Salome in 2006.
Chastain made her film debut in the drama Jolene (2008), and gained wide recognition in 2011 for starring roles in half a dozen films, including the dramas Take Shelter and The Tree of Life. Her performance as an aspiring socialite in The Help earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2012, she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for playing a CIA analyst in the thriller Zero Dark Thirty. Chastain made her Broadway debut in a revival of The Heiress in the same year. Her highest-grossing releases came with the science fiction films Interstellar (2014)and The Martian (2015), and the horror film It Chapter Two (2019), and she continued to receive critical acclaim for her performances in the dramas A Most Violent Year (2014), Miss Sloane (2016), and Molly's Game (2017).
Chastain is the founder of the production company Freckle Films, which was created to promote diversity in film. She is vocal about mental health issues, as well as gender and racial equality. She is married to fashion executive Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, with whom she has a daughter.
POPULAR MOVIES
86%
1,550,809 votes
Interstellar
80%
774,776 votes
The Martian
75%
66,545 votes
Miss Sloane
74%
150,123 votes
Molly's Game
74%
276,780 votes
Zero Dark Thirty
73%
469,377 votes
It
71%
770,598 votes
Iron Man 3
70%
39,951 votes
The Zookeepers Wife
69%
23,184 votes
Get On Up
68%
166,678 votes
Madagascar 3
PERSONAL QUOTES
"What's wrong with trying hard and showing up and being good at your job? We really need to look at ourselves and say we need to reevaluate this. We need to reevaluate that women who ask for a pay raise or ask for a promotion - it's actually an okay thing. It's okay to be ambitious; it's okay to be over-prepared."
“One of my goals is to play a villain in a Bond film. People ask me if I want to be a Bond girl, and I say, 'No, I want to be the villain.' I'm waiting for that call!”
“We have a long way to go in the world in all industries. If I'm in the situation where I have equal experience to the other actor and my role is just as significant, there is no reason why I should be paid less. It's not really part of my world anymore, because I just won't accept it.”
“When you take away healthcare from women, you're keeping women out of the workforce because you're eliminating their choice of when to start a family.”
“In the characters that I play, I'm so involved in the look; it's very, very important to me. Because how a person presents him or herself to the world, they're saying something about themselves. It's their first form of advertisement.”
MOVIES IN OUR LIST
86%
1,550,809 votes
Interstellar
74%
150,123 votes
Molly's Game
