Margaret Ruth “Maggie” Gyllenhaal( /?d??l?nh??l/; born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal (née Achs) and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She made her screen debut when she began to appear in her father’s films. Gyllenhaal achieved recognition in a supporting role in the indie cult hit Donnie Darko (2001). Her breakthrough role was in the 2002 sadomasochistic romance Secretary, for which she received critical acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination.
Maggie Gyllenhaal - At “The Dark Knight†Press Conference in Tokyo
Older sister of Jake Gyllenhaal.
Daughter of Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Foner.
Earned a B.A. in English from Columbia University (1999).
Studied briefly at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.
The first six movies she made (Waterland (1992); A Dangerous Woman (1993); Shattered Mind (1996) (TV); The Patron Saint of Liars (1998) (TV); Homegrown (1998); Resurrection (1999) (TV)) were all directed by her father.
During the 2003 Academy Awards, she wore a peace sign pin in support of the organization Artists United to Win Without War.
She co-hosted the Sundance Awards 2003.
Played sister to real-life brother Jake Gyllenhaal in the movie Donnie Darko (2001).
Broke up with her artist boyfriend of five years during the filming of Secretary (2002).
Has been in three movies with her brother Jake Gyllenhaal: A Dangerous Woman (1993) (which was directed by their father), Homegrown (1998) (which was directed by their father), and Donnie Darko (2001).
Was born in New York City but grew up in Los Angeles where she and her brother attended the prestigious Harvard-Westlake prep school. Returned to New York when she was 17.
Her mother is a Golden Globe-winning, Oscar-nominated scriptwriter. Her father is an Emmy-nominated director, her grandmother is a doctor and Eric Foner, her mother’s first husband, is an acclaimed historian at Columbia, the college she attended.
Was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) after the 2004 Academy Awards.
Her mother is good friends, and was once the mentor of, Laurie Collyer who wrote SherryBaby (2006) (aka “Shall Not Want”), in which Maggie stars.
Graduated Harvard-Westlake (private) high school in North Hollywood, California.
Ranked as #58 in FHM’s “100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005″ special supplement. (2005)
Met her fiancé at a dinner party.
She and brother, Jake Gyllenhaal, attended Camp Walt Whitman, an outdoors summer camp in Western New Hampshire.
Maggie and her fiancé, Peter Sarsgaard, became the parents of a girl, named Ramona, on October 3, 2006 in New York City.
Loves musicals.
Quit smoking.
Her favorite actress is Gena Rowlands.
Is of Swedish (noble) and Russian-Jewish descent.
Was member of the dramatic jury at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004.
Her publicist is Amanda Silverman.
Returned to work six months after giving birth to her daughter Ramona in order to begin filming The Dark Knight (2008).
She and brother Jake Gyllenhaal are the first brother and sister to be Oscar-nominated in the 21st century.
Fan of T-Bone Burnett.
Good friend of Emma Thompson.
Was in consideration for the role of Joyce Lakeland in The Killer Inside Me (2010), but Jessica Alba was cast instead.
