This bright beauty past child model made her film introduction at the tender age of twelve, seen in flashbacks as the young embodiment of Elizabeth McGovern's character in Sergio Leone's mobster blockbuster "Once Upon a Time in America" (1984) starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. Horror lovers may remember her as the young girl who has a strange relationship with the insect world in Dario Argento's Italian phobia piece "Creepers" (1985) also known as "Phenomena", about a young teen girl, with an amazing ability to communicate with insects, who is transferred to an exclusive Swiss boarding school, where her unusual capability might help solve a string of murders.

Jennifer Connelly then was featured in mostly unremarkable young teen summer parodies, with the possible exception of Jim Henson's "Labyrinth" (1986) where she was overshadowed by David Bowie and a cast of Henson muppets. That same year she was the shining star among a triplet of friends, in the comedy drama "Seven Minutes in Heaven" with Lauren Holly, about a beautiful A-student, who is staying home alone, together and apart, the three 15 year old girls learn much about life, maturity, and love 

Connelly then relied on her gorgeous beauty as the only person innocent among Southern schemers in Dennis Hopper's thriller, "The Hot Spot" (1990) and as the big-breasted town beauty in the young teen comedy "Career Opportunities" (2990), a story about Josie, the daughter of the town's wealthiest businessman, who faces problems at home and wishes to leave. Then Connelly was flawlessly cast as a 1940's Hollywood sexy celebrity who gets the guy in "The Rocketeer" (1991) - Connelly and co-star Bill Campbell also enjoyed an off-screen romantic relationship as well.

Although she seemed on the edge of a major career, Jennifer Connelly had trouble finding that perfect role to shoot her into the public view. She quit performing for a while to seek an Ivy League education and when she decided to resume her career, it was because she had rediscovered a zeal for acting. Connelly made an unusual appearance on television with the 1993 TNT movie "The Heart of Justice", in which she played a killer. John Singleton cast her as an earth mother lesbian in "Higher Learning" (1995) featuring Tyra Banks. her fans were surprised she would play a lesbian part, but the role was performed in good taste and with great talent. Lara next opted to play another woman of uncertain qualities as Nick Nolte's ill-fated mistress in "Mulholland Falls" (1996) about a local woman is murdered, and the cops investigation turns up the fact that she had been romantically linked to several prominent men and had secret films taken of her sexual liaisons.

Connelly gave a fine performance in the role of Eleanor, the independent bad girl, middle sister of a triplet of beauties who all fall for the charms of the town's bad boy (Billy Crudup) in "Inventing the Abbotts" (1997) featuring Liv Tyler. Jennifer next took the tough role of a woman who may or may not be real in the science fiction thriller "Dark City" (1998) with Kiefer Sutherland  about a man who struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.

After a short vacation for motherhood, Connelly returned to the movie screen in a big way with three high profile films in 2000. She was yet again a lady of ambiguity, this time a former radical haunting her old flame (Crudup) in "Waking the Dead" about a congressional candidate who questions his sanity after seeing the love of his life, presumed dead, suddenly emerge. In Darren Aronofsky's disturbing "Requiem for a Dream", Connelly played a aspirant fashion designer with a bad cocaine habit who eagerly submits to disgrace in order to score drugs. 

Boyle also played "the other woman" in Ed Harris' film "Pollock" (2000) with Val Kilmer and Ed Harris - A film about the life and career of the American painter, Jackson Pollock.. In addition to her demanding movie career, Connelly made her debut as a series regular in the short lived New York City based television serial "The $treet" (Fox, 2000), which was supposed to be a behind the scenes look at a Wall Street investment and brokerage firm.

The actress had one of her best received roles as the tolerant and tender wife of an unconventional math genius diagnosed with schizophrenia (portrayed by Russell Crowe) in "A Beautiful Mind" (2001), somewhat fashioned on the real life relationship between Alicia Nash and her husband, Nobel laureate John Forbes Nash Jr. Connelly grabbed up many good reviews for this smash hit and received a well deserved Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress.

The next year, after a short time out of the limelight, Connelly played the role of Betty Ross, the suffering love interest in "The Hulk," (2003) a Universal Pictures production based on the Marvel comic book creature the Incredible Hulk where Ang Lee attempted to attach serious sorrow to the green monster. In a role more suited to her talents, Connelly gave a spellbinding performance in "House of Sand and Fog" (2003), playing a disturbed, drug abusing woman whose family beach home is wrongfully sold off by the government, putting her in a impassioned battle of wills against the new owner (Ben Kingsley) with lingering results. 

Connelly's intricate interpretations yielded another series of critical acclaim and awards nominations. Her next movie was the high class terror and horror flick "Dark Water" (2005) where she played a protecting single mother who moves into a decaying and alarming apartment house and finds herself plagued by bizarre events involving dark, shadowy water.

Connelly next appeared in Todd Field’s dark comedy, “Little Children” (2006), playing the wife of a house-dad (Patrick Wilson) who struggles with her husband’s affair with a former graduate student and stay-at-home mom (Kate Winslet). 

In the blockbuster “Blood Diamond” (2006), Connelly was a aggressive and unrealistic American journalist in the middle of anarchy in civil war torn Sierra Leone in the 1990s who, while trying to expose the scandal ridden diamond industry, falls for a smuggler (Leonardo DiCaprio) attempting to find a rare pink diamond with a poor fisherman (Djimon Hounsou) - a journey that will effect the lives of all three forever. 

Next up was “Reservation Road” (2007), a tragic tale about two families brought together when the father of one family kills the son of the other in a hit-and-run accident. In 2008 she tried her hand at comedy with "He's Just Not That Into You" (2008), with Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Affleck and Drew Barrymore, the Baltimore set movie of interconnecting stories that deal with the challenges of reading or misreading human behavior.

Connelly then lent her voice talents in the starring role of the animated fantasy adventure thriller "9" (2008), starring Elijah Wood and John C. Reilly, a post-apocalyptic nightmare in which all of humanity is threatened. Her next film was a remake of the 1951 classic sci-fi film about an alien visitor and his giant robot counterpart who visit Earth in "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (2008), starring Keanu Reeves, Kathy Bates and John Cleese. There are rumors that Jaden Smith, the young son of super-star Will Smith will have a small role in the film.

• Also Credited As:
  Jennifer Ann Connelly
• Born:
  on 12/12/1970 in New York, New York
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Model

Family

• Father: Gerard Connelly. married once before
• Mother: Eileen Connelly.
• Son: Kai Dugan. born in July 1997; father, David Dugan
• Son: Stellan Bettany. born August 5, 2003; named after Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgaard

Significant Others

• Companion: Billy Campbell. met on the set of "The Rocketeer" (1991); became engaged in 1991; no longer together
• Companion: David Dugan. father of Connelly's son; no longer together
• Companion: Josh Charles. dating in 2000; no longer together in 2002

Education

• Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, drama and English, 1988
• Stanford University, Stanford, California

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