Jena Malone

Jena Malone

at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
Born Jena Malone
November 21, 1984 (1984-11-21) (age 27)
Sparks, Nevada, U.S.[1]
Years active 1991–present

Jena Malone (pronounced /mʌˈloʊn/; born November 21, 1984) is an American actress and musician who has appeared on television, in films, and on Broadway. She made her movie debut with the film Bastard Out of Carolina (1996), and has appeared in films including Contact (1997), Stepmom (1998), Donnie Darko (2001), Saved! (2004), Into the Wild (2007), and Sucker Punch (2011).

Malone is also an experimental musician who has released music both under her own name and as "The Shoe".

Contents

Early life

Malone had lived in 27 locations by the age of nine, including Lake Tahoe, California.[2] She was raised by her mother, Deborah, and her mother's girlfriend, whom she calls "Godmom,"[3] and began taking an interest in acting after watching her mother, who was involved in community theatre.[4] She briefly moved to Las Vegas, hated it, and persuaded her mother to move on to Los Angeles.[5] Malone was home-schooled from sixth to eighth grade. She attended the Professional Children's School, for the ninth grade, in New York,[5] and quit it after a year, when she became legally emancipated, in January 2000.[6][7] At some point she later obtained her General Educational Development (GED).[8]

Career

Malone progressed to professional acting with the 1996 film Bastard Out of Carolina.[9] She was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance[10] and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance in a TV Movie or Miniseries for her role in the film, Ruth Anne 'Bone' Boatwright. From there, her roles have grown to include several Hollywood features. In 1997, she was nominated for a Golden Globe, Best Actress in a Mini-Series or TV Movie, for her role in Hope.

After working on various TV projects, and as a supporting actress in films such as Contact and Stepmom, Malone had her first cinematic leading role in the 2001 cult hit Donnie Darko as Gretchen Ross, the new girl in town who becomes the girlfriend of Jake Gyllenhaal's title character.

Malone co-produced the 2002 film American Girl, a drama in which she also acted. In the 2004 film Saved!, she got top billing in her first role as the primary star. In 2005, she played the spoiled fifth Bennet daughter Lydia in the film Pride and Prejudice. In 2006, she made her professional stage debut in the Broadway production of the Tony Award-winning play Doubt.

In 2007, it was announced that Malone was releasing her first single on The Social Registry, a New York City experimental music label. A number of tracks were posted to her MySpace page.[11] Pitchfork Media has described Malone's music as "pretty out-there – bedroom electronics, spaced-out keyboards, and Malone's spare vocals."[12] Malone's more recent musical work is performed as/with The Shoe.[13]

Malone appeared in the horror film The Ruins, which was released on April 4, 2008 and co-starred Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey, and Jonathan Tucker. She played Lavinia in an off-Broadway revival of Eugene O'Neill's play Mourning Becomes Electra in 2009.

Malone is to portray Carson McCullers in the film Lonely Hunter, directed by Deborah Kampmeir.[14]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1991 Roseanne Little Girl on Santa's Lap Episode: "Santa Claus"
1996 Chicago Hope Stacy Morissey Episode: "Sweet Surrender"
1996 Bastard Out of Carolina Ruth Anne 'Bone' Boatwright
1996 Hidden in America Willa TV movie
1997 Contact Young Ellie
1997 Hope Lilly Kate Burns TV movie
1997 Ellen Foster Ellen Foster TV movie
1998 Homicide: Life on the Street Debbie Straub Episode: "Kellerman, P.I.: Part 1"
Episode: "Kellerman, P.I.: Part 2"
1998 Stepmom Anna Harrison
1999 The Book of Stars Mary McGuire
1999 Touched by an Angel Casey Episode: "Hearts"
1999 For Love of the Game Heather Aubrey
2000 Cheaters Jolie Fitch TV movie
2001 Donnie Darko Gretchen Ross
2001 The Ballad of Lucy Whipple California Morning 'Lucy' Whipple TV movie
2001 Life as a House Alyssa Beck
2002 The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys Margie Flynn
2002 The Badge Ashley Hardwick
2002 American Girl Rena Grubb
2003 The United States of Leland Becky Pollard
2003 Hitler: The Rise of Evil Geli Raubal TV movie
2003 Cold Mountain Ferry Girl (cameo)
2004 Saved! Mary
2004 Howl's Moving Castle Lettie (voice)
2004 Corn Emily Rasmussen
2005 Pride & Prejudice Lydia Bennet
2005 The Ballad of Jack and Rose Red Berry
2006 Container The Woman / Speaker (voice)
2006 Lying Grace
2007 Four Last Songs Frankie
2007 The Go-Getter Joely
2007 Into the Wild Carine McCandless / Additional Narrator
2008 The Ruins Amy
2008 Law & Order Michelle Landon Episode: "Lost Boys"
2009 The Messenger Kelly
2009 The Soloist Cheery Lab Tech
2010 Five Star Day Sarah Reynolds
2011 Sucker Punch Rocket
2011 The Wait Angela Post-production
2012 For Ellen Susan Post-production
2012 Jack and Diane Susan Post-production

Awards

Year Award Category Result Role
1996 CableACE Award Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries Nominated Ruth Anne 'Bone' Boatwright
in Bastard Out of Carolina
Independent Spirit Award Best Debut Performance Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made For Television Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries Nominated
Young Artist Award Best Performance in a TV Movie/Mini-Series - Young Actress Won
1998 Saturn Award Best Performance by a Younger Actor/Actress Won Young Ellie in Contact
Golden Globe Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV Nominated Lilly Kate Burns in Hope
Young Artist Award Best Performance in a TV Movie/Pilot/Mini-Series - Leading Young Actress Won Ellen Foster in Ellen Foster
1999 Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Supporting Actress - Drama Nominated Anna Harrison in Stepmom
Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress Won
2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Award Favorite Supporting Actress - Drama/Romance Nominated Heather Aubrey in For Love of the Game
Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actress Nominated
2001 DVD Exclusive Awards Best Supporting Actress Won Mary McGuire in The Book of Stars
2004 Sonoma Valley Film Festival Imagery Honors Won -- --
2005 Satellite Awards Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical Nominated Mary in Saved!
2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated Carine McCandless in Into the Wild
shared with rest of cast

See also

References

  1. ^ Jena Malone bio: Into the Wild Actor
  2. ^ "LA Weekly". Jena at 15. http://www.laweekly.com/2000-06-22/news/jena-at-15/. Retrieved June 17, 2006. 
  3. ^ Malone discussed this on a March 2004 appearance on Loveline.
  4. ^ "YM". Meet Pride & Prejudice's Jena Malone. http://www.ym.com/jsp/stars/ontheverge/index.jsp. Retrieved June 17, 2006. 
  5. ^ a b "Indexed". Jena Malone, 2003. http://www.indexmagazine.com/interviews/jena_malone.shtml. Retrieved June 17, 2006. 
  6. ^ Richard Kern: Jena Malone, 2003. Index Magazine, 2008, retrieved June 16, 2011
  7. ^ "FindArticles". Jena Malone: Emancipated at 15, can she do the same for the movies?. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1285/is_2_32/ai_83450567/pg_2. Retrieved June 17, 2006. 
  8. ^ "Jena Malone: Coming of Age". Jena Malone, 2001. http://www.teenhollywood.com/printerversion.asp?r=5859. Retrieved April 27, 2009. 
  9. ^ "About.com". Jena Malone on "Saved!". http://movies.about.com/cs/saved/a/savedjm051704.htm. Retrieved June 17, 2006. 
  10. ^ "LA Weekly". A Childhood in Hollywood. http://www.minorcon.org/malone.html. Retrieved June 17, 2006. 
  11. ^ Myspace: Jena Malone. URL accessed February 17, 2007.
  12. ^ Pitchfork Media: "Actress Jena Malone Records Social Registry 7"." Amy Phillips. URL accessed February 17, 2007.
  13. ^ Pitchfork
  14. ^ Variety

External links