American actress, model, musician, and singer-songwriter Zooey Deschanel made her film debut in the 1999 comedy feature Mumford . [1] She went on to gain public attention by co-starring in the comedy-drama Almost Famous (2000), the independent drama Manic (2001) opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt, [2] and the comedy drama The Good Girl (2002). [3] She landed her first major role as an 18-year-old virgin in the romantic drama All the Real Girls (2003), [3] for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. [4] One of Deschanel's biggest commercial successes came with the Christmas-fantasy film Elf (2003), which grossed over $220 million worldwide. [5]
In 2005, Deschanel played Tricia McMillan in Garth Jennings' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , an adaption of the media franchise of the same name. [6] She followed this with a series of comedy films, including Winter Passing (2005), Failure to Launch (2006), The Go-Getter (2007), and Peyton Reed's Yes Man (2008). Deschanel played a radiant dream girl in the independent romantic drama (500) Days of Summer (2009), also opposite Gordon-Levitt, for which she garnered a nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture at the 14th Satellite Awards. [7] She voiced Bridget in the animated family comedy Trolls (2016), which earned her an Annie Award nomination for Voice Acting in a Feature Production. [8]
Deschanel made her television debut in the sitcom Veronica's Closet in 1998. She later starred as DG in the miniseries Tin Man (2007), a science fiction re-imagining of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . The miniseries averaged more than 6.3 million viewers during its first night, making it the top rated cable miniseries of 2007. [9] She voiced Mary Spuckler in three episodes of The Simpsons , since debuting in the 2008 episode "Apocalypse Cow", and guest-starred with her sister Emily in a 2009 episode of the Fox crime procedural drama Bones . In 2011, she landed a starring role in the Fox sitcom New Girl . For her portrayal as goofy school teacher Jessica Day, she received nominations for three Golden Globe Awards [10] and a Primetime Emmy Award, [11] and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. [12]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Mumford | Nessa Watkins | [13] | |
| 2000 | Almost Famous | Anita Miller | [14] | |
| 2001 | Manic | Tracy | [2] | |
| 2002 | Good Girl | Cheryl | [15] | |
| Abandon | Samantha Harper | [16] | ||
| Big Trouble | Jenny Herk | [17] | ||
| The New Guy | Nora | [18] | ||
| Sweet Friggin' Daisies | Zelda | Short | [19] | |
| 2003 | Whatever We Do | Nikki | [19] | |
| All the Real Girls | Noel | [20] | ||
| It's Better to Be Wanted for Murder Than Not to Be Wanted at All | Gas Station Girl | Short | [19] | |
| House Hunting | Christy | [19] | ||
| Elf | Jovie | [21] | ||
| 2004 | Eulogy | Kate Collins | [22] | |
| 2005 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Tricia "Trillian" McMillan | [6] | |
| Winter Passing | Reese Holden | [23] | ||
| 2006 | Failure to Launch | Kit | [24] | |
| Live Free or Die | Cheryl | [25] | ||
| 2007 | The Good Life | Frances | [26] | |
| The Go-Getter | Kate | [27] | ||
| Bridge to Terabithia | Ms. Edmunds | [28] | ||
| Flakes | Miss Pussy Katz | [29] | ||
| Raving | Katie | Short | [19] | |
| Surf's Up | Lani Aliikai (voice) | [30] | ||
| The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford | Dorothy Evans | [31] | ||
| 2008 | Gigantic | Harriet "Happy" Lolly | [32] | |
| The Happening | Alma Moore | [33] | ||
| Yes Man | Allison | [34] | ||
| 2009 | 500 Days of Summer | Summer Finn | [35] | |
| 2011 | Our Idiot Brother | Natalie | [36] | |
| Your Highness | Belladonna | [37] | ||
| 2015 | Rock the Kasbah | Ronnie | [38] | |
| The Driftless Area | Stella | [39] | ||
| 2016 | Trolls | Bridget (voice) | [40] | |
| 2020 | Trolls World Tour | Cameo | ||
| 2022 | Dreamin' Wild | Nancy | [41] | |
| 2023 | Trolls Band Together | Bridget (voice) | ||
| 2024 | Harold and the Purple Crayon | Terri | [42] | |
| 2025 | Merv † | Anna Finch | Post-production | [43] |
| TBA | Trash Mountain † | Abbi | Filming | [44] |
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year(s) | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Veronica's Closet | Elena | Episode: "Veronica's Fun and Pirates Are Crazy" | [45] | |
| 2002 | Frasier | Jen | Episode: "Kissing Cousin" | [46] | |
| 2004 | Cracking Up | Heidi | Episode: "Birds Do It" | [47] | |
| 2005 | Once Upon a Mattress | Lady Larken | Television film | [46] | |
| 2005–2013 | American Dad! | Various voices | 2 episodes | [48] | |
| 2006-2007 | Weeds | Kat Wheeler | 4 episodes | [49] | |
| 2007 | Tin Man | DG | Miniseries | [50] | |
| 2008-2025 | The Simpsons | Mary Spuckler, Quirky Girl (voice) | 4 episodes | [51] | |
| 2009 | Bones | Margaret Whitesell | Episode: "The Goop on the Girl" | [52] | |
| 2010 | Funny or Die Presents | Mary Todd Lincoln | Sketch: "Drunk History Vol.5" | [53] | |
| 2011–2018 | New Girl | Jessica "Jess" Day | Main role; 140 episodes Director ("House Hunt") Also producer and co-executive producer | [54] | |
| 2012 | Saturday Night Live | Host / Various characters | Episode: "Zooey Deschanel/Karmin" | [55] | |
| 2016 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Jessica "Jess" Day | Episode: "The Night Shift", crossover episode with New Girl | [56] | |
| 2017 | Trolls Holiday | Bridget (voice) | Television special | [57] | |
| 2021 | The Celebrity Dating Game | Co-Host | [58] | ||
| 2022 | Storybots: Answer Time | Cat Burglar Lady | Episode: Keys | ||
| 2023 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars | Herself | Guest judge (season 8) Episode: "The Letter L" | [59] | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked | Episode: "All Stars Untucked: The Letter L" | ||||
| Physical | Kelly | Season 3 | [60] |
| Year | Title | Artist | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "She's Got Issues" | The Offspring | [61] | |
| 2002 | "Idiot Boyfriend" | Jimmy Fallon | [62] | |
| 2008 | "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" (version one) | She & Him | [63] | |
| 2009 | "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" (version two) | [64] | ||
| 2010 | "In the Sun" | [65] | ||
| "Thieves" | [66] | |||
| 2011 | "Don't Look Back" | [67] | ||
| 2012 | "Hey Girl" | Herself | [68] | |
| 2013 | "I Could've Been Your Girl" | She & Him | Also director | [69] |
| 2014 | "Stay Awhile" | [70] | ||
| 2015 | "On the Island" | Brian Wilson | [71] | |
| 2020 | "Not the End of the World" | Katy Perry | [72] |
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Surf's Up | Lani Aliikai (voice) | [73] |
| Year | Title | Soundtrack album | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (with Leon Redbone) | Elf | [74] |
| 2005 | "In a Little While" (with Matthew Morrison) | Once Upon a Mattress | [75] |
| 2008 |
| Yes Man | [76] |
| 2011 |
| Winnie the Pooh | [77] |
| "Hey Girl" (original soundtrack) | New Girl | [78] | |
| 2014 | "Fallinlove2nite" cover (with Prince and 3rdeyegirl) | [79] | |
| 2015 | "Bitch" | Rock the Kasbah | [80] |
| 2016 | "Hello" "I'm Coming Out" "Mo Money Mo Problems" (with cast) ""Can't Stop the Feeling!" (with cast) | Trolls | [81] |
| Year | Title | Album | Artist | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Chiquitita" | Open Your Heart EP | Lavender Diamond | |
| Nighttiming | Coconut Records | [82] | |
| 2008 |
| Acid Tongue | Jenny Lewis | [83] |
| 2009 |
| Hold Time | M. Ward | [84] |
| 2010 |
| The Place We Ran From | Tired Pony | [85] [86] |
| 2011 | "It's So Easy" | Listen to Me: Buddy Holly (tribute album) | Various artists | [87] |
| 2012 |
| A Wasteland Companion | M. Ward | [88] |
| "The Hippie Girl" (with Ben Gibbard ) | Chasing Away The Dots | Mike Coykendall | [89] | |
| "Something's Rattling (Cowpoke)" | Former Lives | Benjamin Gibbard | [90] | |
| 2015 | "You're the Reason" | A mixtape from Ben Lee | Ben Lee | [91] |
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