Zooey Deschanel

Born: January 1980
Where: Los Angeles, California, USA

Just one year after making her TV debut in Veronica's Closet, Deschanel wowed the critics as a troubled woman obsessed by fashion models in Mumford.

Named after the JD Salinger character, Deschanel is the daughter of Oscar-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel (The Right Stuff 1983).

After attending high school with Almost Famous co-star Kate Hudson she went on to Northwestern University and graduated from Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, California.

She spent summers at the French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts and also featured in the video for The Offspring's She's Got Issues.

She made her big screen debut in 1999 in Mumford and raised her profile in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, a semi-autobiographical look at a teenage rock journalist who goes on tour with an up and coming band.

Deschanel - decked out in mini-skirts - played the older and musically influential sister of the character based on Crowe (played by newcomer Patrick Fugit).

She went on to land roles in the mental institution-set drama Manic, the comedy crime caper Big Trouble and romantic comedy Beauty Loop.

In 2002, she co-starred with Jennifer Aniston and Jake Gyllenhaal in the independent feature The Good Girl.

She was also cast in the Stephan Gaghan action thriller Abandon.

The following year, she starred alongside Tim Allen in the hit comedy Elf and went on to appear in the comedy drama Eulogy.

Recent work includes the part of Trillian in the big screen adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.