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7->''"I didn't expect to win the Oscar. You grow up watching the Oscars on TV and you think it happens to fancy people. It was really surreal."''
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9Jennifer Lynn Connelly (born December 12, 1970 in Cairo, New York) is an American actress.
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11After beginning her career as a child model, Connelly made her film debut at the age of 13 in ''Film/OnceUponATimeInAmerica'', in which she played the younger version of Creator/ElizabethMcGovern's character. But she soon transitioned to leading roles, including in the horror film ''Film/{{Phenomena}}'' and alongside Music/DavidBowie in the cult hit ''{{Film/Labyrinth}}''. Despite critics being lukewarm to her early performances, more leading roles followed. And she started to win critics over with roles like ''Film/TheHotSpot''. Success didn't come that quickly, however; she found herself typecast in {{Fanservice}} roles. For most of the '90s and early 2000s, Connelly was [[MsFanservice heavily associated with nudity or titillation in her films]], regardless of the quality of her performances. The latter were usually acclaimed, leading critics to sigh about wasted potential.
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13Things started to turn in her favor with a turn in the well-acclaimed CyberPunk film ''Film/DarkCity''. But it was with ''Film/RequiemForADream'' that she started to make the switch from MsFanservice to serious actress. More roles like ''Film/WakingTheDead'' kept earning her critical acclaim, and she managed to win an Oscar for ''Film/ABeautifulMind''. Nowadays she's a very respected actress with lots of accolades to her name. She's also got Marvel Comics cred due to her role in Ang Lee's ''{{Film/Hulk}}'' where she played Betty Ross as well as voicing the AI "Karen" in ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming''.
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15As a fun fact, she's done three films that all feature the same exact shot: Jennifer's character stands at the end of a pier looking out to the sea. ''Film/DarkCity'', ''Film/RequiemForADream'', and ''Film/HouseOfSandAndFog'' all feature this shot.
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17She is married to Creator/PaulBettany, and they have two children. Connelly also has another son from a previous relationship with photographer David Dugan.
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19----
20!!Selected Filmography:
21
22* ''Film/OnceUponATimeInAmerica'' (1984)
23* ''Film/{{Phenomena}}'' (1985)
24* ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' (1986)
25* ''Film/SomeGirls'' (1988)
26* ''Film/TheHotSpot'' (1990)
27* ''Film/CareerOpportunities'' (1991)
28* ''Film/TheRocketeer'' (1991)
29* ''Film/TheHeartOfJustice'' (1992)
30* ''Film/HigherLearning'' (1995)
31* ''Film/MulhollandFalls'' (1996)
32* ''Film/DarkCity'' (1998)
33* ''Film/WakingTheDead'' (2000)
34* ''Film/RequiemForADream'' (2000)
35* ''Film/{{Pollock}}'' (2000)
36* ''Series/TheStreet'' (2000-01)
37* ''Film/ABeautifulMind'' (2001) - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
38* ''Film/{{Hulk}}'' (2003)
39* ''Film/HouseOfSandAndFog'' (2003)
40* ''Film/DarkWater'' (2005)
41* ''Film/LittleChildren'' (2006)
42* ''Film/BloodDiamond'' (2006)
43* ''Film/ReservationRoad'' (2007)
44* ''[[Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill2008 The Day the Earth Stood Still]]'' (2008)
45* ''Film/{{Inkheart}}'' (2008)
46* ''Film/HesJustNotThatIntoYou'' (2009)
47* ''WesternAnimation/{{Nine}}'' (2009)
48* ''Film/{{Creation}}'' (2009)
49* ''Film/StuckInLove'' (2012)
50* ''{{Film/Noah}}'' (2014)
51* ''Film/AmericanPastoral'' (2016)
52* ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' (2017)
53* ''Film/OnlyTheBrave'' (2017)
54* ''Film/AlitaBattleAngel'' (2019)
55* ''Series/{{Snowpiercer}}'' (2020-23)
56* ''Film/TopGunMaverick'' (2022)
57
58----
59!!Tropes associated with her:
60* AbilityOverAppearance: Inverted. Despite having no ballet training, she was cast in ''Film/OnceUponATimeInAmerica'' precisely because of her resemblance to Elizabeth [=McGovern=]. Of course they liked her performance too. [[invoked]]
61* ActorAllusion: Three films feature the same specific shot where Jennifer's character stands at the end of a pier looking out to the sea: ''Film/DarkCity'', ''Film/RequiemForADream'', and ''Film/HouseOfSandAndFog''. While filming the third, her reaction was "How many times have I done this already?"
62* ActorSharedBackground: Both she and her character Marion in ''Film/RequiemForADream'' had fathers who worked in the fashion industry. [[invoked]]
63%%* AloofDarkHairedGirl: She gets cast as a lot of these.
64* CareerResurrection: ''Film/RequiemForADream'' marked the point where Jennifer transitioned from MsFanservice roles to more serious, respected characters. [[invoked]]
65* CastingGag:
66** In two films she has played the devoted wife to a brilliant but insane Russell Crowe-- ''Film/ABeautifulMind'' and ''{{Film/Noah}}''.
67** She's played a 'Sarah Williams' in both ''{{Film/Labyrinth}}'' and ''Film/WakingTheDead''.
68* TheChanteuse: Having appeared in ''Film/DarkCity'', she is the page image.
69* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Princess Jasmine in ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' resembles an Arabian version of Connelly.
70* CreatorBacklash: She's slightly embarrassed by her performance in ''{{Film/Labyrinth}}'', not helped by critics ripping it to shreds when the film was first released. But this seems to have diminished with time; she participated in the 30th anniversary DVD release's new bonus features and filmed a special introduction for the Fathom Events two-night theatrical reissue in September 2016.
71* CreatorCouple: She and husband Paul Bettany worked together on ''Shelter'' and ''Film/{{Creation}}''. As of 2017, they are also both playing characters in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. [[invoked]]
72* TheDanza: She plays Jenny in ''Film/TheRocketeer'', and Jennifer in ''Phenomena''. [[invoked]]
73* DyeingForYourArt: [[invoked]]
74** She normally has long hair, but cut it rather drastically into a bob for the movie ''Crime/Fly''.
75** She also lost weight to play a homeless woman in ''Shelter''.
76** Dyed her normally dark brown hair blonde for ''Virginia''.
77* FakeBrit: Sort of in ''{{Film/Noah}}''. She uses an English-sounding accent to blend in with her cast members. Earlier, she played Emma Darwin with a passable English accent in ''Creation'' opposite husband Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin. [[invoked]]
78* FormerChildStar: {{Averted}}. She has come a long way from ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' and other teen roles to become the respected adult actress she is today.
79* MsFanservice: Many of her roles as an adult in the 1990s, particularly ''Film/TheRocketeer'', where she spends the final act in a low-cut 1930s evening gown.
80* NonSingingVoice: Her singing is dubbed in the theatrical release of ''Film/DarkCity'', but her actual voice is used in the Director's Cut.
81* PlayingAgainstType:
82** ''Film/HesJustNotThatIntoYou'' is the only time she's done a RomanticComedy.
83** Voicing the AI Karen in ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' is also incredibly different.
84* RomanceOnTheSet: With Paul Bettany during ''Film/ABeautifulMind''. They married without dating in the interim. [[invoked]]
85* SeparatedAtBirthCasting:
86** ''Film/OnceUponATimeInAmerica'' sees her playing [[TimeShiftedActor the younger version of Elizabeth McGovern]]. The two look very alike. [[invoked]]
87** ''Film/StuckInLove'' has Creator/LilyCollins play her daughter. They look close enough to each other that it's quite believable.
88* ThoseTwoActors: [[invoked]]
89** Jennifer Connelly acted with Josh Lucas in both ''Film/ABeautifulMind'' and ''Film/{{Hulk}}''.
90** Connelly also acted with Creator/NickNolte in ''Film/MulhollandFalls'', ''Film/{{Hulk}}'' and ''Film/{{Noah}}''.
91* ThrowItIn: Jennifer prepared for ''Film/RequiemForADream'' by making her own clothes - as Marion is a dress designer. She ended up wearing most of her own wardrobe in the film. [[invoked]]
92* TypeCasting:[[invoked]] In the 90s Jennifer was cast in lots of films playing 1930s-50s era women - ''Film/TheRocketeer'', ''Film/MulhollandFalls'', ''The Hot Spot'', ''Inventing The Abbots'' and technically ''Film/DarkCity''.[[note]]Which isn't really set in the 1930s but has the aesthetic of the era.[[/note]] That glossy dark hair of hers is remarkably well-suited for vintage hairstyles.
93* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[invoked]]
94** Veronica in ''{{Film/Heathers}}'' was written for her, but she turned it down, and Creator/WinonaRyder played the part.
95** She auditioned for Sarah in ''Film/TheAccused'', Charlie in ''{{Film/Firestarter}}'' and Diane Court in ''Film/SayAnything''.
96** A love scene was filmed for ''Film/ABeautifulMind'', but cut from the final film.
97* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Having a longtime fear of flying, she was less than thrilled to find out that she would, in fact, be flying in a plane for the final shots of ''Film/TopGunMaverick''. However, those shots were filmed with Creator/TomCruise personally piloting her in his own P-51 Mustang, and she credits Cruise's obvious competence and meticulous attention to detail as a pilot with helping to ease that fear considerably.
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