Margaret Ruth Margaret Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal
,/ˈdʒɪlənhɔːl/), born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and playwright Neome Fanna Gyllenhaal, and the sister of actor Jack Gyllenhaal.
She began her film career as a teenager in her father's films and in supporting roles in the psychological horror film The Illusion of Death (2001), starring her brother. She received critical acclaim and Golden Globe nominations for her role as Lee Holloway in the 2002 abusive love film Secretary. Gyllenhaal has starred in a number of films, including "Baby Shirley," which earned her another Golden Globe nomination in 2006, the romantic comedy Believe in Men, and several big-budget films such as World Trade Center and The Dark Knight. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 2009 musical drama film Crazy Hearts. In addition, Gyllenhaal has appeared in stage plays and several TELEVISION films, such as 2000's "Stealing Hearts" and 2004's "Body Search".
Gyllenhaal has been associated with Peter Sassgaard since 2002, and the two became engaged in 2006, and their daughter Raymonda was born on October 3, 2006. The two married in Italy on May 2, 2009, and their second daughter Gloria Ray was born on April 9, 2012. Gyllenhaal is a politically active Democrat and, like his parents and brother, is a supporter of the ACLU. Before the U.S. war on Iraq in 2003, she participated in anti-war demonstrations. She is also actively involved in human rights, civil liberties, poverty eradication, etc.
Gyllenhaal was born in New York, the daughter of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and filmmaker and playwright Neome Fanna Gyllenhaal, to a mother whose maiden name was Achs. Her younger brother Jack Gyllenhaal was also an actress, the father of Swedish and British descent, and a member of the Swedish aristocratic Gyllenhaal family. Her great-grandfather, Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal, was her last native Swedish ancestor, who was a descendant of the Swedish officer and entomologist Leonard Gyllenhaal. Her mother was born in New York City to a Jewish family that immigrated to the United States from Russia and Lithuania.[8][9][10][5] Her mother had previously been married to Eric Foner, a professor of history at Columbia University. Gyllenhaal has stated that she "grew up culturally and generally in a Jewish environment",[15] but did not attend The Hebrew School. Her parents married in 1977 and filed for divorce in October 2008. [18] Margolit was named on her birth certificate, but she didn't notice it until 2013, when she officially changed her name to Maggie.
Gyllenhaal grew up in Los Angeles and attended Harvard Westlake Preparatory School. In 1995, after graduating from Harvard Westlake School, she went to New York to attend Columbia University, where she studied literature and eastern religions,[13][20] and graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She then attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London,[21] where she worked as a waitress at a restaurant in Massachusetts during the summer.