Biography - Jake Gyllenhaal

Jake Gyllenhaal has proven that he is a jack of all trades.  He has shown himself capable of portraying a Marine and tough enough to be in love with another man on the big screen.  Born December 19, 1980 to movie director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Jake is also the brother of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal.  Jake was raised in Los Angeles and attended the exclusive Harvard-Westlake School.  After graduation he attended Columbia University in New York, but after two years he quit to concentrate on his acting career.

When Jake left Columbia he was no stranger to the big screen.  He was raised by parents immersed in the business (he has said that Paul Newman taught him how not to drive, when he was ten he appeared in the film "City Slickers", and his godmother is Jamie Lee Curtis).  Gyllenhaal’s first big role after Columbia was the title role in the 2001 film, "Donnie Darko".  The film did not do well at the box-office, but it did earn him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best actor.  The following year he reached a much wider audience when he was cast opposite “Friends” megastar Jennifer Aniston in "The Good Girl".

After The Good Girl, Gyllenhaal appeared in several more films, most notable of which was "Proof", starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins. Then, in 2005, there came two roles for the 24 year old actor that changed him from a mid-level star into a supernova.  The first was "Jarhead", an adaptation of Anthony Swofford’s best-selling novel by the same name.  The film, which also stars Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgaard, is the story of a group of Marines waiting to go to war during the first Gulf War.

The second incredible boost to Gyllenhaal’s career came in the form of Ang Lee’s "Brokeback Mountain", starring alongside Heath Ledger.  The story of Ennis and Jack, two sheep herders who must hide their love for one another, has shattered stereotypes and won over audiences around the world.  The “gay cowboy movie,” as it is commonly called now, has already won a Golden Globe for director Ang Lee, and with each award it wins, Gyllenhaal too rises in stature and prominence in Hollywood.

Like many stars in Hollywood, Gyllenhaal has had his share of speculation on his private life.  His on again off again relationship with Kirsten Dunst is now rumored to be over, meaning he is now not only one of the most sought after stars in Hollywood but also one of its most eligible bachelors.