The Stunning Transformation Of Zooey Deschanel

Born into a household of entertainment professionals with an actress mom and a cinematographer father, Zooey Deschanel and her sister, Emily, both grew up to grace the big and small screens. Her father, Caleb, told The Hollywood Reporter that "from a very early age, our daughter Zooey wanted to crawl into The Wizard of Oz and be in that movie," adding, "She's always been that way." He went on to say that she and her sister were pretty fearless and started out acting in their school's cabaret fundraiser. "And both kids, since they were 12 or 13, would get up in front of 2,000 people and not feel nervous," he shared. 

It is no wonder then that Zooey Deschanel went on to pursue entertainment. According to Deschanel's Hollywood Foreign Press Association biography, she began starring in movies with 1999's Mumford and dropped out of college to pursue her acting career. It wouldn't be long until she entered the world of full-blown stardom.

While she may be mostly known for her quirky humor, Zooey Deschanel is also known for taking on characters across multiple film genres. From horror to drama, it hasn't been all giggles with the multi-faceted actress. When discussing her acting in the starring role of the 2003 drama All the Real Girls with Venice magazine, she said, "Generally, most of the characters I do are somehow me, just maybe me at a different moment. Sometimes it's the me who's alone, you know? Because nobody ever sees that person who's alone. It's like the me driving in my car alone, nobody ever sees who that person is." Delving into the horror realm, she later starred in M. Night Shyamalan's 2008 horror film The Happening. 

One can discern just how diverse Deschanel's acting chops are from a quick look at her list of credits, which include Bridge to Terabithia, Failure to Launch, Surf's Up, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. And who could forget 500 Days of Summer? It's clear Deschanel has some wide-ranging acting chops.

Zooey Deschanel's love of music started early. She told Pitchfork, "I always have loved music, ever since I was really little. I just loved to sing." While she possessed a flair for music from a young age, it wasn't until she formed the group She and Him with fellow musician M. Ward that her singing career really took off. 

Deschanel had certainly taken to singing in movies like Elf and had participated in film soundtracks like the one for The Go-Getter. While working on the latter, she told NPR, "It wasn't until I met Matt (M. Ward) that I really felt like I had found just the right person to work with on this stuff."  With multiple records and Christmas records under their belt, the indie darlings She and Him have received love from critics and fans. However, Deschanel said she has a love of music, not a desire for fame. She told Pitchfork, "I don't really have so much interest in being a 'star' in this format. I just really enjoy playing music."

Aside from acting, singing, and writing, Zooey Deschanel also found success as an entrepreneur with her women's general interest website HelloGiggles. The site was launched in 2011 with her friends and colleagues Sophia Rossi and Molly McAleer. Covering everything from beauty, entertainment, news, and relationships, the site bills itself as "a positive community for women." The founders wanted to create an environment free of negativity. Discussing the site, Deschanel told The Queen Latifah Show, "I just didn't want anyone posting mean comments and so we created a system so that anything mean said gets immediately taken off or voted down."

Apparently the positive vibes the site encouraged stood out to Time, Inc. Business Insider reported that HelloGiggles was receiving about 16 million unique visitors a month when the media behemoth purchased HelloGiggles in 2015. Rumor has it that the acquisition price was somewhere around a whopping $30 million. According to Variety, Deschanel stated, "With Time Inc. as our partner, we'll be able to expand the HelloGiggles mission and inspire and support even more young women with a safe and positive media platform."

In 2011, Zooey Deschanel's sitcom New Girl hit the small screen. Written by Liz Meriwether about her time "Craigslist surfing from sublet to sublet," the half-hour comedy follows the path of 20-something, loft-dwelling buddies. On the subject of Deschanel in the lead role as character Jess, Meriwether told New York magazine, "I didn't think I could find someone as weird as I am." Millions of viewers are grateful she found that quirky somebody in Deschanel.

A fearless career chameleon, Deschanel accepted the challenge of moving to the small screen in the face of critics. According to an interview with Newsweek, Deschanel said, "When I decided to do New Girl, these people were like, 'Oh, you're doing television?' It was kind of looked down upon to do television if you were a movie actor. My thought was it's an opportunity to make funny content, and it's not really about the length." Not only did Deschanel star in the long-running sitcom, but she also wrote and performed the theme song to the show. New Girl aired on Fox for seven seasons, wrapping up in 2018.

During Zooey Deschanel's relationship with second husband Jacob Pechenik, she became a mother to two kiddos. Her daughter, Elsie Otter, was born in 2015, just months after she and Pechenik tied the knot. Son Charlie Wolf followed shortly after in 2017.

On the subject of becoming a mother, Deschanel told Redbook, "I've never really felt like an adult. But I think it's a huge accomplishment to have a child, so maybe I feel like an adult for that reason." Giving birth to two kids has resulted in Deschanel taking a very hands-on approach to motherhood. She told InStyle, "I mean, I'm driving my kids to every class, every day. I'm there with them all the time. It's actually rare that I'm not with them. I try to be there as much as humanly possible." Having children is her top priority in life, as she told People, "My kids are absolute No. 1. I know that's the truth for most people."

Though it's clear that Zooey Deschanel stays very busy with her acting and music careers, she also makes giving back a top priority. It was revealed in Zooey Deschanel's divorce filing from singer Ben Gibbard that she donated $1,500 to charities every single month. Since having her own children, Deschanel has focused on giving back to other kids. Working with the charity Baby2Baby and Huggies, they have donated millions of diapers to folks in need. She told HuffPost, "It's an absolute bottomline basic need, and you shouldn't have to choose between diapers and food or diapers and clothes. It should be something that's a given." She has also been affiliated with Stand Up to Cancer, the Alliance for Children's Rights, and the Alzheimer's Association.

She wants to carry the philanthropy on to the next generation so instilling a volunteer spirit in her children is also a priority for the singer. She told HuffPost, "It's really important to teach your kids at a young age to volunteer and how to help raise money and raise awareness."

Zooey Deschanel's seven-season foray into television with New Girl and journey into motherhood with two young children may have put her film career on a bit of a hiatus, but it doesn't look like the star plans on slowing down anytime soon in her acting career. When asked by Deadline what's next for the future — film or TV — she explained, "Both, everything."

In regards to returning to acting, she does have some parameters. She told InStyle, "I'm just looking for something that would be exciting and fulfilling for me." She further elaborated on the subject, mentioning her children. She said, "I'm really focused on them, so I want to make sure that whatever I do next is really good. It has to be really good for me to leave them [and go to work]."

With motherhood, brand partnerships, and charity work, she's clearly keeping busy. We can't wait to see what the multi-talented star dreams up next!