Hollywood’s Rising Star: Jessica Chastain
We stop and stare at Hollywood’s new leading lady Jessica Chastain…
Jessica Chastain is one of our fave celebs right now. After a long period of obscurity, it seems as though her presence has literally exploded onto our screens, and we simply can’t get enough of her. This Hollywood actress is truly the woman of the moment – and was even offered the honourable role of Princess Diana in the upcoming biopic, Diana. Aged 35, the scarlet-haired siren has an acting career that spans a couple of decades, but has only been in productions that we may recognise or remember since 2004. It has only been in the past couple of years that this petite beauty has made a huge impression.
Raised in a north-California suburb, Jessica Chastain took to dancing at a young age, and also developed a passion for acting at the tender age of
seven. It was at this age that her grandmother took her to see Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, and the acting-bug developed, that she has not been able to shake since. Jessica, who cites one of her idols as actress Tilda Swinton, is now regarded as one of Timemagazine’s ‘Top 100 Most Influential People’, according to their 2012 list. However, Jessica started a career that was less prominent, and was constantly sidelined by the acting world – something that she specifically mentioned at the Golden Globe ceremony last week, during an acceptance speech. This feeling of being side-lined became a part of her psyche, and Ms. Chastain has admitted that she has joked with friends about something that they call “The Chastain Curse”. Curse lifted, Jessica starred in seven huge movies in 2011 alone, three more in 2012, and has some exciting projects lined up for 2013.
You may have first recognised Chastain on the silver screen, playing roles in television programmes including ER, Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Law and Order. Then, she made a grand transition to film, starring in many different films, but most famously The Help in 2011, for which she received an Oscar nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress’. Chastain also received the ‘Best Actress’ Oscar nomination for 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty, in which she played a CIA officer in the hunt for Bin Laden. The film was a resounding success, and received five Oscar nominations in total. She also starred in The Tree of Life in 2011, which received three Oscar nominations and the ‘Palme d’Or’ award at the Cannes Film Festival (2011).
More recently, you will have seen Chastain in the American western gangster-film Lawless alongside Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman, or recognised her voice as the cheek leopard Gia in Madagascar 3. In the movies that she has ranked up to date, Jessica has been a part of many star-studded casts, acting alongside movie-greats such as Helen Mirren, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Emma Stone and many more. In the near-future, she will return to our screens alongside James McAvoy in the double-feature film The disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, as well as starring in horror movie Mama, both due for release this year – the latter, due for release this week.
Chastain is extremely intelligent, interesting and talented outside of her acting feats, having learnt German and the Israeli self-defence system ‘Krav Maga’ for her role in 2011’s The Debt. Additionally, she plays the ukulele, is a devout yoga disciple and has a three-legged dog, named Chaplin. This quirky beauty has other accolades to her name, such as PETA’s ‘Sexiest Vegetarian’ (2012) and Victoria Secret’s ‘Sexiest Smile’ (2012).
She also topped Vanity Fair’s ‘Best-Dressed Women’ list last year, a title that she proved that she was truly worthy of at last week’s Golden Globes ceremony. Jessica proved that she was the ‘one to watch’ for more than one reason, arriving to collect her Best Drama Actress award (for Zero Dark Thirty) in a gorgeous sky-blue, halter-neck Calvin Klein gown, complete with a plunging neckline. We couldn’t take our eyes off her.
Not only is she absolutely gorgeous, but she is doing so well in her career right now – it seems as though Jessica Chastain has really got it all. Jessica, we applaud you, and can’t wait to watch your upcoming movies for this year. Somebody pass us the popcorn!