Jessica Chastain

Jessica Chastain is an American actress and producer. She began her Hollywood career with guest roles on several television series, such as "Dark Shadows," "ER," "Veronica Mars," "Close to Home," "Blackbeard," and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury." Chastain made her feature film debut in "Jolene," for which she won the Best Actress award at the Seattle International Film Festival, and gained wide recognition in 2011 with six film releases, including the dramas "Take Shelter" and "The Tree of Life." Her performance as an aspiring socialite in "The Help" earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, along with nominations for the BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award.

Chastain garnered further critical acclaim in 2012 for her performance in "Zero Dark Thirty," winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Drama and the Critics Choice Movie Award for Best Actress, and receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The same year, she made her Broadway debut in a revival of "The Heiress." Chastain's body of work also includes stage productions like "A Doll's House" and "The Cherry Orchard." In 2013, Chastain starred in "Mama" and "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby," the latter of which she also produced.

Chastain continued to make strides in her career with significant roles in blockbusters like "Interstellar," "The Martian," and "It Chapter Two." She also played key roles in "Miss Sloane," "Ava," and "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," earning her a Golden Globe nomination, a SAG Award, and the Academy Award for Best Actress, respectively. She also produced and starred in the Showtime miniseries "George & Tammy," earning another Golden Globe nomination. In 2024, Chastain co-stars in the film adaptation of Barbara Abel's suspense novel "Mothers' Instict" alongside Anne Hathaway. Chastain is set to appear in the upcoming drama film "Dreams" and the Apple TV+ miniseries "The Savant."

Chastain is the founder of the production company Freckle Films, which was created to promote diversity in film. She is vocal about mental health issues, as well as gender and racial equality. She has turned down offers of work that she perceived as unfair in terms of pay. On social media, Chastain aims to "amplify the voices" of victims of sexual harassment in the industry. In 2018, she collaborated with 300 women in Hollywood to set up the Time's Up initiative to protect women from harassment and discrimination. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012.