Mini Biography
Jessica Chastain was raised in a middle-class family in a northern California suburb. She discovered dance at the age of nine. By the age of 13, she was in a dance troupe. She took her mother's maiden name and began performing in Shakespearean productions all over the Bay area.
An actor in a production of "Romeo & Juliet" encouraged her to audition for Juilliard as a drama major. She became a member of "Crew 32" with the help of a scholarship from one of the school's famous alumni, Robin Williams.
In her last year at Juilliard, she was offered a holding deal with TV writer/producer John Wells and she eventually worked in three of his TV shows. Jessica continues to do theatre, having played in "The Cherry Orchard", "Rodney's Wife", "Salome" and "Othello". She spends her time between New York and Los Angeles, working in theater, film and TV.
In 2011, she had a prolific year in film. She was nominated for and won a number of awards, including a 2012 Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for The Help (2011).
Filmography
2014 Miss Julie (pre-production)
Miss Julie
Tarzan (pre-production)
Jane (rumored)
2013 The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Hers (post-production)
Eleanor Rigby
2013 The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: His (post-production)
Eleanor Rigby
2013 Mama
Annabel
2012 Zero Dark Thirty
Maya
2012 Tar
Mrs. Williams
2012 Lawless
Maggie Beauford
2012 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
Gia (voice)
2011 Texas Killing Fields
Pam Stall
2011 Wilde Salome
Salome
2011 The Help
Celia Foote
2011 The Tree of Life
Mrs. O'Brien
2011 Coriolanus
Virgilia
2011 Take Shelter
Samantha
2010/I The Debt
Young Rachel (Berlin 1965)
2010 Agatha Christie's Poirot (TV series)
Mary Debenham
2010 The Westerner (short)
Daniel's Mother
2009 Stolen
Sally Ann
2008 Jolene
Jolene
2007 Journeyman (TV series)
Tanna Bloom
2006 Blackbeard (TV movie)
Charlotte Ormand
2006 The Evidence (TV series)
Laura Green
2006 Close to Home (TV series)
Casey Wirth
2005-2006 Law & Order: Trial by Jury (TV series)
A.D.A. Sigrun Borg / Assistant District Attorney Sigrun Borg
2005 Dark Shadows (TV movie)
Carolyn Stoddard
2004 Veronica Mars (TV series)
Sarah Williams
2004 ER (TV series)
Dahlia Taslitz
