
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Acting
Margalit 'Maggie' Ruth Gyllenhaal (born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Achs, and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. She began her career as a teenager with small roles in several of her father's films, and appeared with her brother in the cult favorite Donnie Darko (2001). She then appeared in Adaptation, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (both 2002), and Mona Lisa Smile (2003). She received critical acclaim for her leading performances in the erotic romantic drama Secretary (2002) and the drama Sherrybaby (2006), each of which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. After several commercially successful films in 2006, including World Trade Center, she received wider recognition for playing Rachel Dawes in the superhero film The Dark Knight (2008). For her performance as a single mother in Crazy Heart (2009), she received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She subsequently starred in the comedies and dramas: Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010), Hysteria (2011), and Won't Back Down (2012). Her other roles include a Secret Service agent in the action-thriller White House Down (2013), a musician in Frank (2014), and the title role in the drama The Kindergarten Teacher (2018). In 2021, she made her writing and directing debut with the psychological drama The Lost Daughter, for which she won the Venice International Film Festival's Best Screenplay Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. She has also appeared in five stage productions since 2000, including making her Broadway debut in a revival of The Real Thing. She has starred in several television series, including the BBC political-thriller miniseries The Honourable Woman. For her performance, she won a Golden Globe award for Best Actress, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. She also produced and starred in the HBO period drama series The Deuce (2017–19). She has been married to actor Peter Sarsgaard since 2009 and they have two children together.
Born: November 16, 1977 · Lower East Side, New York City, New York, USA
Filmography (66)

The Bride!
2026

The Lost Daughter
2021

How To with John Wilson
2020

Best Summer Ever
2020

Joker: Put on a Happy Face
2020

Homemade
2020

The Kindergarten Teacher
2018

The Deuce
2017

Beauty Mark
2016

Chelsea
2016

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015

Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
2015

Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
2014

The Honourable Woman
2014

Frank
2014

Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014

River of Fundament
2014

White House Down
2013

Won't Back Down
2012

Finding Your Roots
2012

Curiosity
2011

Hysteria
2011

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
2010

Crazy Heart
2009

Live from Studio Five
2009

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009

Away We Go
2009

The Dark Knight
2008

Gotham Tonight
2008

The Graham Norton Show
2007

Stranger Than Fiction
2006

Sherrybaby
2006

World Trade Center
2006

Monster House
2006

Paris Je T'aime
2006

Trust the Man
2005

The Great New Wonderful
2005

Happy Endings
2005

The Dying Gaul
2005

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
2005

Criminal
2004

The Pornographer: A Love Story
2004

Strip Search
2004

Mona Lisa Smile
2003

Casa de los Babys
2003

Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
2002

Adaptation.
2002

Secretary
2002

40 Days and 40 Nights
2002

Riding in Cars with Boys
2001

Donnie Darko
2001

Cecil B. Demented
2000

Independent Lens
1999

Homegrown
1998

The View
1997

The Daily Show
1996

Shattered Mind
1996

Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993

A Dangerous Woman
1993

Late Show with David Letterman
1993

Waterland
1992

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992

LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988

The Oscars
1953
