An attractive young brunette with a style more reminiscent of an early Hollywood ingenue than the average crop of teen stars, Zooey Deschanel–the daughter of Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel (“The Right Stuff” 1983) and named after the beloved J D Salinger character–began to quickly rack up credits starting in 1998, making her TV debut in an episode of “Veronica’s Closet”. The following year she was featured in her first film, “Mumford”, a comedy about a man (Loren Dean) posing as a psychologist in a small town. Here Deschanel played a troubled young woman obsessed with models and impressed critics and the film’s limited audience with her spot-on portrayal.
In 2000 she was featured in the ensemble of the long-awaited Cameron Crowe film “Almost Famous”, a semi-autobiographical look at a teenage rock journalist who goes on tour with an up and coming band. Deschanel played the older and musically influential sister of the character based on Crowe (played by newcomer Patrick Fugit). Decked out in timely miniskirts with teased hair, Deschanel was at ease in the period piece, lighting up the screen in her scenes and proving an asset to the film. The actress was poised to breakout into the big time in 2000, lensing featured roles in the mental institution-set drama “Manic”, the comedic crime caper “Big Trouble” and the romantic comedy “Beauty Loop”.
