Zooey Deschanel has been gracing the screen since 1999, when she was just 19 years old. Hollywood is nothing new to her — her parents are actor Mary Jo Deschanel and director/cinematographer, Caleb Deschanel. Deschanel had a slew of hits in the early 2000s, from Almost Famous to The Good Girl, where she starred alongside Jennifer Aniston and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Her career really took off in the early aughts, where she had roles in box office hits like The Happening, Failure to Launch, and even the Showtime series Weeds. Over the course of her 20+ year career, she has starred in a myriad of genres, ranging from comedy to drama to a seven-year run of one of the most successful television shows of all time, New Girl.
Here are seven of Zooey Deschanel’s best performances, ranked.
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7 Our Idiot Brother (2011)
The Weinstein Company
Starring Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Rashida Jones, Emily Mortimer, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, and Zooey Deschanel, Our Idiot Brother follows Ned (Rudd) as he barges into the lives of his three sisters after a drug deal went wrong. After his release from prison, he moves in with the three sisters (Banks, Mortimer, and Deschanel), where he accidentally exposes the problems in each of their lives, including an affair. This dramatic comedy hit the big screen in 2011 and is a charming family story about how the truth will set you free.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 Elf (2003)
New Line Cinema
One of the biggest Christmas movies to ever hit the silver screen, Elf is a cult classic starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Ed Asner, Mary Steenburgen, Faizon Love, Amy Sedaris, Peter Dinklage, and Zooey Deschanel. This hilarious holiday movie tells the story of Buddy the Elf (Ferrell), as he leaves the North Pole for New York City to find his real dad. Along the way, he falls for his co-worker, Jovie (Deschanel). Elf won several awards, earned about $225 million at the box office, and had the fourth-biggest Christmas movie opening of all time.
5 Almost Famous (2000)
DreamWorks Pictures
One of Zooey Deschanel’s first roles, Almost Famous also stars Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand, and Anna Paquin. Almost Famous is set in the 1970s and follows William Miller, a teenager aspiring to be a rock journalist. When William gets his first gig writing for Rolling Stone, they send him on tour with Stillwater to document his entire tour experience — the good, the bad, and the ugly. While her role was small, Deschanel said the role was “career-making” and even did an interview with Rolling Stone on the twenty-year anniversary.
4 The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (2005)
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Starring Martin Freeman, Yasiin Bey, Sam Rockwell, and Zooey Deschanel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy is based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. The movie follows a journeyman named Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman), who is rescued and transported from Earth by his friend Ford (Bey), moments before the planet is set to be destroyed by aliens. Deschanel portrays Arthur’s love interest in the film, Trillian, who has been riding around the galaxy with Zaphod Beeblebrox (Rockwell). This sci-fi adventure comedy was nominated for ten awards.
3 Yes Man (2008)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Yes Man is a 2008 movie starring Jim Carrey, John Michael Higgins, Bradley Cooper, and Zooey Deschanel. This romantic comedy tells the story of Carl (Carrey), a man living a humdrum life who decides to say “yes” to absolutely everything after he takes a personal development course. During his journey of saying “yes” to everything, he meets Allison (Deschanel), a dazzling woman in a band called Munchausen By Proxy, who helps to turn his world upside down.
2 500 Days of Summer (2009)
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Starring Joseph-Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, 500 Days of Summer is a romantic comedy about Tom (Gordon-Levitt) as he reflects on his relationship with Summer (Deschanel). Over the course of the movie, he tries to figure out how their relationship fell to pieces through snippets and vignettes of their 500-day relationship. 500 Days of Summer, a cult classic, received dozens of nominations and became an indie hit overnight. The movie veers away from the expected and therefore had a major impact on younger audiences.
1 New Girl (2011-2018)
20th Television
Created by Elizabeth Meriwether, New Girl is one of the most successful television shows of all time. The series ran for seven seasons across eight years. The series stars Max Greenfield, Jake Johnson, Lamorne Morris, Damon Wayans Jr., and Hannah Simone. It all starts with Jess (Deschanel), a quirky teacher looking for a place to live, when she stumbles into a loft space ad with three male roommates — Nick, Schmidt, and Coach. Over the course of the series, Jess and her roommates have adventures as they grow in their careers and relationships.
