'''Maggie Ruth Gyllenhaal''' (born November 16, 1977) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actress.
Biography
Early life
Gyllenhaal (pronounced ) was born in New York City. She is the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and writer/producer Naomi Foner, and the sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal's mother is Jewish and her father is a descendant of the Swedish noble Gyllenhaal family, although his last Swedish ancestor was his great-grandfather, Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal.
[http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=arc150&id=I098841]Gyllenhaal grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from the Harvard-Westlake prep school. While there, she attended a semester away program in Vershire, Vermont called The Mountain School. She graduated from Columbia University in 1998 with a BA in Literature and Eastern religions and spent a summer studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.
[http://www.maggie-gyllenhaal.net/library_paper-sept2002.php]Career
thumb|left|Gyllenhaal (right) on the DVD cover for ''
Secretary''Gyllenhaal's first film roles were directed by her father: ''
Waterland'' (1992), ''A Dangerous Woman'' (1993), and ''Homegrown'' (1998). After graduating from college, she had a number of supporting roles, notably co-starring with her brother in ''
Donnie Darko'' (2001) in which she played his character's sister.
Gyllenhaal's break-out role was in ''
Secretary'' (2002), which earned her widespread acclaim including a Golden Globe nomination. She followed the film with a stream of supporting roles in such films as the Spike Jonze-Charlie Kaufman comedy ''
Adaptation.'' and ''
Mona Lisa Smile'' starring Julia Roberts. She also appeared in smaller independent films such as John Sayles's ''Casa de los Babys'', and ''
Criminal'' with John C. Reilly and Diego Luna.
She has also appeared in the theater. She starred as Alice in the Mark Taper Forum production of Patrick Marber's ''Closer''. She also graced the stage at the Taper in a production of Tony Kushner's ''Homebody/ Kabul'' which later transferred to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. She has appeared on the stage in London, in ''Anthony and Cleopatra'' at the Vanborough Theatre.
She has modeled for Miu Miu, a branch of the Prada fashion house, and for Reebok.
Personal life
Gyllenhaal has been in a relationship with actor Peter Sarsgaard since 2002; they announced their engagement in April 2006 and are expecting a child in late 2006.
[http://people.aol.com/people/articles/0,19736,1181971,00.html] Sarsgaard is close friends with her brother Jake and co-starred with him in the film ''Jarhead''. Gyllenhaal also maintains a friendship with her ''
Mona Lisa Smile'' co-star Kirsten Dunst, who once dated Jake.
In April 2003, she spoke at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in her first college speaking engagement. Her comments focused on criticisms
