Jennifer Westfeldt is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and
screenwriterScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
known for the hit 2001
independent filmAn independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
Kissing Jessica SteinKissing Jessica Stein is a 2001 independent romantic comedy film, written and co-produced by the film's stars, Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. The film also stars Tovah Feldshuh and is directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld...
, which she co-wrote with
Heather JuergensenHeather Julia Juergensen is an American actress and writer.-Life and career:Juergensen was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1987. Soon after, she began writing and performing for the stage in both New York and Los Angeles...
and in which the two women starred.
Early life
Born in
Guilford, ConnecticutGuilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford and Durham, and is situated on I-95 and the coast. The population was 21,398 at the 2000 census...
to a Swedish-American father and Jewish mother, Westfeldt was raised in her mother's religion. She graduated from
Guilford High SchoolGuilford High School is a four-year public high school in Guilford, Connecticut. According to the school website,College Board Scholastic Assessment Test and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests results for GHS students are consistently above state, regional and national averages...
and attended
Yale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where she sang with the
a cappellaA cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group
Redhot & BlueRedhot & Blue, usually called Redhot, is Yale University's oldest coeducational a cappella group. Founded in 1977, the group has released twelve albums and toured around the United States and the world. The group’s repertoire is based in the jazz genre, but has expanded to include an array of...
. She is a member of the untitled family of Wästfelt in the
nobility of SwedenThe Swedish nobility were historically a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, part of the so-called frälse . Today, the nobility is still very much a part of Swedish society but they do not maintain many of their former privileges...
.
Acting career
After acting
off-BroadwayOff-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in
Lipschtick, a series of sketches she co-wrote with Juergensen, she relocated to Hollywood, where she was cast in a recurring role in
Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place during its first season on
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. In 2001 she was featured in three episodes of
Judging AmyJudging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...
. Additional television credits include appearances in
Grey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
and
Numb3rsNumb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...
, a regular role in
Notes from the UnderbellyNotes from the Underbelly was an American sitcom that debuted on ABC as a midseason replacement. The series is based upon the novel of the same name by Risa Green, and is produced by Eric and Kim Tannenbaum for Warner Bros. Television...
, and the
television movieA television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
Before You Say I DoBefore You Say "I Do" is an American television movie directed by Paul Fox. It premiered on Hallmark Channel on February 14, 2009.-Plot:...
with
David SutcliffeDavid Sutcliffe is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Christopher Hayden, Rory Gilmore's father and Lorelai Gilmore's on-and-off boyfriend, on the CW show Gilmore Girls....
.
Westfeldt made her
feature filmIn the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
debut in the 2001 screen adaptation of the
Joy FieldingJoy Fielding is a Canadian novelist and actress. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.-Biography:Born in Toronto, Ontario, she graduated from the University of Toronto in 1966, with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature...
novel
See Jane RunSee Jane Run is a 1991 novel by Joy Fielding in the thriller genre. It was made into a TV movie in 1995.- Plot :The book centers on Jane Whittaker, who finds herself at a grocery store in downtown Boston with no recollection of her name, her physical features, her personality, or any of the details...
. Later that year she appeared in her breakthrough role, the titular character in
Kissing Jessica Stein, for which she and Juergensen were nominated for the
Independent Spirit Award for Best First ScreenplayThe Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay is one of the annual awards given by Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers.-1990s:1994*David O...
. The film was an extended version of one of the sketches they had written for
Lipschtick.
In 2004, Westfeldt starred opposite
Paul SchneiderPaul Andrew Schneider is an American film actor.-Early life and career:Schneider was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. He graduated from the North Carolina School of Arts...
in the film
How to Lose Your Lover and made her
BroadwayBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in a revival of
Wonderful TownWonderful Town is a musical with a book written by Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Leonard Bernstein...
. Her performance won her the
Theatre World AwardThe Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
and a nomination for the
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a MusicalThis is a list of the winners and nominations of the Tony Award for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical. The award, introduced in 1950, was previously named as Best Performance by a Featured or Supporting Actress in a Musical until 1976....
. She returned to the stage as a victim of the
House Un-American Activities CommitteeThe House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
opposite
Josh RadnorJoshua Michael "Josh" Radnor is an American actor, director, and writer, best known for portraying the main character Ted Mosby on the popular, Emmy Award-winning CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, for which he has received worldwide fame and recognitions.He made his writing and directorial debut...
in
Finks, which premiered at the Powerhouse Theater in
Vassar CollegeVassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
in
PoughkeepsiePoughkeepsie is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 42,777 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the native term, "Uppu-qui-ipis-in," which means "reed-covered hut by the water."...
in July 2008.
Westfeldt wrote, produced, and stars in
Ira and AbbyIra and Abby is a 2006 romantic comedy film directed by Robert Cary and released in the US by Magnolia Pictures. The poignant love story stars Chris Messina and Jennifer Westfeldt in the title roles, and co-stars Fred Willard, Frances Conroy, Jason Alexander, Robert Klein and Judith...
, which premiered at the
Los Angeles Film FestivalThe Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times is an event held annually in June in downtown Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Film Festival began as the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 1995. The first LAIFF took place over the course of five days in a single...
in June 2006.
In 2010, she was a guest star for the show
2424 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
for the eighth season. She first appeared in the first four episodes of the season which aired January 17, 2010 and January 18, 2010. She returned to the season in the final episodes of the series.
External links