Jennifer Connelly

Connelly was born on December 12, 1970,{{cite news|last=Naoreen|first=Nuzhat|title=Monitor|url=https://ew.com/article/2012/12/07/monitor-dec-14-2012/|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=December 7, 2012|issue=1237|page=26|access-date=December 16, 2022|archive-date=August 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230815112741/https://ew.com/article/2012/12/07/monitor-dec-14-2012/|url-status=dead}} in Round Top, a hamlet in Cairo, New York, United States. She is the only child{{cite interview |interviewer-last=Aghdashloo |interviewer-first=Shohreh |interviewer-link=Shohreh Aghdashloo |title=JENNIFER CONNELLY |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_interview_2004-02_34_1/ |url-access=registration |magazine=Interview |access-date=December 16, 2022 |pages=107,111 |date=February 2004 |id={{UPC|074470015178}}02 |asin=B0018A7KQI}} of Ilene Carol{{cite news|title=Wedding of Leib / Schumann|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/926521587/|work=The Standard-Star|date=July 10, 1962|page=14|access-date=January 11, 2024|via=Newspapers.com|quote=Miss Ilene Carol Schumann, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Schumann of 46 Park Place, became the bride July 3 of Irwin Alan Leib, son of Mr. and Mrs. Meyer Leibowitz of Newark, N.J.}} ({{nee|Schumann}};{{cite news|title=Obituary for Lee Schumann|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/53521406/|work=Fort Lauderdale News|date=July 15, 1988|page=18|access-date=January 11, 2024|via=Newspapers.com}} 1942{{cite news|title=Birth announcement of Ilene Schumann|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/925955855/|work=The Standard-Star|date=July 7, 1942|page=6|access-date=January 11, 2024|via=Newspapers.com|quote=Mr. and Mrs. Jack Schumann of 46 Park Place have announced the birth of a daughter, Eilen, at New Rochelle Hospital Thursday. Mrs. Schumann is the former Leona Bernzweig, a cousin of Acting City Judge Sol Rubin. The Schumanns have another child, Stanley, 5.}}–2013), an antique dealer, and Gerard Connelly (died 2008),{{cite magazine|last=Shone|first=Tom|title=Jennifer Connelly: A Beautiful Mind|url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/news/a3162/jenniferconnelly/|magazine=Town & Country|date=May 14, 2015|access-date=January 11, 2024}} a clothing manufacturer.{{cite news|first=Karen S.|last=Schneider|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20136346,00.html|title=Jennifer Connelly's love saves Russell Crowe in a Beautiful Mind—but her no. 1 guy is 4-year-old Kai|magazine=People|date=February 4, 2002|access-date=September 1, 2009|pages=73–74|issn=0093-7673|archive-date=October 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013004410/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20136346,00.html|url-status=dead}} Her father was a Catholic of Irish and Norwegian descent, while her mother was Jewish{{Cite news|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/jennifer-connelly-dark-victory|title=Jennifer Connelly: Dark Victory|last=Van Meter|first=Jonathan|date=October 23, 2007|magazine=Vogue|access-date=May 26, 2018|quote="I'm an Irish Jew," she says.}}{{Cite web|url=http://travelingboy.com/archive-travel-bev-jennifer_connelly.html|title=Jennifer Connelly On "American Pastoral" & Being A Working Mom|last=Cohn|first=Beverly|date=November 28, 2016|website=travelingboy.com|access-date=May 26, 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.interfaithfamily.com/arts_and_entertainment/popular_culture/st/|title=A Pint of Guinness, A Cup of Manischevitz: Some Irish/Jewish Connections|last=Bloom|first=Nate|date=March 17, 2009|website=InterfaithFamily.com|access-date=May 26, 2018}} and was educated at a yeshiva.{{cite news |first=Ron |last=Dicker |title=Jennifer Connelly feeling more at home in her career |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2005-07-03-0507030261-story.html |newspaper=Hartford Courant |date=July 3, 2005 |access-date=December 16, 2022 |quote=She jokes that she was raised with a double dose of guilt, having an Irish Catholic father and a Jewish mother who was schooled at a yeshiva in New Rochelle.}}{{Cite news|url=http://atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/jews-making-news-bialik-and-connelly/|title=Jews Making News: Connelly and Bialik|date=August 20, 2013|work=Atlanta Jewish Times|access-date=May 26, 2018}} Connelly's maternal ancestors were Jewish emigrants from Poland and Russia. Connelly was raised primarily in Brooklyn Heights, where she attended Saint Ann's School.{{cite interview |interviewer-last=Lipton |interviewer-first=James |title=Inside The Actors Studio: Jennifer Connelly |publisher=Bravo |location=New York |date=November 7, 2004 |work=Inside The Actors Studio|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=90&v=CoLoi_Y8-2s |via=YouTube}} Her father suffered from asthma so the family moved to Woodstock in 1976 to escape the city smog.{{cite interview|title=JENNIFER CONNELLY|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_interview_2002-04_32_3/|url-access=registration|interviewer-first=Ingrid|interviewer-last=Sischy|date=April 1, 2002|magazine=Interview|pages=107–108,112|access-date=December 16, 2022}} Four years later, they returned to Brooklyn Heights, and Connelly returned to Saint Ann's School.{{cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/articles/Jennifer-Connelly-585958|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118011921/http://www.biography.com/articles/Jennifer-Connelly-585958|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 18, 2013|title=Jennifer Connelly Biography|work=Biography Channel|access-date=August 16, 2011}}

After graduating from high school in 1988, Connelly went to Yale University to study English literature. She has described herself as a conscientious student who "wasn't really concerned with having a social life or sleeping or eating much. I was really nerdy and pretty much stayed in the law school library, which is open 24 hours, most of the time I wasn't in class."{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3645019/Over-achiever-and-proud-of-it.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3645019/Over-achiever-and-proud-of-it.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-status=live |title=Over-achiever – and proud of it |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=July 11, 2005 |access-date=July 21, 2019 |issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}} After two years at Yale, Connelly transferred to Stanford University to study drama. There, she trained with Roy London, Howard Fine, and Harold Guskin.{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=37880&apid=172219|title=Jennifer Connelly biography|year=2009|website=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=August 8, 2010}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Encouraged by her parents to continue with her film career, Connelly left college and returned to the film industry the same year.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mzTW9Nitee4C&pg=PA135|title=Entertainment Celebrities|last=Laufenberg|first=Norbert B.|publisher=Trafford Publishing|year=2005|isbn=978-1-4120-5335-8|access-date=April 17, 2011}} Her parents divorced in 2000.

When Connelly was ten years old, an advertising executive friend of her father suggested she audition as a model. Her parents sent a picture of her to the Ford Modeling Agency, which shortly after added her to its roster. Connelly began modeling for print advertisements before moving on to television commercials. In an interview with The Guardian, she revealed that, after having done some modeling, she had no aspirations to become an actress. She appeared on the covers of several issues of the American teenage magazine Seventeen in 1986 and 1988.{{cite magazine|date=April 1986 |magazine=Seventeen Magazine |title= Cover |id=714356-04}}{{cite magazine|date=August 1986 |magazine=Seventeen Magazine |title= Cover |id=714356-08}}{{cite magazine|date=April 1987 |magazine=Seventeen Magazine |title= Cover |id=714356-04}}{{cite magazine|date=December 1988 |magazine=Seventeen Magazine |title= Cover |id=714357-12}} In December 1986, she recorded two pop songs for the Japanese market: "Monologue of Love" and "Message of Love".{{cite AV media notes| title =Monologue of Love | others = Jennifer Connelly|year =1986|type= 7-inch disk|publisher=Toshiba East World Records|id=WTP-17908}} She sang in phonetic Japanese as she did not speak the language.

When her mother began taking her to acting auditions, a then 11 year-old Connelly was quickly selected for a supporting role as the aspiring dancer and actress Deborah Gelly in Sergio Leone's Jewish gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America (filmed 1982–83, released 1984). The role required her to perform a ballet routine. During the audition, Connelly, who had no ballet training, tried to imitate a ballerina. Her performance, and the similarity of her nose to Elizabeth McGovern's, who played the character as an adult, convinced the director to cast her.{{cite magazine|title=The Intriguing Miss Connelly|date=September 2002|issue=505|pages=318–325; 374–376|first=Mario|last=Testino|magazine=Vanity Fair|issn=0733-8899}} Connelly described the film as "an incredibly idyllic introduction to movie-making".

Connelly's first leading role was in Italian giallo-director Dario Argento's 1985 film Phenomena. In the film, she plays a girl who psychically communicates with insects to pursue the killer of students of the Swiss school where she has enrolled.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VJ1vcmaOd7wC&pg=PA431|title=Horror films of the 1980s|first=John|last=Kenneth Muir|publisher=McFarland|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7864-2821-2|page=431}} During filming, she was attacked by a chimpanzee and was bitten on the finger.Cozzi, Luigi; Patrizi, Federico; Tentori, Antonio (2003). Profondo rosso. Tutto sul film capolavoro di Dario Argento. Mondo Ignoto s.r.l., p. 165, ISBN 88-89084138Late Night with Conan O'Brien; 10 December 2008 Connelly next had the lead in the coming-of-age film Seven Minutes in Heaven, released the same year.{{cite news |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/43852/Seven-Minutes-in-Heaven/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430203231/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/43852/Seven-Minutes-in-Heaven/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 30, 2008|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|author=Eleanor Mannikka|date=2008|title=Seven Minutes in Heaven (1986)|access-date = September 2, 2010}} In a retrospective interview, Connelly said, "Before I knew it, [acting] became what I did. It was a very peculiar way to grow up, combined with my personality." She described feeling like "a kind of walking puppet" through her adolescence, without having time alone to deal with the attention her career was generating.

Connelly gained public recognition with Jim Henson's 1986 fantasy Labyrinth with David Bowie, in which she played Sarah Williams, a teenager on a quest to rescue her brother Toby from the world of goblins. Although a disappointment at the box office,{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=labyrinth.htm|title=Labyrinth (1986)|website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=June 20, 2011}} the film later became a cult classic.{{cite web| last=Sparrow |first=A.E.|title=Return to Labyrinth vol. 1 review |work=IGN|url=http://comics.ign.com/articles/732/732053p1.html|date=September 11, 2006|access-date=August 11, 2010}} The New York Times, while noting the importance of her part, panned her portrayal: "Jennifer Connelly as Sarah is unfortunately disappointing. ... She looks right, but she lacks conviction and seems to be reading rehearsed lines that are recited without belief in her goal or real need to accomplish it."{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A0DE5DC1139F934A15755C0A960948260|title=Labyrinth (1986) screen: Jim Henson's 'Labyrinth'|date=June 27, 1986|access-date=April 19, 2011|work=The New York Times |first=Nina|last=Darnton}} In 1988, she began work as a ballet student in the Italian film Etoile which was released in 1989,{{cite book | last= Curti | first= Roberto | title= Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1980–1989 |publisher= McFarland |year= 2019 |isbn= 978-1476672434|pages=175–176}} and portrayed college student Gabby in Michael Hoffman's Some Girls.{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/45552/Some-Girls/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418185338/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/45552/Some-Girls/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 18, 2008|title=Some Girls review|access-date=August 11, 2010| first=Lynn |department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|date=2008| last=Hirschberg}}

In 1990, Dennis Hopper directed The Hot Spot, in which Connelly played Gloria Harper, a woman being blackmailed.{{cite news | last=Maslin | first=Janet | url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CEED71430F931A25753C1A966958260 | title=The Hot Spot (1990) | work=The New York Times | date=October 12, 1990 | access-date=March 23, 2011}} The film was a box office failure but Connelly was praised. Stephen Schaefer wrote for USA Today, "Anyone looking for proof that little girls do grow up fast in the movies should take a gander at curvaceous Jennifer Connelly [...] in The Hot Spot. Not yet 20, Connelly has neatly managed the transition from child actress to ingenue". During an interview with Shaeffer, Connelly commented on her first nude scene: "The nudity was hard for me and something I thought about...but it's not in a sleazy context". In the same year, director Garry Marshall considered her for the role of Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman, but ultimately felt that she was too young for the part.{{cite video|date=2005|title=Pretty Woman: 15th anniversary|publisher=Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Touchstone}}

Connelly's next film was the 1991 romantic comedy Career Opportunities, starring alongside Frank Whaley.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DTUw1SDQECoC&pg=PA217|title=Doug Pratt's DVD: Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More!, Volume 1|first=Douglas|last=Pratt|publisher=UNET 2 Corporation|year=2004|isbn=978-1-932916-00-3|page=217}} People criticized the film for exploiting Connelly's body; the marketing included a life-size cardboard cutout showing Whaley watching Connelly ride a mechanical horse, with the caption "He's about to have the ride of his life". In an interview with Rolling Stone, Connelly said that a Yale professor brought it to her attention and "... that wasn't something I felt all that comfortable about".{{cite magazine|last=Wild|first=David|date=August 8, 1991|title=Jennifer Connelly: Love and Rockets|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/jennifer-connelly-love-and-rockets-204208/|magazine=Rolling Stone|location=New York City|access-date=May 17, 2021|url-access=subscription}} The big-budget Disney film The Rocketeer (1991) followed later that year, but failed to ignite her career.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/top_first_roles_in_movies/jennifer_connelly/|title=Ten actors that started out right|work=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Flixster|access-date=August 25, 2011}} She played Jenny Blake, a Disney dilution of what was in the original work a Betty Page persona, here the aspiring actress girlfriend of stunt pilot Cliff, "the Rocketeer".{{cite book|title=Disney A to Z: The Updated Official Encyclopedia|publisher=Hyperion|first=Dave|last=Smith|isbn=0-7868-6391-9|year=1998 |page=475 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ptwhAAAACAAJ |access-date=March 3, 2014}} New York characterized the film as "pallid" but said of her performance, "Connelly is properly cast; she has the moist, full-to-the-cheek-bones sensuality of the Hollywood starlets of that period, but she's a little straight".{{cite magazine | title=Rambo Hood | date=June 24, 1991 | magazine=New York | issn=0028-7369 | volume=24 | first=David | last=Denby | access-date=April 18, 2011 | issue=25 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D-kCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA47}} She appeared alongside Jason Priestley in the Roy Orbison music video for "I Drove All Night" the following year, directed by Peter Care.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/roy_orbison_i_drove_all_night/|title=Roy Orbison – I drove all night|work=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Flixster|access-date=August 11, 2010}}{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5198596/|title=Roy Orbison: I Drove All Night|website=IMDb|access-date=September 22, 2019}}

Connelly next appeared in Of Love and Shadows, a 1994 Argentine-American drama film written and directed by Betty Kaplan starring Antonio Banderas. In 1995, director John Singleton cast Connelly as a lesbian college student in Higher Learning.{{cite web |url=http://movies.msn.com/celebrities/celebrity-biography/jennifer-connelly/ |title=Jennifer Connelly biography |work=MSN Movies |publisher=Microsoft Corporation |access-date=August 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203195431/http://movies.msn.com/celebrities/celebrity-biography/jennifer-connelly/ |archive-date=February 3, 2009 |url-status=dead }} She then appeared in the 1996 independent film Far Harbor as Elie, a prominent person in a Hollywood studio who writes a screenplay based on her traumas.{{cite book|title=Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever 2005|url=https://archive.org/details/videohoundsgolde00jimc|url-access=registration|first=Jim|last=Craddock|publisher=Thomson/Gale|year=2005|isbn=978-0-7876-7470-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/videohoundsgolde00jimc/page/287 287]}}

In 1996, Connelly followed up with the neo-noir crime thriller Mulholland Falls, which featured the murder of Allison Pond (Connelly), mistress of General Timms (John Malkovich), and the investigation by a group of detectives led by Maxwell Hoover (Nick Nolte).{{cite book|title=Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir|first=Foster|last=Hirsch|publisher=Limelight Editions|year=1999|isbn=978-0-87910-288-3|url=https://archive.org/details/detourslosthighw00hirs}} New York wrote about a scene that reveals the link between Timms and Pond: "This footage is actually dirty. That is, it makes us feel like voyeurs when looking at it, but it's so juicily erotic that we can hardly look away".{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T-ECAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58|title=The Bad Old Days|magazine=New York |date=May 13, 1996|page=58|first=David|last=Denby|volume=29|issn=0028-7369|issue=19}} Regarding the nude scenes in the film, Connelly said: "It kind of shocked everyone who knows me that I wound up doing this movie, because I had always been so careful about nudity, it was very much a part of this character and I couldn't be coy or guarded or self-conscious—otherwise it wouldn't work. It was sort of a challenge I wanted to take on, I guess". Mulholland Falls was a box office failure.{{Cite web|title=Mulholland Falls|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0117107/|access-date=October 24, 2020|website=Box Office Mojo}}

She began to appear in small-budget films which garnered praise from critics, such as 1997's drama Inventing the Abbotts, set in the late 1950s, in which she played the part of Eleanor, one of three daughters of the town millionaire, Lloyd Abbott.{{cite journal|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V117/PDF/N16.pdf|first=Teresa|last=Huang|title=The good old days really weren't so easy|journal=The Tech Online Edition|publisher=The Tech|year=1997|access-date=August 12, 2010|issue=16|volume=117|page=9|archive-date=September 30, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930212524/http://tech.mit.edu/V117/PDF/N16.pdf|url-status=dead}} The critic from Entertainment Weekly thought Connelly gave a strong performance; writing she "raises the stakes any time she's on screen".{{Cite magazine|last=Schwarzbaum|first=Lisa|date=April 4, 1997|title=Movie Review: 'Inventing the Abbotts'|url=https://ew.com/article/1997/04/04/movie-review-inventing-abbotts-2/|access-date=October 24, 2020|magazine=Entertainment Weekly}} Co-producer Ron Howard, who would later direct Connelly in A Beautiful Mind, said, "She not only was beautiful and seductive but gave some difficult psychological moments in the film a lot of depth and complexity. She had an extraordinary combination of talent and beauty, and I guess I stored that information in the back of my brain".

Her next appearance was in the critically acclaimed 1998 science fiction film Dark City, in which she played alongside Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Ian Richardson and Kiefer Sutherland.{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dark-city|title=Dark City|website=Metacritic|access-date=August 16, 2010}} Connelly portrayed femme fatale Emma, a torch singer whose husband, John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell), suffers from amnesia. As Murdoch is regaining his memories, Emma is kidnapped by Mr. Hand (Richard O'Brien) and The Strangers, who alter her memories and assign her a new identity.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7nTMv6ArRA8C&pg=PA78|title=Ecology and Popular Film: Cinema on the Edge|first1=Robin|last1=Murray|first2=Joseph|last2=Heumann|publisher=Suny Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7914-7677-2|page=78}}{{cite book|title=Science fiction/Horror|first=Kim|last=Newman|publisher=BFI Publishing|year=2002|page=249|isbn=978-0-85170-896-6}} Author Sean McMullen wrote, "Jennifer Connelly is visually splendid as the 1940s femme fatale (Emma)."{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TBT0uE2DygAC&pg=PA235|page=235|title=Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand|first1=Ben|last1= Goldsmith|first2=Geoff|last2=Lealand|isbn=978-1-84150-373-8|publisher=Intellect Books|year=2010}}

In 2000, Ed Harris directed Connelly in the biopic Pollock in which she played Ruth Kligman, Jackson Pollock's mistress.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LNBX1H4C98QC&pg=PA608|title=Roger Ebert's Four Star Reviews 1967–2007|first=Roger|last=Ebert|author-link = Roger Ebert |year=2008|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|page=608|isbn=978-0-7407-7179-8}} Pollock received mostly positive reception, according to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.{{Citation|title=Pollock (2000)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pollock|work=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=October 24, 2020}} In the same year, she appeared as Catherine Miller in the Fox drama series The Street, about a brokerage house in New York.{{cite book|title=The New York Times television reviews 2000|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=z0QFKpI6p7AC&pg=PA504 504], [https://books.google.com/books?id=z0QFKpI6p7AC&pg=PA525 525]|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2001|isbn=978-1-57958-060-5}}

She appeared in Darren Aronofsky{{'s}} Requiem for a Dream, based on the novel of the same name by Hubert Selby Jr.{{cite news|url=http://www.salon.com/people/conv/2000/10/26/selby|title=Requiem For a Dream author Hubert Selby Jr.|first=Stephen|last=Lemmons|date=October 26, 2000|work=Salon.com|access-date=March 23, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131154657/http://www.salon.com/people/conv/2000/10/26/selby|archive-date=January 31, 2011}} Connelly was drawn to the script for its depiction of addiction and its effects on relatives;{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/01/16/jennifer_connolly_requiemforadream_160101_interview.shtml|title=Jennifer Connelly: Requiem for a Dream|publisher=BBC|first=James|last=Mottram|year=2000|access-date=June 13, 2011}} she played Marion Silver, the girlfriend of Harry (Jared Leto). The film also starred Marlon Wayans and Ellen Burstyn.{{cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/5199/year/2000.html|title=Requiem For a Dream|publisher=Festival International de Cannes|work=Official Site of the Cannes Film Festival|access-date=August 18, 2010}}{{cite news|last=Ebert|first=Roger|author-link=Roger Ebert|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20001103%2FREVIEWS%2F11030303%2F1023|title=Requiem for a Dream|date=November 3, 2000|access-date=August 18, 2010|work=Chicago Sun-Times|archive-date=March 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318173954/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20001103%2FREVIEWS%2F11030303%2F1023|url-status=dead}} Marion is a middle-class girl from Manhattan Beach who pursues the dream of establishing a dress shop, but becomes addicted to heroin and descends into a life of prostitution.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KuaJLS6qlDAC&q=marion%20silver%20jennifer%20connelly&pg=PA14|title=Lacan and Contemporary Film|first1=Todd|last1=McGowan|first2=Sheila|last2=Kunkle|year=2004|publisher=Other Press, LLC|page=14|isbn=1-59051-084-4}} Connelly prepared for the role by renting an apartment in the building where the character lived; Connelly isolated herself, painted, listened to music that she considered that her character would, designed clothes, and used the time to reflect about addictions and their origin. Connelly also talked to addicts and attended Narcotics Anonymous meetings with a friend who was in recovery.{{cite book|title=Current Biography Yearbook 2002|first=Clifford|last=Thompson|publisher=H.W. Wilson|year=2002|isbn=978-0-8242-1026-7|pages=115–118}} The cast garnered critical acclaim for their portrayal of physical and mental degradation.{{cite news|last = Mitchell| first = Elvis|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9803E6D8163CF935A35753C1A9669C8B63|title=Requiem for a Dream (2000)|date = April 5, 2011|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 23, 2011}}

The critic Elvis Mitchell wrote in The New York Times:

Ms. Connelly, too, whittled herself down to a new weight class, and it's her performance that gives the movie weight, since her fall is the most precipitous. By the end, when she curls into a happy fetal ball with a furtive smile on her face, she has come to love her debasement.... Her dank realization is more disturbing than anything in the novel, and Ms. Connelly has never before done anything to prepare us for how good she is here.

Also in 2000, Connelly appeared in Waking the Dead, based on the 1986 novel of the same name, playing Sarah Williams, an activist killed by a car bomb in Minneapolis while she was driving Chilean refugees.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961383,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221222435/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961383,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 21, 2008 |title=Books: Ambitions: Waking the Dead|first=Jeff|last=Stark|magazine=Time|date=May 19, 1986|access-date=March 23, 2011}} Initially, director Keith Gordon was reluctant to cast Connelly in this role as he did not consider her a serious actress. Her agent Risa Shapiro persuaded him to watch Connelly's performance in Far Harbor. Gordon later said: "There was a subtlety and depth even to her gaze that captured more of the relationship than I ever could have hoped for." About her role, Connelly said, "Waking the Dead was the first film I worked on where whatever I did felt like my own thing. I was really trying to make something of the part and threw myself into it, so that meant a lot to me".{{cite magazine|title=They may have put her in a cage, but here's an actress who won't be tamed|magazine=Interview Magazine|publisher=Brant Publications|date=December 2006|orig-year=January 2007|first=Ingrid|last=Sischy|page=111|id={{UPC|071486015178}}01 }} The New York Times described her performance, "As Sarah, Ms. Connelly captures a burning ethereality and willfulness that are very much of the period. And she and Mr. Crudup connect powerfully in love scenes that convey the fierce tenderness of a relationship whose passion carries a tinge of religious fervor."{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/24/movies/film-review-the-ghosts-of-idealism-and-an-obsessive-love.html |title=Film Review; The ghosts of idealism and an obsessive love|date=March 24, 2000|access-date=April 18, 2011|work=The New York Times}}

The script of Ron Howard's 2001 biopic A Beautiful Mind, loosely based on Sylvia Nasar's 1998 biography of the mathematician John Nash, sparked her interest in the project.{{cite news|last=Danna|first=Kennedy|url=https://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/movies/bestpictures/mind-ar1.html|title=Jennifer Connelly: Ever more familiar, but still hard to get to know|date=November 4, 2001|access-date=June 15, 2011 |work=The New York Times}} Connelly was invited to an audition after Shapiro sent the producers a tape with a clip of the then-unreleased Requiem for a Dream. She was cast by producer Brian Grazer, as Alicia Nash, the caring and enduring wife of schizophrenic man John Nash, played by Russell Crowe.{{cite video|title=A Beautiful Mind DVD featurette: Casting Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly |date=2002 |publisher=Universal studios/DreamWorks|people=Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Howard|medium=Motion picture}} Howard and the producers eventually chose Connelly and Crowe due to their onscreen chemistry.{{cite book|title=A Star Is Found: Our Adventures Casting Some of Hollywood's Biggest Movies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mEsVmzBZFCkC&pg=PT106|first1=Janet|last1=Hirshenson|first2=Jane|last2=Jenkins |first3=Rachel|last3=Kranz|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|year=2007|isbn=978-0-15-603365-7|access-date=April 18, 2011}} Connelly met the real Alicia Nash before filming commenced to learn about her life.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2002/feb/23/features|title=Prime Number|first=J.|last=Rentilly|date=February 23, 2002|work=The Guardian|access-date=October 27, 2011|location=London}} Upon release, A Beautiful Mind was a critical and commercial success, grossing more than US$313 million worldwide.{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=beautifulmind.htm|title=A Beautiful Mind (2001)|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=March 2, 2011}} For her performance, Connelly earned a Golden Globe,{{cite web|url=http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/year/2001 |title=The 59th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2002) nominees |year=2002 |work=Golden Globe Awards' Official Site |publisher=Hollywood Foreign Press Association |access-date=August 18, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509124302/http://www.goldenglobes.org/browse/year/2001 |archive-date=May 9, 2011 }} an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress,{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/oscarlegacy/2000-present/74nominees.html |title=Nominees & winners for the 74th Academy Awards |year=2002 |work='Academy Awards' Official Site |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=August 18, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907043052/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/oscarlegacy/2000-present/74nominees.html |archive-date=September 7, 2014 }} and a BAFTA for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.{{cite web|url=http://www.bafta.org/awards-database.html?year=2001&category=Film&award=Actress+in+a+Supporting+Role|title=Film nominations 2001|work=British Academy of Film and Television Arts Official Site|publisher=British Academy of Film and Television Arts|year=2001|access-date=August 18, 2010}} Time magazine critic Richard Schickel called her performance "luminous" and the actress intelligent and passionate.{{cite magazine |last1=Schickel |first1=Richard |author2=Nugent, Benjamin|url=http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1001669,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050310145145/http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,1001669,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 10, 2005|title=Cinema: Jennifer Connelly|magazine=Time|date=January 21, 2002|access-date=March 14, 2002}} Roger Ebert wrote, "Jennifer Connelly is luminous as Alicia. Although the showier performance belongs to Crowe, it is Connelly's complex work, depicting a woman torn by love for and fear of the same man, that elevates the film to a higher level".{{cite book|title=Reel views 2: the ultimate guide to the best 1,000 modern movies on DVD and video|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y1LmH8ld1yoC&pg=PT190|page=177|first1=Roger|last1=Ebert|first2=James|last2=Berardinelli|publisher=Justin, Charles & Co.|year=2005|isbn=978-1-932112-40-5}} A.O. Scott of The New York Times said, "There is, for one thing, Ms. Connelly, keen and spirited in the underwritten role of a woman who starts out as a math groupie and soon finds herself the helpmeet of a disturbed, difficult man."{{cite news |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A0CE7D6103EF932A15751C1A9679C8B63|first=A.O.|last=Scott | author-link = A. O. Scott |title=A Beautiful Mind film review: from math to madness, and back|work=The New York Times|date=December 21, 2001|access-date=April 17, 2011}}

Connelly said afterwards, "[A Beautiful Mind] is the film I'm really proud of and really love." In relation to previous roles, Connelly said:

There was a period where I felt like I wasn't quite being considered for the projects that I wanted to work on because maybe people were thinking. 'I'm not going to cast the girl who was in that movie for this adult project.' I've felt for a long time that this is what I want to do so I'm happy at this point to just take my time and work on projects that I feel really strongly about and the rest of the time just live my life.

Connelly starred in Ang Lee's Hulk (2003), because she was interested in his philosophical perspective on the Marvel Comics superhero.{{cite news|title=Connelly embraces The Hulk |url=http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2001-12/10/13.00.film |publisher=NBCUniversal |work=Sci Fi Wire |date=December 12, 2001 |access-date=August 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214063756/http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2001-12%2F10%2F13.00.film |archive-date=February 14, 2008 |url-status=dead }} She played Betty Ross, a scientist and the former girlfriend of the main character, Bruce Banner. The film received mixed reviews and was a moderate success.{{cite web| url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/weekends/| title=Biggest opening weekends at the box office |website= Box Office Mojo|access-date=August 26, 2010}}

Next in 2003, she appeared in House of Sand and Fog, a drama based on the novel by Andre Dubus III. She portrayed Kathy Nicolo, an abandoned wife whose inherited house is sold at auction to the Iranian emigre and former colonel Massoud Amir Behrani (Ben Kingsley).{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gVbRZdvw9ZUC&pg=PA32|title=Multicultural films: a reference guide|first1=Janice|last1=Welsch|first2=J.Q.|last2=Adams|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2005|page=32|isbn=978-0-313-31975-4}} After reading the script, Connelly said: "(the story is) moving and beautifully written. I liked the fact that there is no good guy and bad guy. I found it really compelling that both sides do things that are morally questionable, because life is often like that." Producer Michael London said about Connelly's portrayal: "I think she understood Kathy and knew in her bones that she could take this character and give her the kind of dimension that she had. I don't think there is another actress who could have played Kathy with such power and grace."{{cite web|url=http://www.dreamworks.com/houseofsandandfog/notes.swf|title=House of Sand and Fog Production Notes|work=DreamWorks Pictures|publisher=Reliance ADA Group|access-date=April 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102192011/http://www.dreamworks.com/houseofsandandfog/notes.swf|archive-date=January 2, 2014|url-status=dead}} The film was critically acclaimed, with a BBC critic commenting, "[Connelly] convinces totally as a selfish, desperate and lonely woman who confesses to her brother, 'I just feel lost{{'"}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2004/02/18/house_of_sand_and_fog_2004_review.shtml|title=House Of Sand And Fog (2004)|publisher=BBC|first=Nev|last=Pierce|date= February 25, 2004|access-date=March 1, 2011}}

File:Jennifer Connelly 2005.2.jpg

After a two-year absence from the film scene, Connelly returned in the 2005 horror-psychological thriller Dark Water, which was based on a 2002 Japanese film of the same name.{{cite web| url=http://www.talktalk.co.uk/entertainment/film/biography/artist/jennifer-connelly/biography/49 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114163353/http://www.talktalk.co.uk/entertainment/film/biography/artist/jennifer-connelly/biography/49 | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 14, 2010 | title=Jennifer Connelly biography| first=Dominic| last=Wills| work=TalkTalk| publisher=Tiscali UK Limited| year=2008| access-date=September 2, 2022}} She played Dahlia, a frightened young woman traumatized by her past, who moves with her daughter to an apartment in New York City where paranormal happenings take place.{{cite news | url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2005/07/08/movies/08dark.html | title=Dark Water – A noisy upstairs neighbor is just the beginning of a rental nightmare | work=The New York Times|first=Manohla|last=Dargis|date= July 8, 2005| access-date = August 18, 2010}} In his review, critic Roger Ebert wrote, "I cared about the Jennifer Connelly character; she is not a horror heroine but an actress playing a mother faced with horror. There is a difference, and because of that difference, Dark Water works".{{cite book|title=Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-U3y_SgnQ6kC&q=dark+water+jennifer+connelly&pg=PA130|first=Roger|last=Ebert|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|year=2008|isbn=978-0-7407-7745-5|access-date=April 18, 2011}}

She played Kathy Adamson in an adaptation of the novel Little Children alongside Kate Winslet, a film which focuses on the relationship between Sarah Pierce (played by Winslet) and Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson).{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2006/09/29/movies/29chil.html|title=Little Children|work=The New York Times|first=A.O.|last=Scott|date=September 29, 2006|access-date=March 30, 2011}} Connelly co-starred in Blood Diamond opposite Leonardo DiCaprio where she portrayed journalist Maddy Bowen, who is working on exposing the real story behind blood diamonds.{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2006-12-03-blood-diamond-main_x.htm| title=Blood Diamond in the rough | work=USA Today | publisher=Gannett Co. Inc | first=Scott | last=Bowles | date=April 12, 2006 | access-date=March 30, 2011}} New York magazine praised her performance: "Connelly is such a smart, sane, unhistrionic actress that she almost disguises the fact that her character is a wheeze."{{cite news | url=https://nymag.com/movies/reviews/25009/ | title=They cut glass. And hands | work=New York | publisher=New York Media | first=David | last=Edelstein | date=December 3, 2006 | access-date=March 1, 2011}} Both Little Children and Blood Diamond were nominated for multiple Academy Awards.{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/academy.awards/print.ballot.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126000742/http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/academy.awards/print.ballot.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=January 26, 2007| title=Academy Award winners 2007 | work=CNN, Inc|year= 2007| access-date = August 19, 2010}}

Her next appearance was as Grace in the drama Reservation Road with Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo, released in 2007.{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Jennifer-Connelly-s-little-girl-lost-in-2518824.php|title=Jennifer Connelly's little girl lost in 'Reservation Road'|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=October 12, 2007|access-date=September 16, 2018|first=Ruthe|last=Stein}} After her son dies in a hit-and-run, Grace gradually tries to overcome her grief, while her husband Ethan (Phoenix) becomes obsessed with discovering who killed him.{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/movies/19rese.html|title=Two Fathers, Facing Different Anguish|first=Manohla|last=Dargis|work=The New York Times|date=October 19, 2007|access-date=October 28, 2011}} By her own account, the character she played in the film proved tougher than any of her previous roles.{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2007-10-15-reservation-road-actors_N.htm| title=Connelly, Ruffalo, Phoenix travel down a rough road | work=USA Today |date= October 15, 2007| access-date = August 19, 2010| first=Susan | last=Wloszczyna}} USA Today's Susan Wloszczyna commented, "The strong performances of Jennifer Connelly and Mark Ruffalo ... raise the film above overheated melodrama".{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2007-10-18-reservation-road_N.htm|title=Murky 'Reservation Road' loses direction|first=Claudia|last=Puig|work=USA Today |date=October 19, 2007|access-date=March 1, 2011}}

Connelly portrayed astrobiologist Helen Benson alongside Keanu Reeves in the 2008 remake of the 1951 science fiction film The Day The Earth Stood Still. Unlike the original, in which Benson was a secretary and her relationship with Klaatu was the focus, the remake featured Benson in a troubled relationship with her stepson, portrayed by Jaden Smith.{{cite web | url=http://www.cbn.com/entertainment/screen/Bagby_TDTESS_review.aspx?WT.mc_id=ArticleRSSFeed | title=The Day the Earth Stood Still: A modern remake | work=Christian Broadcasting Network | first=Laura | last=Bagby | year=2008| access-date=August 22, 2010}} This was followed by a role in the 2009 romantic comedy-drama He's Just Not That Into You, which also featured Jennifer Aniston and Ginnifer Goodwin.{{cite news | url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-al.justnot01feb01,0,6136461.story | title=Baltimore perfect setting for 'He's Just Not That Into You' | work=The Baltimore Sun | first=Chris | last=Kaltenbach | date=February 1, 2009 | access-date=August 22, 2010 | archive-date=May 23, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523033344/http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-al.justnot01feb01,0,6136461.story | url-status=dead }} The film was based on the self-help book of the same name.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1877294,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207034208/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1877294,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 7, 2009 | title=He's just not that into you, and neither are we | magazine=Time | first=Mary | last=Pols | date=February 1, 2008 | access-date=February 5, 2009}} Variety magazine praised her portrayal: "Connelly gives a really rich performance as a woman whose principles back her into a corner."{{cite news | url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117939538 | title=He's Just Not That Into You | first=John | last=Anderson | work=Variety | date=February 1, 2009 | access-date=April 18, 2011}}

In 2009, she appeared in the costume drama biopic Creation, in which she played Emma Darwin, wife of Charles Darwin, opposite her real-life husband Paul Bettany.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2008/11/26/darwin_film_bradford_on_avon_feature.shtml|title=Hollywood returns to Wiltshire|publisher=BBC|date=November 26, 2008|access-date=August 22, 2010}} Set during the writing of On the Origin of Species, the film depicts Darwin's struggle with the subject of the book as well as with his wife, who opposed his theories, and their mourning for their daughter Anne.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6173399/Charles-Darwin-film-too-controversial-for-religious-America.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6173399/Charles-Darwin-film-too-controversial-for-religious-America.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Charles Darwin film 'too controversial for religious America'|work=The Daily Telegraph|first=Anita|last=Singh|date=November 9, 2009|access-date=August 22, 2010|location=London}}{{cbignore}} The San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "Darwin's wife, a religious woman who disapproved of her husband's theories, is played by Jennifer Connelly, Bettany's real-life wife, in the kind of casting that doesn't always work, but it does here. We believe in the Darwins' history together, their familiarity and affection. Connelly's English accent is also as good as Renée Zellweger's and Gwyneth Paltrow's. She doesn't get just the sounds right, but also the music and the attitude".{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/21/MVAU1BKGGS.DTL|title=Review: Darwin film flawed, but intriguing|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=January 22, 2010|first=Mick|last=LaSalle|access-date=March 18, 2011}} Connelly then voiced the character named "7", an adventurous warrior in the animated film 9.{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1205483_nine/| title=9 review| work=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Flixster|year= 2009| access-date = March 23, 2011}}

Dustin Lance Black's Virginia premiered on September 15, 2010, at the Toronto International Film Festival. Two years later, it received a limited release in May 2012.{{cite news|url=http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/tiff/photos/2010/09/16/15367326.html|title='What's Wrong with Virginia' premiere|access-date=September 25, 2010|date=September 16, 2010|newspaper=Toronto Sun|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174816/http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/tiff/photos/2010/09/16/15367326.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Jagernauth|first=Kevin|title=Watch: Trailer For Dustin Lance Black's Re-Edited 'Virginia' (aka 'What's Wrong With Virginia')|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-trailer-for-dustin-lance-blacks-re-edited-virginia-aka-whats-wrong-with-virginia-20120418|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418010101/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch%2Dtrailer%2Dfor%2Ddustin%2Dlance%2Dblacks%2Dre%2Dedited%2Dvirginia%2Daka%2Dwhats%2Dwrong%2Dwith%2Dvirginia%2D20120418|work=Indie Wire|access-date=April 18, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 18, 2012}} Connelly portrayed the title role of Virginia, a mentally unstable woman who has a 20-year affair with the local sheriff, whose daughter then starts a relationship with Virginia's son.{{cite news | url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/444080/What-s-Wrong-With-Virginia-/overview | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201034848/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/444080/What-s-Wrong-With-Virginia-/overview | url-status=dead | archive-date=February 1, 2009 | title=What's Wrong With Virginia?| access-date = September 27, 2010| first=Michael | department=Movies & TV Dept. | work=The New York Times | date=2009 | last=Cieply}} Connelly prepared for the role by watching documentaries on schizophrenia; she also spent time at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and the New York University Cancer Center to understand the affections and obstacles of her character. During preparation, Black requested Connelly's advice to design the set of Virginia's house, as well as the selection of the apparel to create the character's style.{{cite interview |last=Connelly |first=Jennifer|interviewer=Poland, David|title=DP/30 – What's Wrong With Virginia, actress Jennifer Connelly|location=Toronto |date=October 4, 2010|publisher=Movie City News}} Connelly said of the film, "It's very original, I think, and a very different independent film – it's very personal."{{cite news|title=The Dilemma – Jennifer Connelly interview|first=Rob|last=Carnevale|url=http://web.orange.co.uk/article/film/the-dilemma-jennifer-connelly|work=Orange film news|publisher=Orange Group|date=January 20, 2010|access-date=February 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804010729/http://web.orange.co.uk/article/film/the-dilemma-jennifer-connelly|archive-date=August 4, 2011|url-status=dead}} According to the critic from Cinema Blend, "Virginia is propped up by a strong central performance, with Connelly doing some of her best work in years".{{cite news|url=https://www.cinemablend.com/new/tiff-review-what-s-wrong-with-virginia-is-a-messy-pastiche-20608.html|title=TIFF review: What's Wrong With Virginia is a messy pastiche|work=Cinema Blend|location=Portland, Oregon|date=September 1, 2010|last=Rich|first=Kathy|access-date=March 1, 2011|archive-date=November 11, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111000210/http://cinemablend.com/new/tiff-review-what-s-wrong-with-virginia-is-a-messy-pastiche-20608.html|url-status=dead}}

File:Jennifer Connelly 2019 2.png

In 2011, Connelly starred in Ron Howard's comedy The Dilemma with Vince Vaughn. Although the Austin Chronicle's review wrote "Vaughn nails it, and his nicely nuanced everyguy performance is aided by the always-excellent Connelly",{{cite news | first=Marc | last=Savlov | title=The Dilemma | url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/calendar/film/2011-01-14/the-dilemma/ | work=The Austin Chronicle | date=January 14, 2011 | access-date=March 1, 2011}} the film opened to generally negative reviews.{{cite web | title=The Dilemma review | url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-dilemma | website=Metacritic | publisher=Fandango Media|date=2011 | access-date=March 3, 2011}} Variety magazine remarked, "Connelly, though a shade looser and more spontaneous than usual, seems stuck at an emotional remove from the action".{{cite news | first=Justin | last=Chang | title=The Dilemma | url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117944276 | work=Variety | publisher=Penske Media Corporation | location=New York City|date=January 11, 2011 | access-date=March 1, 2011}} Her next project, George Ratliff's Salvation Boulevard, premiered during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.{{cite news | first=Stacey | last=Wilson | title=2011 Sundance Film Festival: Salvation Boulevard | work=Sundance Film Festival | publisher=Prometheus Global Media | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/risky-business/sundance-crowd-praises-premiere-salvation-75158 | access-date=December 13, 2010 | date=2010}} In the film, Connelly played Gwen, the wife of Carl Vanderveer (Greg Kinnear); the couple are members of the Church of the Third Millennium, led by pastor Dan (Pierce Brosnan).{{cite news | last=Smith | first=Nigel | title='Salvation Boulevard' goes to IFC and Sony Pictures | url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/salvation_boulevard_goes_to_ifc_and_sony_pictures/ | work=IndieWire | publisher=SnagFilms LLC | date=January 28, 2011 | access-date=March 1, 2011}} During the same year, Connelly recorded an audiobook version of Paul Bowles' The Sheltering Sky that was released in March 2012 as part of Audible.com's The A-List Collection.{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nicole-kidman-anne-hathaway-kate-winslet-audiobooks-242298|title=A-Listers Including Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman, Anne Hathaway Lining Up to Record Audiobooks|last=Kilday|first=Gregg|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=September 29, 2011|access-date=May 20, 2012}}{{cite news|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/audible-launches-the-a-list-collection-2012-03-08|title=Audible Launches 'The A-List Collection'|work=MarketWatch.com|publisher=MarketWatch, Inc.|agency=Business Wire|date=March 8, 2012|access-date=May 20, 2012}}

Her next project, starring alongside Greg Kinnear, was the family drama Stuck in Love, the directorial debut of Josh Boone. Connelly played the ex-wife of Kinnear's character, with whom he is obsessed.{{cite web|last=Royal|first=Judy|title=Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly headed to Wilmington|url=http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20120203/ENT/120209868/1002/news%2006?Title=Greg-Kinnear-Jennifer-Connelly-headed-to-Wilmington|work=Star News Online|access-date=February 4, 2012|date=February 3, 2012|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924133857/http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20120203/ENT/120209868/1002/news%2006?Title=Greg-Kinnear-Jennifer-Connelly-headed-to-Wilmington|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/greg-kinnear-jennifer-connelly-writers-285216|title=Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Connelly to Star in Writers|date=January 26, 2012|first=Gregg|last=Kilday|access-date=January 28, 2011|work=The Hollywood Reporter}} The film was premiered during the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.{{cite news|url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/toronto-2012-millennium-entertainment-books-greg-kinnear-jennifer-connelly-drama-writers-for-the-u-s|title=Toronto 2012: Millennium Entertainment Books Greg Kinnear-Jennifer Connelly Drama 'Writers' for the U.S.|first=Fernandez|last=Jay|date=September 14, 2012|access-date=September 16, 2012|work=IndieWire|publisher=SnagFilms Co.}} In 2015, Connelly starred in Shelter, the directorial debut by her husband, Paul Bettany.{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2013/film/news/jennifer-connelly-anthony-mackie-starring-in-paul-bettanys-shelter-1200585369/|title=Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Mackie Starring in Paul Bettany's 'Shelter'|work=Variety|date=August 21, 2013|access-date=August 21, 2013|first=Dave|last=McNary}} Connelly had a role in the 2014 film adaptation of the 1983 Mark Helprin novel, Winter's Tale, the directorial debut of Akiva Goldsman, alongside Colin Farrell, William Hurt and Russell Crowe; as well as starring in the English-speaking directorial debut of Claudia Llosa, Aloft.{{cite news|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/jennifer-connelly-cillian-murphy-melanie-laurent-will-cry-fly-together-20121102|title=Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy & Melanie Laurent Will 'Cry/Fly' Together|work=IndieWire|publisher=SnagFilms Co.|first=Cain|last=Rodriguez|date=November 2, 2012|access-date=November 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523214111/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/jennifer-connelly-cillian-murphy-melanie-laurent-will-cry-fly-together-20121102|archive-date=May 23, 2013|url-status=dead}}

Working again in collaboration with A Beautiful Mind co-star Russell Crowe, she portrayed Naameh in Darren Aronofsky's 2014 biblical epic Noah.{{cite news|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/jennifer-connelly-saoirse-ronan-board-russell-crowes-ark-in-darren-aronofskys-noah-20120426|title=Jennifer Connelly & Saoirse Ronan board Russell Crowe's Ark in Darren Aronofsky's 'Noah'|first=Simon|last=Dang|work=Indie Wire|publisher=SnagFilms Co.|date=April 26, 2012|access-date=April 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428194450/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/jennifer-connelly-saoirse-ronan-board-russell-crowes-ark-in-darren-aronofskys-noah-20120426|archive-date=April 28, 2012|url-status=dead}} The film opened to favorable reviews.{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/28/showbiz/movies/noah-movie-reviews/|title='Noah': Roundup of the flood of reviews|first=Lisa|last=Respers|date=March 28, 2013|access-date=March 28, 2014|work=CNN}} The Washington Post declared Connelly and Crowe's performances "impressively grounded, powerful";{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/noah-movie-review-russell-crowe-in-a-slightly-different-take-on-the-biblical-story/2014/03/26/26e70446-b12a-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html|title='Noah' movie review: Russell Crowe in a slightly different take on the biblical story|date=March 27, 2014|access-date=March 28, 2014|first=Ann|last=Hornaday|newspaper=The Washington Post}} The Denver Post felt that Connelly portrayed the role with "fine intelligence".{{cite news|url=http://www.denverpost.com/movies/ci_25426596/review-russell-crowe-noah-cant-stave-sinking-feeling|title=Review: Russell Crowe as Noah can't stave a sinking feeling|date=March 28, 2014|access-date=March 28, 2014|work=The Denver Post|first=Lisa|last=Kennedy}} Variety deemed her appearance "solid but underused",{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-noah-1201130643/|title=Film Review: 'Noah'|last=Foundas|first=Scott|date=March 20, 2014|access-date=March 28, 2014|work=Variety}} while Detroit News stated "Connelly has too little to do, but when she lets go, she hits hard."{{cite news|url=http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140328/ENT02/303280022#ixzz2xINTnA8Y|title=Review: 'Noah' is epic any way you look at it|date=March 28, 2014|access-date=March 28, 2014|work=The Detroit News|first=Tom|last=Long|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328111432/http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140328/ENT02/303280022/#ixzz2xINTnA8Y|archive-date=March 28, 2014|url-status=dead}} Indiewire wrote that Connelly conveyed the role with a "steady hand",{{cite news|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/review-darren-aronofskys-noah-starring-russell-crowe-emma-watson-jennifer-connelly-more-20140327|title=Review: Darren Aronofsky's 'Noah' Starring Russell Crowe, Emma Watson, Jennifer Connelly & More|date=March 27, 2014|access-date=March 28, 2014|work=IndieWire|publisher=SnagFilms LLC|first=Charlie|last=Schmidlin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328041051/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/review-darren-aronofskys-noah-starring-russell-crowe-emma-watson-jennifer-connelly-more-20140327|archive-date=March 28, 2014|url-status=dead}} while St. Paul Pioneer Press defined her interpretation as "compelling".{{cite news|url=http://www.twincities.com/movies/ci_25427753/noahs-ark-review-world-is-broken-and-god|title='Noah's Ark' review: The world is broken, and God wants Noah to fix it|first=Chris|last=Hewitt|date=March 27, 2014|access-date=March 28, 2014|newspaper=St. Paul Pioneer Press}}

Connelly starred in the television series Snowpiercer (2020–2024),{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/03/snowpiercer-season-2-finale-becky-clements-interview-tnt-recap-1234721779/|title='Snowpiercer' Season Finale: EP Becky Clements Talks Melanie's Fate, Josie's Developing Powers, & A Major Character To Be Introduced In Season 3|work=Deadline Hollywood|first=Matt|last=Grobar|date=March 29, 2021|access-date=March 30, 2021}} her first role in television since the cancellation of The Street in 2000.

Working again with Director Joseph Kosinski, Connelly portrayed Penelope "Penny" Benjamin in the action blockbuster film Top Gun: Maverick, which released in 2022 after a series of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cite news |last1=Kit |first1=Borys |title=Jennifer Connelly in Early Talks to Join Tom Cruise in 'Top Gun' Sequel |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/top-gun-2-jennifer-connelly-talks-join-tom-cruise-sequel-1128851 |access-date=June 1, 2022 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=July 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721000719/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/top-gun-2-jennifer-connelly-talks-join-tom-cruise-sequel-1128851 |archive-date=July 21, 2018 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2018/07/jennifer-connelly-top-gun-2-maverick-tom-cruise-1202430491/ |title=Jennifer Connelly On Tarmac For 'Top Gun 2: Maverick' |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=July 20, 2018 |website=Deadline Hollywood |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720231630/https://deadline.com/2018/07/jennifer-connelly-top-gun-2-maverick-tom-cruise-1202430491/ |access-date=June 1, 2022 |archive-date=July 20, 2018 |url-status=live }}

File:Paul Bettany-Jennifer Connelly TIFF09 (cropped).jpg at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival|alt=A brown haired woman signs autographs for fans. She wears a red dress. Behind her there is a blond man in a suit. The woman and the man are facing a crowd of fans.]]

While filming The Rocketeer, Connelly began a romance with her co-star Billy Campbell. They became engaged but broke up in 1996 after five years together.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20136346,00.html |title=Beautiful Minder |first1=Karen S. |last1=Schneider |date=February 4, 2002 |magazine=People |location=New York City |access-date=February 27, 2014 |archive-date=December 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151214054811/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20136346,00.html |url-status=dead }} Connelly then had a relationship with photographer David Dugan, with whom she has a son, born in 1997.{{cite news|first=Logan|last=Hill|url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/movies/features/11953/|title=Brownstone of death|work=New York |location=New York City|access-date=August 24, 2010|date=May 21, 2005}}{{cite news|date=March 27, 2002|title=Connelly's winning run|url=https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/connellys-winning-run-20020327-gdu2wx.html|work=The Age|location=Melbourne|access-date=May 17, 2021}}

On January 1, 2003, in a private family ceremony in Scotland, she married actor Paul Bettany, whom she had met while working on A Beautiful Mind.{{cite news|first=Mark|last=Armstrong|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,625276,00.html|title=Jennifer Connelly marries Paul Bettany|access-date=August 24, 2010|date=January 10, 2003|work=People Magazine|location=New York City|archive-date=October 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014060555/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,625276,00.html|url-status=dead}} They have two children, a son, born in 2003, and a daughter, born in 2011.{{cite news |first=Jordan| last=Zakarin| url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/14/jennifer-connelly-pregnant_n_796645.html| title=Jennifer Connelly pregnant with husband Paul Bettany's second child|work=The Huffington Post|location=New York City|date= December 14, 2010| access-date = May 17, 2021}}{{cite news|url=http://www.usmagazine.com/momsbabies/news/jennifer-connelly-gives-birth-to-baby-girl-201186|title=Jennifer Connelly gives birth to baby girl!|magazine=US Weekly|location=New York City|access-date=May 17, 2021|date=June 8, 2011}} After living together in Tribeca, she and Bettany moved to Brooklyn Heights.David, Amrk. [https://variety.com/2012/dirt/real-estalker/paul-bettany-and-jennifer-connelly-on-the-move-again-1201232781/ "Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly On the Move Again"], Variety (magazine), January 14, 2012. Accessed February 25, 2019. "It was only about 3.5 years ago that English-born movie actor Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, The Da Vinci Code, A Knight's Tale) and Brooklyn-bred Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind, Requiem For A Dream, Blood Diamond) paid $6,920,000 for a full floor loft-type penthouse apartment on the edge of New York City's star-stocked TriBeCa neighborhood."

On November 14, 2005, Connelly was named Amnesty International Ambassador for Human Rights Education.{{cite news|url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGUSA20051114001 |title=Actress Jennifer Connelly named Amnesty International ambassador for human rights education |work=Amnesty International USA official website |publisher=Amnesty International USA |access-date=August 24, 2010 |date=November 14, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714164451/http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGUSA20051114001 |archive-date=July 14, 2007 |url-status=unfit}} She appeared in an advertisement highlighting the global need for clean water, and sought donations for African, Indian, and Central American drilling projects for the non-profit organization Charity: Water.{{cite news|first=Tim|last=Saunders|url=http://www.looktothestars.org/news/695-jennifer-connelly-makes-her-children-drink-bad-water-for-charity-ad|title=Jennifer Connelly makes her children drink bad water ... For charity add |work=Look to the Stars|publisher=looktothestars.org|access-date=August 24, 2010 |date=April 4, 2008}} On May 2, 2009, she participated in Revlon's annual 5k Run/Walk for Women.{{cite news|url=http://sify.com/movies/fullstory.php?id=14885421|title=Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Connelly run for charity|work=Sify Movies|access-date=August 24, 2010|date=May 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907043701/http://www.sify.com/movies/fullstory.php?id=14885421|archive-date=September 7, 2014|url-status=dead}} In May 2012, Connelly was named ambassador for Save the Children fund, to advocate for children's rights in the United States and worldwide.{{cite news|url=http://www.looktothestars.org/news/8320-jennifer-connelly-named-as-save-the-children-ambassador|title=Jennifer Connelly Named as Save the Children Ambassador|work=Look to the Stars|publisher=looktothestars.org|access-date=May 13, 2012 |date=May 7, 2012}}

Publications such as Vanity Fair, Esquire, and the Los Angeles Times have ranked her among the most beautiful women in the world.{{cite news|date=March 30, 2009|title=Who is the most beautiful woman in the world?|work=Vanity Fair|location=New York City|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/03/who-is-the-most-beautiful-woman-alive.html|access-date=June 20, 2011|archive-date=June 28, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628071915/http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/03/who-is-the-most-beautiful-woman-alive.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|date=August 1991|title=Esquire cover gallery|url=http://www.esquire.com/cover-detail?year=1991&month=8|access-date=July 28, 2007|work=Esquire|location=New York City}}{{cite web|year=2011|title=50 Most beautiful women in film|url=http://www.latimesmagazine.com/2011/02/50-most-beautiful-women-in-film.html|access-date=February 12, 2011|work=Los Angeles Times Magazine|archive-date=May 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514150846/http://www.latimesmagazine.com/2011/02/50-most-beautiful-women-in-film.html|url-status=dead}} Parisian fashion house Balenciaga and Revlon cosmetics signed Connelly as the face of their 2008 campaigns.{{cite news|last=Odell|first=Amy|date=August 3, 2009|title=Jennifer Connelly poses awkwardly in the new Balenciaga campaign|work=New York|url=https://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/08/jennifer_connellys_new_balenci.html|access-date=August 22, 2010}}{{cite news|agency=BANG Showbiz|date=July 23, 2008|title=Jennifer Connelly's Revlon deal|work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2008/07/23/jennifer_connellys_revlon_deal/|access-date=August 22, 2010}}

In February 2012, Connelly was announced as the first global brand ambassador for Shiseido, having previously worked with the company in the 1980s in a series of advertisements for the Japanese market.{{cite web|last=Schutte|first=Lauren|date=February 3, 2012|title=Jennifer Connelly Named New Face of Shiseido|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/fash-track/jennifer-connelly-shiseido-future-solution-lx-286961|access-date=February 4, 2012|work=Hollywood Reporter}} Since 2015, Connelly is the House Ambassador for French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton.{{cite web|title=Jennifer Connelly On Her Style Choices|url=https://www.vervemagazine.in/people/jennifer-connelly-actress-nicolas-ghesquiere-brand-ambassador|date=November 18, 2015

|access-date=December 21, 2023|work=Verve Magazine|archive-date=December 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221111402/https://www.vervemagazine.in/people/jennifer-connelly-actress-nicolas-ghesquiere-brand-ambassador|url-status=live}}

File:Jennifer Connelly 2012.jpg]]

• List of actors with Academy Award nominations
• List of Jewish Academy Award winners and nominees
• List of Golden Globe winners

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|title = Awards for Jennifer Connelly

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{{AcademyAwardBestSupportingActress 2001–2020}}

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{{Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress}}

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