Zooey Deschanel: what is the 'New Girl' actress doing now?

It seemed like this charming actress was all over the place ten years ago. But then, she suddenly fell off the map. What’s become of this famously fringed star? Let’s take a look at her career and personal life to find out!

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Did you know that Deschanel was born to cinematographer and director Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel (née Weir)? While they weren’t massive stars, she was born in Los Angeles in 1980 and had a foot in the industry thanks to her lineage. She even went to a private school with future co-stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Kate Hudson. Her sister, Emily Deschanel (shown), is also a famous actress.

In 1998, she got her first role in the sitcom ‘Veronica’s Closet’ and made her film debut in ‘Mumford’ the following years. Fun fact: a very early Deschanel was even in the Offspring video ‘She’s Got Issues’ the same year (shown). In 2000, she had a role in ‘Almost Famous.’

Image: The Offspring / Youtube

In 2003, her first big role came as she starred in the coming-of-age film ‘All the Real Girls.’ Her performance was hailed by critics and she won an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress.

But you probably first saw her in the 2003 Christmas classic ‘Elf,’ playing a deadpan worker in a department store who Wil Ferrell’s elf character falls for. From there, she became a big star, appearing in hits like ‘The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy’ (2005) and M. Night Shyamalan's thriller ‘The Happening’ (2008).

If you saw her in Elf, you may remember she was an excellent singer. Well, pursuing that passion, the multi-talented performer joined forces with indie music star M.Ward to create the group ‘She & Him.’ Their first album in 2008 was voted the Number One Album of the Year by Paste magazine.

On top of her own success, she also married Ben Gibbard, the lead singer of another indie music juggernaut of the time — Death Cab for Cutie. But the relationship didn’t last long. They got hitched in 2009 and divorced two years later.

While blowing the minds of indie music fans, she also starred in this blockbuster indie film across from Joseph Gordon-Levitt. With just a budget of $7.5 million, it went on to earn $60 million.

Right around her first divorce, she signed on to star as the quirky, bubbly teacher Jessica Day on the Fox Sitcom ‘New Girl.’ She was a producer and also helped develop the character, which she told Entertainment Weekly was “like a 13-year-old version of myself.” It ran from 2011 to 2018.

The same year that ‘New Girl’ came out, Deschanel co-founded an entertainment and lifestyle website called HelloGiggles that covered pop culture with a strict no gossip policy. It was acquired by Time Inc. in 2015 for around $30 million — cha-ching!!

With ‘New Girl’ as one of the most popular sitcoms of its time, Deschanel also wracked up some major acclaim, getting an Emmy Award nomination and three Golden Globe nominations for her role.

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Critics began to lump the actor’s characters in ‘New Girl,’ ‘(500) Days of Summer’ and even her full personality with the manic-pixie-dream-girl trope, a term that entered the general vernacular to describe a character who "exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures,” in the word of critic Nathan Rabin. She has pushed back against the term.

In 2015, she got married to film producer Jacob Pechenik, with whom she had two kids: a daughter born in 2015 and a son born in 2017. But that relationship wouldn’t last long either, and they split in 2019. “After much discussion and a long period of contemplation we have decided we are better off as friends, business partners and co-parents rather than life partners,” the two said in a joint statement to US. Yes, they had another business together called Lettuce Grow.

Meanwhile, Deschanel was more focused on her businesses, which revolved around the food industry. “It wasn't something I was ever intending to make a career move, that’s for sure,” she told Vanity Fair. “It really came from a curiosity about what is in our food and feeling disconnected from where food grows, food is prepared. Everything feels out of sight, out of mind in many ways.”

Deschanel later told Vanity Fair that besides wanting to spend more time with her family, she also got so burned out from playing quirky Jess Day for seven seasons on the Fox comedy that she needed a break and even considered never returning to TV.

Although she did take a few voice acting roles in the years 2018 to 2020, she also had stopped releasing music. The last ‘She & Him’ Album ‘Christmas Party,’ came out in 2016…

With ‘New Girl’ and her marriage over, she soon met ‘Property Brothers’ star Jonathan Scott while filming an episode of ‘Carpool Karaoke’ in 2019. They were engaged in 2023!

Then gradually, her beautiful banged face began to pop up more again. She eased in, first co-hosting ‘The Celebrity Dating Game’ on ABC, then co-hosting a ‘New Girl’ podcast in 2022.

The same year she got engaged, she really made her big return to the small and big screen. She joined season 3 of the Apple show ‘Physical,’ which she told Vanity Fair that she was a big fan of beforehand. She also got a part in ‘Dreamin’ Wild,’ Bill Pohlad’s biopic about singer-musician brothers Donnie (Casey Affleck) and Joe Emerson (Walton Goggins).

For Deschanel, her fans are hoping that the third time will be a charm. On April 8, her new partner joked about their upcoming marriage during the eclipse… while he teased that he decided where it was and when it would be, the light conveniently went away completely when he shared the exact details. Very cheeky!

Image: Jonathan Scott/Instagram

Deschanel is now adapting to her blended family, with Scott having other kids, as well as a very blended career. In 2023, she told Vanity Fair that besides acting, she is also focusing on her musical career. In 2022, ‘She & Him’ came out with a new album, a tribute to Brian Wilson. What’s next?! We can hardly wait to see.

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