Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal was born in Los Angeles, California, to producer/screenwriter Naomi Foner and director Stephen Gyllenhaal. He is the brother of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, who played his sister in "Donnie Darko." His godmother is actress Jamie Lee Curtis.

At the age of eleven, Gyllenhaal made his movie debut in the comedy-drama "City Slickers," playing Billy Crystal's character's son. He made an impact in various films in the late 1990s and early 2000s, in films such as the period drama "October Sky," his breakthrough performance, and as the title role in the psychological thriller "Donnie Darko," for which he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actor, playing a psychologically troubled teenager. He followed this with roles encompassing many different genres.

Making his theater debut, Gyllenhaal appeared on the London stage with a starring role in Kenneth Lonergan's revival of "This Is Our Youth". The play was widely-received and played for eight weeks in London's West End. Gyllenhaal followed his successful theater en devour with a role in "Jarhead," playing Anthony "Swoff" Swofford, an aggressive and masculine but equally vulnerable and sensitive Marine during the Gulf War, and "Proof," as Gwyneth Paltrow's love interest. However, it was his follow-up performance that won critical acclaim in "Brokeback Mountain," in which he co-starred with Australian actor Heath Ledger, as sheep herders who fall in love in the 1960s and beyond.

For his role as Jack Twist, Gyllenhaal received critical acclaim and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Since then, he has acted in a wide range of movies, ranging from the critically-acclaimed thriller, "Zodiac," the drama "Brothers," playing opposite Tobey Maguire as the title siblings, in the action adventure film, "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," sporting a bulked-up physique, and the box office hit, "Love & Other Drugs," in which he teamed up with Anne Hathaway, once again, and for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

In the 2010s, Gyllenhaal starred in several major films for which he received significant critical acclaim: science fiction thriller "Source Code," police drama "End of Watch," mystery "Prisoners," dark media satire "Nightcrawler," the boxing drama "Southpaw," and the dramedy "Demolition." For "Nightcrawler," he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Gyllenhaal is also a long-time environmental activist. In 2005, Gyllenhaal, along with actress Salma Hayek, traveled to the North Pole on Earth Day, as part of an initiative for Global Green. He helped produce a worldwide view from “the top of the world” documenting Inuit’s and their lives that are threatened by global warming. With money he made from his films like “Brokeback Mountain” and “Love and Other Drugs,” he gives back to the community and environment. He bought trees, which were planted in Mozambique, to help offset carbon output and it only cost him $10,000.

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