Jennifer Connelly

Jennifer Lynn Connelly is an American film actress who began her career as a child model. She appeared in magazine, newspaper and television advertising, before she made her debut role in the 1984 crime film Once Upon a Time in America. Connelly continued modeling and acting, starring in films such as the 1986 film Labyrinth and the 1991 films Career Opportunities and The Rocketeer. She gained critical acclaim for her work in the 1998 science fiction film Dark City and for her portrayal of Marion Silver in the 2000 drama Requiem for a Dream.

Connelly was born in Cairo, New York, in the Catskill Mountains. She is the daughter of Ilene, an antiques dealer, and Gerard Karl Connelly , a clothing manufacturer. Her father was Roman Catholic of Irish and Norwegian descent. Her mother was Jewish and was educated at a yeshiva Ilenes family had emigrated from Poland and Russia. Connelly was raised primarily in Brooklyn Heights, near the Brooklyn Bridge, where she attended Saint Anns, a private school specializing in the Arts. Her father suffered from asthma, so the family moved to Woodstock, New York, in 1976 to escape the city smog. Four years later, the family returned to Brooklyn Heights, and Connelly returned to Saint Anns.

Source: Wikipedia