Zooey Deschanel's Real Name: Zooey Claire Deschanel

Quick answer: Zooey Deschanel's full name is Zooey Claire Deschanel. Encyclopedia.com and TV Insider both give that name and agree she was born January 17, 1980, in Los Angeles. The daughter of cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel, she is known for Elf, 500 Days of Summer, and Fox's New Girl. She also sings in the duo She & Him (Encyclopedia.com; TV Insider).

Real name and early life

Encyclopedia.com describes her father, Caleb, as a cinematographer and director and her mother, Mary Jo, as an actress. TV Insider notes that Caleb is an Oscar-nominated cinematographer and that Mary Jo is best known as Eileen Hayward on Twin Peaks. Her older sister, Emily Deschanel, also became an actress and later starred in Bones. TV Insider says the sisters traveled a lot as children because of their father's work, which Zooey found hard. She grew up among other show-business kids, including Jake Gyllenhaal and Kate Hudson.

She briefly attended Northwestern University before turning to acting full-time, according to Encyclopedia.com.

Career highlights

Deschanel made her film debut as Nessa Watkins in Mumford (1999) and played Anita Miller in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous (2000). She won a best actress award at the Mar del Plata Film Festival and an Independent Spirit nomination for All the Real Girls (2003). That year she also played Jovie in Elf. More films followed: The Good Girl, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (as Trillian), Failure to Launch, Bridge to Terabithia, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Yes Man, and The Happening. She also played Summer in 500 Days of Summer (2009).

From 2011 to 2018 she starred as Jess Day in the Fox sitcom New Girl. She has since voiced Bridget in the Trolls films and appeared in Physical, Dreamin' Wild, Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024), and Merv (2025).

Her label, Merge Records, describes She & Him as Deschanel's duo with Matt (M.) Ward. Their releases include Volume Two, Volume 3, and A Very She & Him Christmas.

People reports that she has two children, Elsie Otter and Charlie Wolf, with ex-husband Jacob Pechenik. She met Property Brothers host Jonathan Scott in August 2019 while filming Carpool Karaoke, and they became engaged in Scotland in 2023. In October 2026, People reported they were still figuring out their wedding plans.

Name notes for searchers

Zooey is her first name, Claire her middle name, and Deschanel her father's surname. She has always worked under her own name. The LOC heading is "Deschanel, Zooey, 1980-."