Today's Blind Items - The Secret Life
It's not very often that an Academy Award nominee can have such a secret life, but this actress has managed it. It is something she got from the rest of her family. Secrets were easy to keep on the family and no one talked to outsiders. No one except for a few people even know who the real father of our actress is. There are huge gaps missing in her life story and some of them are answered here. When our actress graduated from high school she had big dreams but ended up in a situation which saw her getting married to a high school sweetheart. Her life got put on a hold awhile before she could start her acting career full-time. She eventually did so and just when she thought everything was going great after her college graduation, she again had a setback. This time it was another relationship which she has never discussed. She never discusses any of her relationships. As far as anyone is concerned she has never even had a relationship. For a long time she had a relationship with a person she had met at school. This so dominated her life that for almost two years she was unable to really focus on acting. It was not until the relationship ended after two years that she got her big break. Because of the way relationships have messed up her career and her plans, she tries to avoid any kind of situation which could lead to a date or a relationship. She stays alone and has few friends. She refuses to let anyone really know her. She has friends only for the sake of saying she has friends, but they don't know anything about her either. If you ask her a question about any part of her life you will not get an answer, but instead, some kind of vague circling that sounds like an answer.
95 comments:
Charlize Theron
No. She's an Academy Award winner.
Charlize dated that Townsend guy for years, and its fairly well known her mom murdered her father, etc...
And never married.
Ben Affleck?
Princess, whaaaaaaaa?!!!!!!!
This one better get revealed.
Sandra Bullock. I suck at these!
Rooney Mara
Vicki - http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132413&page=1#.T9Yn8ZiamZY
List of Best Actress winners and nominees
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Actress#Winners_and_nominees
List of Best Supporting Actress
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Supporting_Actress
Sorry, I still don't get how to make them clicky.
oooh @princess i forgot about that! i think it was self defense tho correct? i guess i can google it. just being lazy :)
Jessica chastising for the win
Jessica Chastain
I meant Jessica chastain
Holy shit, Princess. Never thought I could love her more.
Jessica Chastain. matches perfectly!
I don't think its Rooney. We know quite a bit about her. Rich football money on mom and dads side.
What was the situation?
My first thought was Jessica Chastain but the way it's worded I wonder if the family might be much better known?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_chastain
Weird little parentheses after the thing about her dad.
Ellen Page?
Renee z
Jodie Foster
@ Vicki Cupper: good sleuthing!
i agree with jessica chastain.
so why did the relationships mess up her career?
I think this is Jessica Chastain too.
So does this mean she had an abortion or gave a baby up for adoption in high school?
After reading her wiki, I'm on the Chastain-Train. She won't even confirm her real age/birthdate. I know it's pretty common for actresses to fudge their age, but for her to refuse to give any age at all is weird.
College graduate? That eliminates a whole lot of actresses.
Just throwing this out there.
Could her real father be Ron Howard? Could that be the family secret?
She sure looks like his daughter Bryce Howard Dallas.
Commandeered- I think you are onto something!!
Interestingly, her birth name was Jessica Howard.
According to IMDB, her father was a fire-fighter and her mother was a vegan chef with a food truck and she grew up in northern California.
According to wiki Jessica Chastain grew up as Jessica Howard and later took on her mother's maiden name as her stage name. The resemblance is striking...
Lol 'clicky'. Love it!!
I thought Jessica Chastain as well
Commandeered, I think you're right. Google a side-by-side of them. I'd be shocked if they weren't related.
^mama, you beat me to it!
Ding ding ding!
I'm not sure about Chastain though, her Wiki page says she graduated high school in '95, went to Sacramento City College in '96-'98 appearing in theater productions there, and in 1999-2003 she went to Julliard and was a member of Drama Division's Group 32. It then says she graduated Julliard in 2003 and got her first professional role in Dark Shadows, TV version.
There is a gap between 2004 and 2008 in which she made small TV appearances but otherwise I don't see a time period where she was forced to put her career on hold/wasn't really able to focus on acting. Otherwise though it doesn't seem like there were "huge gaps missing in her life story".
It is odd that there is absolutely no mention of any romantic relationship and as pointed out above, no mention of her age at all. And I am totally on board with the Ron Howard father theory, but I just don't see the rest fitting.
Oops she got the Dark Shadows role in 2004, forgot to put that in. Also apologies for the repeated use of otherwise, didn't proof read before I hit submit :/
Wow good sleuthing on the dad guess! And now that you mention it, yes, startling resemblance.
This is 100 percent Jessica Chastain
My first thought was Chastain, not sure why...
I'm sooooo confused.... maybe enty needs more bacon and/or I need more coffee because I don't even get why this is a blind (I almost wrote a "bland" -- Freudian slip?)
Jessica Chastain
I have read a variety of articles on her where her age seems to vary wildly. Also, she seemingly came from nowhere and is super secretive about her private life. Her mother is always her date.
Wow I def believe this. Same eyes and mouth. Maybe daddy got them both cast in the same movie (The Help) causing Jessica's big break?
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Jessica+Chastain/Bryce+Dallas+Howard
Picture of Jessica Chastain with Ron Howard:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz9oihS35W1qkgdafo1_500.png
Damn Richie Cunnigham! You better not have! 0_o
How would Ron Howard have met Jessica Chastains mom? Just curious if anyone has a plausible theory on that... :)
Yeah- I don't get the "blind" part of this blind item.... if it is about R. Howard being J. Chastains dad, then why isn't it titled "The Secret Dad"... the rest of it is pretty ho hum.
Maybe the "real father" part isn't scandalous, just that nobody knows who her dad IS. Could be some scumbag and her mom didn't want to admit to sleeping with him - ?
Yeah, I guess I can´t really understand why this is a blind either...
According to IMDB, Jessica Chastain was born March 24, 1977. She started acting in 2009 and has worked steadily ever since with no gaps pointing to being "unable to really focus on acting."
Nonetheless, I think it's probably her.
I think that she spent a little too long in college/grad school - she graduated from high school in 1995, and received her BFA in 2003 - not usual for, say, doctors, but there appear to be a couple extra years there for a BFA.
@unknown - I agree, and it was more than a few years. I also graduated HS in 1995 and by 2003 I had finished four years of college plus 2 years of grad school and 2 years of my professional career. Even taking into account that most students finish a bachelors in 5 or 6 years, there are still a few missing years in there.
The biggest problem with the Jessica Chastain/Ron Howard thing is that Bryce resembles her mom. Look at this pic of Cheryl and Ron Howard when they were young:
http://www.google.com/imgres?start=190&hl=en&sa=X&rlz=1C1CHMO_en&biw=1280&bih=909&addh=36&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnso&tbnid=IwStUDsg_PBIhM:&imgrefurl=http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3583875072/nm0000165&docid=Yih_WeCQCgH24M&imgurl=http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjEwMTg5NjY1Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwOTYxNTI2._V1._SX324_SY450_.jpg&w=324&h=450&ei=N0HWT97nDpP02wXbrKGlDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=698&vpy=421&dur=3325&hovh=265&hovw=190&tx=98&ty=126&sig=105130575103206768265&page=7&tbnh=170&tbnw=125&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:190,i:52
Oops, here's a better link:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3583875072/nm0000165
@ Blue & it took forever - Great job!
True, BryceD looks like her mom in that photo.
But wow, look at Ron Howard in the same photo. The jawline, nose, face shape and possibly eyes look an awful lot like Jessica's.
somehow I'm thinking Tilda Swinton. even though she was not only nominated for the Oscar but won it für her role in Michael Clayton.
Tilda Swinton is a known polyamorist...
I have a friend who is really good friends of her family here in Northern California. I have not heard of any Ron Howard theories but they do talk alot about Al Pacino being her mentor. Her childhood was just a lot of dancing and doing a ton of Shakespeare. Not sure this is her.
Whoa..I just caught that CoolMommy. Dayum you guys are good!And here's a good question..What film was Ron Howard doing around 1976? Grand Theft Auto came out in 1977. Where was it shot? Checking now.
Since she has Northern Cal roots, what about Robin Williams? She certainly shares his coloring. (He funded her scholarship to Julliard, but that seems not to fit, since wouldn't he be able to just pay directly?)
Jessica ChaszzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZzzzz
And Tilda Swinton is a closeted lesbian who uses a cover of men living with her to seem like a polyamorist, she looked preeeeetty lit up and smiley with Charlize (who also seemed super happy for once)at an awards ceremony recently.
Ah, bookjacket---Robin Williams got his huge break on a little show called "Happy Days" which starred a young buck named Ron Howard.
Ronnie filmed 2 "American Graffiti" films in Northern California, 1st came out in 1974, 2nd in '79. Seems like Ron may have not only the Robin Williams friend connection in N. Cali, but he spent time in the area and may have liked it there.
And I remember distinctly a story that Ronnie & his now-wife, although they began as childhood sweethearts, DID break up for a bit around when Ronnie got "Happy Days". That timeline fits perfectly with Jessica's ma being preggo in '76.
(I remember the story about their break-up, because I'm pretty sure Mrs. Howard came off as delusional about what Ronnie was probably doing during their break-up. I remember she sounded like a sucker.)
Sorry, Robin Williams connection only makes the birth name: "Jessica Howard" question MORE clear.
I should say also, not only did Opie Taylor/Cunningham have quite a reputation to defend for his career's sake, his whole love story with his wife (they got together practically at puberty) would be screwed if this story came out. I think he provided for Jessica through college, and used connections to get her roles, but doesn't want his wife or the public to have their image of him shattered. And Jessica cooperates with this by changing her last name. Although every time I've seen her, I already noticed she looks just like him and Bryce Dallas. This blind just puts all the pieces together for me.
I remember seeing Bryce Dallas Howard on "The Talk" months ago promoting her movie "The Help." She said she based her character on a certain female politician who she wouldn't name. Everyone snickered and knew she meant Sarah Palin. Bryce then went on to say some not very nice things about Palin and the Palin family (without mentioning names). People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, Bryce dear.
I'm more curious about what her secret life is. Did she have a kid? Drugs? Spent a few years living with aliens on Mars?
CarolMR, Bryce Dallas' FATHER'S youthful indiscretions & love children shouldn't be held against HER, no? Especially when she wasn't even BORN until years after Jessica?
Are you responsible for what your parents did before you were born/ And does that negate your right to have a political opinion in this country? The same opinion as about 80% of the country, last time I checked. You're probably the only American watching who didn't ROFL.
And I seriously doubt BDH knows, if she does have a secret sister. If you heard Mrs. Ron Howard speak, you'd know the family's idea of daddy is snowy-white. They worship him. It's creepy.
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Florin--The 'Secret Life' is her college years and who her father really is. She doesn't give details, or changes them. Hence, secret. This fits JC, since her age, original last name, and everything she did up til 2002 are constantly fudged and a mystery.
The "Howard" last name thing is really weird. If it is really true, then it seems that the whole family must know and just doesn't talk about it openly.
I've never heard of Jessica Chastain so I don't really have an opinion either way. I appreciate all of the sleuthing though! Your guesses seem right on.
Who the hell is Jessica Chastain?
Who the hell is Jessica Chastain?
Who the hell is Jessica Chastain?
Crazycatlady: Ron Howard's daughter. ;)
JC was on Kelly Ripa last week and told the story of how her father is a fireman and how she got a ride off one of the trucks.
The reveal says Jessica Chastain ...there seems to be a bit of fudging on her age..but no doubt she is a talent.
We think Opie has a love child? Is nothing sacred?
http://www.celebitchy.com/212152/is_jessica_chastain_really_just_30_she_wont_state_her_age_but_a_1998_article_puts_her_at_35_now/
OK, I'm a naysayer. First, I looked at Wikipedia because someone here said she went to Sac City College. I live in Sacramento and my mother was a professor at Sac City's sister college, and I know the area very, very, very well.
I love how everyone points out that she's from Northern CA, and Ron Howard was here for American Graffiti, so that must be the connection. Northern California is about 5,000 square miles, folks, so if someone is in Sacramento, and someone else is in Yreka, California, both in Northern CA, those people are 5 hours away from each other.
Anyway, turns out Jessica Chastain went to a high school that is about five blocks from my current home (El Camino High). She graduated in 1995 (picture of her in the yearbook as a senior from that year). That means that if she graduated early--let's say at 16, which is pushing it---the earliest she would have been born was 1975. American Graffiti was filmed in 1973, TWO YEARS EARLIER. It's more likely that she was 18 when she graduated--which means that American Graffiti was filmed FOUR YEARS before she was born.
Not to mention: Most of American Graffiti was filmed in Petaluma, which is a full 100 miles away from Sac. Parts of it were filmed in Modesto, which is 80 miles away. None of it was filmed in Sacramento.
It's nice to say that one redhead looks like another redhead, but it still doesn't make them sisters or half sisters. IMDb puts JC's birth year as 1977. Believe me, Ron Howard was long, long, long gone from Northern CA by then.
I think that this blind COULD BE about Jessica Chastain, but to say that Ron howard is her dad makes no sense. He would have had to have impregnated her mom while he was directing Grand Theft Auto in 1975-76. That was filmed in Victorville, which is in Southern California, and 8 hours away.
What about Octavia Spencer? Nothing about her family in IMDb.
Well her picture is up in the Random Photos, so... I think that clears *that* up.
LOL. There is NO guarantee that the answer to the blind is in the Random Photos. Sometimes it is, but more often than not, it isn't. It clears up nothing.
I have been reading this site for 6-ish years, and I've seen the evolution of the Random Photos contain the answer to the BI from a realization on readers' part to an expectation.
Just to be sure it hasn't changed, I checked the first reveal from New Year's Day. Reveal from November 30---Val Kilmer and China Chow. Not a photo in sight of either one of them on November 30--in Random Photos or anywhere else.
Sometimes the Random Photos DO reveal the answer to the BI. But you can't take that as your guide all the time.
Right on Gladys, I think Enty purposely puts red herring pics in too sometimes, just to stir the pot.
And often times I think he puts pics of precisely the people we discuss just to stir it even more. ;) I like to think he does use the random pics to give us clues, but more subtly than just the direct answers...and not necessarily on the same day, but perhaps a day or two before or afterwards.
Just want to say I'm on board with this whole conspiracy. Last night, I was looking at pics of BDH and JC and getting confused as to who was who. It's just too weird.
I think it's Jessica Chastain but that it's Ron's brother Clint who's her father. The timing would be right for a movie he made. To call Victorville a "Northern California suburb" is an impressive stretch by her PR haha. I think there are just outlet malls out there.
GladysKravitz, I am totally on your naysayer train. No WAY do I believe this about Ron Howard. There is a handful of truly good guys in Hollywood, and I refuse to believe that Ron isn't one of 'em. Sorry.
That said, it COULD be Jessica Chastain in the blind. It doesn't mean the Ron/Bryce stuff is true, though. I don't see any resemblance between the two (JC and BDH), frankly, other than the red hair. I think people get ideas and run with 'em and see what they want to see. ;-)
Isn't Jessica Chastain engaged to Tom Hardy?
Libby, even if BDH doesn't know about JC, she was still very smug on The Talk when she spoke of the Palins (without mentioning their names), as if her, Bryce's, political beliefs and her family was oh-so-superior and perfect in every way. You said it - the way they worship Ron is creepy.
Jeebus, people, get a grip. Juilliard students are often "non-traditional", with either acting experience, academic credit and/or degrees from other colleges. This school could be considered the "Harvard" of the dramatic/dance/music scene. Take a look at Group 12 from the Drama Division - Kevin Spacey, Ving Rhames, Evan Handler (from S&TC and Californication), Elizabeth McGovern & Kelly McGillis all started in the same cohort, and there's a nearly five-year age gap between the oldest & youngest members of the group. Many people attend local conservatories or try to build their resumes before submitting to the grueling audition process at Juilliard.
Furthermore, Chastain has said she refuses to answer questions about her age because of ageism in Hollywood...and who can blame her? And who can blame her? Is she 30? 35? Can she still play the ingenue? Hollywood is pretty brutal as women as they round the corner on 30, and devastating to many as they near 40.
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