Chastain developed an interest in acting from an early age and made her professional stage debut in 1998 asShakespeare'sJuliet. After studying acting at theJuilliard School, she worked on television and stage. After making her film debut at age 31 in the dramaJolene (2008), Chastain had her breakthrough in 2011 with six film releases, including the dramasTake Shelter (2011) andThe Tree of Life (2011). She received Academy Award nominations for playing an aspiring socialite in the period dramaThe Help (2011) and a CIA analyst in the thrillerZero Dark Thirty (2012).
OnBroadway, Chastain has starred in revivals ofThe Heiress (2012) andA Doll's House (2023). The latter earned her a nomination for theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She is the founder of the production companyFreckle Films, which was created to promote diversity in film, and is an investor in the soccer clubAngel City FC. Chastain is vocal about mental health issues, as well as gender and racial equality. She is married to fashion executive Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, and they have two children.
Early life and education
Jessica Michelle Chastain was born on March 24, 1977, inSacramento, California,[2][3][4] to Jerri Renee Hastey (née Chastain) and rock musician Michael Monasterio.[5][6] Her parents were both teenagers when she was born. Chastain is reluctant to publicly discuss her family background. She was estranged from Monasterio, who died in 2013, and has stated that no father is listed on her birth certificate.[5][6] Chastain has two sisters and two brothers. Her younger sister, Juliet, died by suicide in 2003 following years of drug addiction.[7] Chastain was raised in Sacramento by her mother and stepfather, Michael Hastey, a firefighter.[3][8] Her family struggled financially.[9] Chastain has said that her stepfather was the first person to make her feel secure.[6] She shares a close bond with her maternal grandmother, Marilyn, and credits her as someone who "always believed in me".[8][10]
TheJuilliard School in New York City, where Chastain studied acting
Chastain developed an interest in acting at age seven, after her grandmother took her to a production ofJoseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.[3] She would regularly put on amateur shows with other children, and considered herself to be their artistic director.[8] As a student atEl Camino Fundamental High School in Sacramento, Chastain struggled academically.[5][11] She was a loner and considered herself a misfit in school, eventually finding an outlet in the performing arts.[12] She has described how she used to miss school to readShakespeare,[13] whose plays she became enamored with after attending theOregon Shakespeare Festival with her classmates.[14] With too many absences during her senior year in school, Chastain did not qualify for graduation, but later obtained anadult diploma.[11] She later attendedSacramento City College from 1996 to 1997, during which she was a member of the institution's debate team.[15] Describing her early childhood, she recalled:
I [grew up] with a single mother who worked very hard to put food on our table. We did not have money. There were many nights when we had to go to sleep without eating. It was a very difficult upbringing. Things weren't easy for me growing up.[16]
Shortly before graduating from Juilliard, Chastain attended an event for final-year students in Los Angeles, where she was signed to atalent holding deal by the television producerJohn Wells.[21] She relocated to Los Angeles and started auditioning for jobs.[21] She initially found the process difficult, which she believed was due to other people finding her difficult to categorize as a redhead with an unconventional look.[22] In her television debut,The WB network's2004 pilot remake of the 1960sgothic soap operaDark Shadows, she was cast asCarolyn Stoddard.[23] The pilot was directed byP. J. Hogan, but the series was never picked up for broadcast.[23] Later that year, she appeared as a guest performer on the medical drama seriesER playing a woman she described as "psychotic", which led to her getting more unusual parts such as accident victims or characters with mental illness.[21][22] She went on to appear in such roles in a few other television series from 2004 to 2007, includingVeronica Mars (2004),Close to Home (2006),Blackbeard (2006), andLaw & Order: Trial by Jury (2005–06).[24]
In 2004, Chastain took on the role of Anya, a virtuous young woman, in aWilliamstown Theatre Festival production ofAnton Chekhov's playThe Cherry Orchard in Massachusetts, starring withMichelle Williams.[25] Also that year, she worked withPlaywrights Horizons on a production ofRichard Nelson'sRodney's Wife as the daughter of a troubled middle-aged film actor. Her performance was not well received by the criticBen Brantley ofThe New York Times, who thought that she "somehow seems to keep losing color as the evening progresses".[26] While working on the play, she was recommended by Nelson toAl Pacino, who was looking for an actress to star in his production ofOscar Wilde's tragedySalome.[21] The play tells the tragic story of its titular character's sexual exploration. In the play, Salome is a 16-year-old, but Chastain, aged 29 then, was cast for the part.[27] The play was staged in 2006 at theWadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles, and Chastain later remarked that it helped bring her to the attention of several casting directors.[27][28] Writing forVariety, the critic Steven Oxman criticized her portrayal in the play: "Chastain is so ill-at-ease with Salome, not quite certain whether she's a capable seductress or a whiny, wealthy brat; she doesn't flesh out either choice".[28]
In 2010, Chastain starred inJohn Madden's dramatic thrillerThe Debt, portraying a youngMossad agent sent toEast Berlin in the 1960s to capture a formerNazi doctor who carried out medical experiments inconcentration camps.[37] She shared her role withHelen Mirren, with the two actresses portraying the character at different phases of her life.[37] They worked together before filming to perfect the voice and mannerisms of the character and make them consistent. Chastain took classes in German andKrav Maga, and studied books about the Nazi doctorJosef Mengele and Mossad history.[37] William Thomas ofEmpire termed the film a "smart, tense, well-acted thriller", and noted that Chastain "pulses with strength and vulnerability" in her part.[38] She also appeared as Mary Debenham in an episode of the British television seriesAgatha Christie's Poirot, based onAgatha Christie's 1934 novelMurder on the Orient Express.[39]
After struggling for a breakthrough in film, Chastain had six releases in 2011 and received wide recognition for several of them.[21][40] The first of the roles was as the wife ofMichael Shannon's character inJeff Nichols'Take Shelter, a drama about a troubled father who tries to protect his family from what he believes is an impending storm. The film was screened at the 2011Sundance Film Festival, and critic Tim Robey ofThe Daily Telegraph noted how much Chastain's supporting part aided the narrative.[41] InCoriolanus, an adaptation of theShakespeareantragedy from actor-directorRalph Fiennes, she playedVirgilia.[42] Her next role was oppositeBrad Pitt, as the loving mother of three children inTerrence Malick's experimental dramaThe Tree of Life, which she had filmed in 2008.[43][44] Chastain signed on to the film without receiving a traditional screenplay from Malick, and she improvised several scenes and dialogues with Pitt.[45] She considered her part to be "the embodiment of grace and the spirit world"; in preparation, she practiced meditation, studied paintings of theMadonna, and read poems byThomas Aquinas.[45] The film premiered at the2011 Cannes Film Festival to a polarized reception from the audience, though it was praised by critics and won thePalme d'Or.[46] The criticJustin Chang termed the film a "hymn to the glory of creation, an exploratory, often mystifying [...] poem" and credited Chastain for playing her part with "heartrending vulnerability".[47]
A short part Chastain had filmed for Terrence Malick'sTo the Wonder (2012) was edited out of the final film, and due to scheduling conflicts, she dropped out of the action filmsOblivion andIron Man 3 (both 2013).[65] She instead made herBroadway debut in a revival of the 1947 playThe Heiress, playing the role of Catherine Sloper, a naïve young girl who transforms into a powerful woman.[66] Chastain was reluctant to take the role, fearing the anxiety she had faced during her early stage performances.[66] She ultimately agreed after finding a connection to Sloper, explaining: "she's painfully uncomfortable and I used to be that".[66] The production was staged at theWalter Kerr Theatre from November 2012 to February 2013.[67]Ben Brantley ofThe New York Times was disappointed in Chastain's performance, writing that she was "oversignaling the thoughts within" and that her delivery of dialogue was sometimes flat.[67]The Heiress emerged as asleeper hit at the box office.[68]
Kathryn Bigelow's thrillerZero Dark Thirty was Chastain's final film release of 2012. It is a partly fictionalized account of thenearly decade-long manhunt forAl-Qaeda leaderOsama bin Laden after theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001. She played Maya Harris, aCIA intelligence analyst who helps kill bin Laden. Chastain was unable to meet the intelligence analyst on whom her character was based, so she relied on the research done by the film's screenwriterMark Boal.[69] The difficult subject matter made it unpleasant for her to film; she suffered from depression during production, and once walked off the set in tears because she was unable to continue.[69]Zero Dark Thirty was critically acclaimed, albeitcontroversial for its scenes oftorture that were shown providing useful intelligence in the search for bin Laden.[70][71] Roger Ebert took note of Chastain's versatility, and likened her ability and range to that ofMeryl Streep.[72]Peter Travers ofRolling Stone wrote, "Chastain is a marvel. She plays Maya like a gathering storm in an indelible, implosive performance that cuts so deep we can feel her nerve endings."[73] She won theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama and receivedAcademy,BAFTA andSAG nominations for Best Actress.[8][74]
Chastain took on the lead role of a musician who is forced to care for her boyfriend's troubled nieces in the horror filmMama (2013), directed byAndy Muschietti. She was drawn to the idea of playing a woman drastically different from the "perfect mother" roles she had previously played, and she based her character's look on the singerAlice Glass.[23] The criticRichard Roeper considered her performance to be proof of her being one of the finest actors of her generation.[75] During the film's opening weekend in North America, Chastain became the first performer in fifteen years to have leading roles in the top two films (Mama andZero Dark Thirty) at the box office.[76] She then starred as the titular character of a depressed woman who separates from her husband (played byJames McAvoy) following a tragic incident in the dramaThe Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (2013), which she also produced.[77] The writer-directorNed Benson initially wrote the story from the perspective of Rigby's husband, then wrote a separate version from Rigby's perspective at the insistence of Chastain.[78] Three versions of the film —Him,Her, andThem — were released.[78][79] It did not find a wide audience,[80] but the criticA. O. Scott praised Chastain for "short-circuit[ing] conventional distinctions between tough and vulnerable, showing exquisite control even when her character is losing it, and keeping her balance even when the movie pitches and rolls toward melodrama".[81]
Chastain appeared in three films in 2014. She played the titular character inMiss Julie, a film adaptation ofAugust Strindberg's 1888play of the same name, from directorLiv Ullmann.[82] It tells the tragic tale of a sexually repressedAnglo-Irish aristocrat who wishes to sleep with her father's valet (Colin Farrell).[83] She was drawn to Ullmann's feminist take on the subject.[84] The film only received a limited theatrical release.[85] While filmingMiss Julie in Ireland, she received the script forChristopher Nolan's science fiction filmInterstellar (2014).[86] With a budget of $165 million, the high-profile production, co-starringMatthew McConaughey andAnne Hathaway, was filmed mostly usingIMAX cameras.[87][88] Chastain played the adult daughter of McConaughey's character; she was drawn to the project for the emotional heft she found in the father-daughter pair.[89] Drew McWeeny ofHitFix took note of how much Chastain had stood out in her supporting role.[90]Interstellar grossed over $701 million worldwide to rank as her highest-grossing live-action film to date.[50][87]
In her final release of 2014, Chastain starred in theJ. C. Chandor-directed crime dramaA Most Violent Year. Set in New York City in 1981, the year in which thecity had the highest crime rate, the film tells the story of a heating-oil company owner (Oscar Isaac) and his ruthless wife (Chastain).[91] In preparation, she researched the period and worked with a dialect coach to speak in a Brooklyn accent.[92] She collaborated with the film's costume designer to work on her character's wardrobe, and contactedArmani which provided her with clothing of the period.[92]Mark Kermode ofThe Observer found Chastain to be "terrific" in a part inspired byLady Macbeth's character, andMick LaSalle of theSan Francisco Chronicle described her portrayal as "the embodiment of anouveau riche New York woman of the era".[93][94] She received a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress nomination for it.[95] For her work in 2014, theBroadcast Film Critics Association honored Chastain with a special achievement award.[96]
In 2015, Chastain took on the part of acommander inRidley Scott's science fiction filmThe Martian. StarringMatt Damon as a botanist who is stranded on Mars by a team of astronauts commanded by Chastain's character, the film is based onAndy Weir's novel of thesame name. Chastain met with astronauts at theJet Propulsion Laboratory and theJohnson Space Center, and modeled her role onTracy Caldwell Dyson, with whom she spent time in Houston.[97]The Martian became her second film to gross over $600 million in two consecutive years.[50][98] Chastain next starred as a woman who plots with her brother (Tom Hiddleston) to terrorize his new bride (Mia Wasikowska) inGuillermo del Toro'sgothic romanceCrimson Peak. She approached the villainous part with empathy, and in preparation readgraveyard poetry and watched the filmsRebecca (1940) andWhat Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962).[97] Del Toro cast Chastain to lend accessibility to a part he considered "psychopathic", but Peter Debruge ofVariety found her "alarmingly miscast" and criticized her for failing to effectively convey her character's insecurity and ruthlessness.[97][99] Conversely, David Sims ofSlate praised her for portraying her character's "jealous intensity to the hilt".[100]
After playing a series of intense roles, Chastain actively looked for a light-hearted part.[101] She found it in the ensemble fantasy filmThe Huntsman: Winter's War (2016), which served as both a sequel and a prequel to the 2012 filmSnow White and the Huntsman. She was drawn to the idea of playing a warrior whose abilities were on par with those of the male lead, but the film flopped both critically and commercially.[101][102] Chastain next starred as the titular character, a lobbyist, in the political thrillerMiss Sloane, which reunited her with John Madden.[101][103] She read the novelCapitol Punishment by disgraced former lobbyistJack Abramoff to research the practice of lobbying in America, and met with female lobbyists to study their mannerisms and sense of style.[104] Hailing her as "one of the best actresses on the planet", Peter Travers commended Chastain for successfully drawing the audience into Sloane's life, and Justin Chang termed her performance "a tour de force of rhetorical precision and tightly coiled emotional intensity".[105][106] She received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Drama.[107] Also in 2016, Chastain launched the production companyFreckle Films, headed by a team of female executives.[101][108]
Chastain portrayedMolly Bloom, a former skier who ran a high-profile gambling operation that led to her arrest by theFBI, inAaron Sorkin's directorial debut,Molly's Game (2017). She took the part due to her desire to work with Sorkin, whose writing she admired.[115] Instead of relying on Bloom's public persona, she met Bloom personally to explore her character's flaws and vulnerabilities. She also researched the world ofunderground poker and interviewed some of Bloom's customers.[115] Peter Debruge hailed her role as "one of the screen's great female parts", and credited its success to both Sorkin's script and Chastain's "stratospheric talent."[116] She received her fifth Golden Globe nomination for it.[117] In 2018, she hosted an episode of the television sketch comedy showSaturday Night Live and voiced thevirtual reality productionSpheres: Songs of Spacetime.[118][119] She had filmed a part inXavier Dolan's ensemble dramaThe Death & Life of John F. Donovan, but her scenes were deleted from the final cut as Dolan found her role incompatible to the story.[120]
In the superhero filmDark Phoenix (2019), which marked the twelfth installment in theX-Men series, Chastain took on the role of an evil alien due to its focus on female characters.[121]Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian considered it to be "a waste of her talents", and the film registered poor box office returns.[122][123] She reteamed with Andy Muschietti inIt Chapter Two, the sequel to his 2017 horror filmIt, based onStephen King'snovel. She played the adultBeverly Marsh (a woman in an abusive marriage), sharing the role withSophia Lillis. Filming proved challenging for Chastain, as Muschietti preferred the usage of practical effects tocomputer-generated imagery; one particular scene required her to be covered in 4,500 US gallons (17,000 litres) of fake blood.[124][125] The film received favorable reviews, with Charlotte O'Sullivan of theEvening Standard finding Chastain to be "suitably sad and sepulchral" in her role.[126][127] It grossed over $470 million worldwide.[128]
Under Freckle Films, Chastain produced and starred in the action filmAva (2020), written and initially set to be directed byMatthew Newton, who has been accused of domestic violence. Following backlash against her for agreeing to work with him, Newton was replaced withTate Taylor.[129][130] Boyd van Hoeij ofThe Hollywood Reporter bemoaned that Chastain's talents as an action star had been wasted in an underwhelming film.[131] Released theatrically during theCOVID-19 pandemic, it performed poorly at the box office but gained success onvideo on demand.[132]
2021–present: Awards success and television
Andrew Garfield and Chastain starred as the televangelistsJim andTammy Faye Bakker in the biopicThe Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021). She acquired the rights to Faye's life in 2012, and produced the film under her company Freckle Films.[133] To look like Bakker, Chastain wore prosthetic makeup which took 4–7 hours to apply.[134] The role also required her to sing, which she has said made her nervous.[135] She worked with the music producerDave Cobb to record seven songs for the film's soundtrack.[133] David Fear ofRolling Stone found Chastain to be the "only reason to see this curiously tepid biopic" and praised her for rising above the script to humanize Bakker.[136]Kevin Maher ofThe Times considered it to be a "riveting, unleashed and award-worthy performance" and compared it toJoaquin Phoenix's performance inJoker (2019).[137] She won theAcademy Award for Best Actress,Critics Choice Award andSAG Award, in addition to a Golden Globe nomination.[138][139]
Chastain executive produced theShowtime biographical miniseriesGeorge & Tammy, in which she played the country singerTammy Wynette opposite Michael Shannon'sGeorge Jones.[154][155] In preparation, Chastain and Shannon trained with a vocal coach to sing several of their character's songs. She also lost weight to play Wynette toward the end of her life.[156] Emma Fraser ofThe Playlist was appreciate of the chemistry between the actors, and took note of the "fragility and toughness" in Chastain's portrayal.[157] She won aSAG Award, received another Golden Globe nomination, and earned her first nomination for aPrimetime Emmy Award forOutstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series.[158][159][160]
Chastain returned to Broadway theater, playing Nora Helmer, an unhappy housewife, inJamie Lloyd's 2023 revival ofHenrik Ibsen's playA Doll's House, which ran for 16 weeks at theHudson Theatre.[161] Initially set forWest End theater in 2020, the production was canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, and later relocated to New York on Chastain's insistence.[162][163] The production was extended one week due to the strong box office sales of the preview performances.[164] Gloria Oladipo ofThe Guardian deemed Chastain's performance "enthralling" and "captivating", adding that "a fuller, infinite portrait is painted of the long-time heroine through Chastain’s work".[165] She won theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play and received a nomination for theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play.[166][167] Chastain played a recovering alcoholic inMichel Franco's independent drama filmMemory, co-starringPeter Sarsgaard.[168] She was pleased to take on the low-profile project and shopped atTarget herself for her character's clothes.[169] Debruge noted that Chastain's "never appeared more vulnerable on-screen" playing a morally divisive character.[170]
Chastain and Hathaway reunited inMothers' Instinct (2024), a remake of the Belgian psychological thriller of thesame name, which Chastain also produced.[171] As a close friend of Hathaway, she found it challenging to play a character that's antagonistic towards Hathaway's.[172] She reteamed with Michel Franco inDreams, a drama about a rich American woman's relationship with an undocumented Mexican immigrant, which premiered at the2025 Berlinale. Chastain said that she had to distance herself from her personal politics to play the part.[173] IndieWire's Ryan Lattanzio was appreciative of her playing an against-type, largely unsympathetic role.[174]
Chastain identifies as afeminist, and has often spoken out against the discrimination faced by women and minorities in Hollywood.[8][178][179][180] She penned an essay on gender imbalance in the industry for a December 2015 issue ofThe Hollywood Reporter.[181] At the2017 Cannes Film Festival, where she served as a jury member, Chastain bemoaned the passive portrayal of women in most films.[182][183] She has complained about a lack of female film critics, which she believes hinders a gender-neutral perspective on film.[183] She advocates for greatergender balance on sets, including more representation of women on film crews and in positions of power.[184] On social media, Chastain aims to "amplify the voices" of victims ofsexual harassment in the industry.[185] In 2018, she collaborated with 300 women in Hollywood to set up theTime's Up initiative to protect women from harassment and discrimination.[186] In the same year, she appeared alongside several actresses inThis Changes Everything, a documentary about the poor representation of women in Hollywood films.[187] She is also aLGBT rights activist. Most notably, when she had won theAcademy Award for Best Actress in 2022, she voiced her support for the community she loved, and called out bigoted legislation against them.[188][189][190]
Chastain is a vocal advocate forequal pay in the workplace, and turns down offers of work whose salaries she finds unfair.[8][191] She spoke out in support of actressMichelle Williams, who was paid less than her co-starMark Wahlberg for the 2017 filmAll the Money in the World, a gesture which Williams said led to greater awareness of the issue and a donation worth $2 million to theTime's Up Legal Defense Fund.[192] In 2013, Chastain lent her support to the Got Your 6 campaign, to help empower veterans of the United States Army, and in 2016, she became an advisory-board member to the organization We Do It Together, which produces films and television shows to promote women empowerment.[193][194] In 2017, she featured alongside several Hollywood celebrities in a theatrical production ofThe Children's Monologues, in which she performed a monolog as a thirteen-year-old girl who is raped by her uncle. The event raised funds forDramatic Need, a charity that helps African children pursue a career in the arts.[195] In 2020, Chastain became an investor in a Los Angeles-based franchise for theNational Women's Soccer League.[196] The new team has since been namedAngel City FC.[197]
Chastain supports charitable organizations that promote mental health, and is involved with the nonprofit organizationTo Write Love on Her Arms.[198] Teased as a child for having red hair and freckles, she takes a stand against body-shaming and bullying.[12] Chastain has campaigned for access to affordablereproductive health care for women, and in 2017,Variety honored her for her work withPlanned Parenthood.[199] In response toabortion bans in certain American states, she joined several actors in refusing to work in those regions.[200]
Describing Chastain's off-screen persona, Roy Porter ofInStyle magazine wrote in 2015 that "she's an adult, which isn't always a given in Hollywood. Unconsciously candid with her answers, she retains a sense of perspective uncommon among her peers, and has real opinions"; Porter also credited her for being the rare actress who is "all about the craft".[44] Evgenia Peretz, an editor atVanity Fair, finds Chastain "the most sensitive and empathetic actor" she has interviewed.[204]
Chastain specializes in portraying emotionally grueling roles and is drawn to parts of strong but flawed women.[12][205][206] The journalistSanjiv Bhattacharya has identified a theme of characters who "subvert gender expectations in some way".[191] David Ehrlich ofIndieWire credits her for being the sole American actress to consistently play roles that "champion feminist ideals".[207] She believes in extensive preparations for a role: "[I] fill myself up with as much history of the character as I can."[208] The film critics Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper have praised Chastain's versatility,[72][75] andW magazine credits her for avoidingtypecasting.[10]
Guillermo del Toro, who directed Chastain inCrimson Peak, believes that she is "interested in being chameleonic", and that she brings authenticity even to bizarre situations.[209] Sophie Heawood ofThe Guardian believes that Chastain's ability to bring very little ego to her roles renders her unrecognisable to the audience.[8] Sarah Karmali ofHarper's Bazaar opines that "she goes for total immersion, sinking so deep into character that her face seems to change shape with each one".[206] Lea Goldman ofMarie Claire has compared her craft to that of Meryl Streep andCate Blanchett, and writes that she values her craft over her looks.[13] Michel Franco, who directed her inMemory, called Chastain "the best actress in the world".[210] Describing her film career in 2017, Ben Dickinson ofElle wrote:
With her often haunted-looking eyes, pale complexion, and gorgeous red mane [...] she can project everything from icy hauteur (The Martian,Miss Sloane) to loving warmth (The Tree of Life,The Zookeeper's Wife) or an unstable equilibrium and high intelligence in between (Zero Dark Thirty andA Most Violent Year).[211]
The journalistTom Shone describes Chastain as being "excessively luscious [with] paleBotticelli features wrapped around a bone structure that has a touch of the masculine, right down to the cleft in her chin."[212] She was named the sexiest vegetarian actress in a poll conducted byPETA in 2012.[213] From 2012 to 2014, she was featured inAskMen's listing of the most desirable women,[214] and in 2015,Glamour magazine ranked her as one of the best-dressed women.[215]
Time magazine named Chastain one of the100 most influential people in the world in 2012.[216] That same year, she was invited to join theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and she endorsed anYves Saint Laurent fragrance called Manifesto.[217][218] In 2015, she became the global ambassador for the Swiss jewelry and watchmaking companyPiaget, and in 2017, she was made the face ofRalph Lauren's fragrance campaign, named Woman.[219][220] For the latter, she led an initiative called Lead Like A Woman, and featured in a short film namedLeading with Intensity (2019) made by an all-female cast and crew.[221] In 2024 she became the global ambassador forDamiani, an Italian luxuryjewelrycorporate group that designs, manufactures, distributes and sells jewelry and luxurywatches.[222]
Personal life
Despite significant media attention, Chastain remains guarded about her personal life, and chooses not to attend red carpet events with a partner.[223][205] She considers herself to be a "shy" person, and in 2011 expressed a preference for domestic routines like dog-walking and playingukulele over partying.[224] Chastain has cited the actressIsabelle Huppert as an influence, for managing a family, while also playing "out-there roles" on screen.[225]
In the 2000s, Chastain was in a long-term relationship with writer-directorNed Benson that ended in 2010.[228] In 2012, she began datingGian Luca Passi de Preposulo, an Italian count of the Passi de Preposulo noble family, who is an executive for the fashion brandMoncler.[8][205] On June 10, 2017, Chastain married Preposulo at his family's estate inCarbonera, Italy.[229] In 2018, the couple had a daughter through surrogacy.[230][231] They later had a son.[140] They reside in New York City.[232][233]
^abOxman, Steven (April 30, 2006)."Review: 'Salome'".Variety.Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. RetrievedApril 24, 2016.
^Catsoulis, Jeanette (October 28, 2010)."Searching for Stability".The New York Times.Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. RetrievedApril 30, 2016.
^Young, Deborah (November 6, 2012)."Tar: Rome Review".The Hollywood Reporter.Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. RetrievedFebruary 27, 2022.
^Hoeij, Boyd Van (August 23, 2020)."'Ava': Film Review".The Hollywood Reporter.Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. RetrievedAugust 23, 2020.
^abWhite, Terri (January 16, 2022)."Jessica Chastain: 'I have a rebellious streak'".The Times.Archived from the original on January 16, 2022. RetrievedJanuary 22, 2022.She is deeply private about her own family life — her husband, Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, an Italian count who works as a fashion executive, and their two young daughters.
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