Zoe Cassavetes | |
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 Cassavetes in 2008 | |
| Born | Zoe Rowlands Cassavetes (1970-06-29)June 29, 1970 (age 54)[1] Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouse | Sebastien Chenut |
| Parent(s) | John Cassavetes Gena Rowlands |
| Family | Nick Cassavetes (brother) Alexandra Cassavetes (sister) Katherine Cassavetes (paternal grandmother) Lady Rowlands (maternal grandmother) Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands (maternal grandfather) |
Zoe Rowlands Cassavetes (born June 29, 1970) is an Americanfilm director, screenwriter, and actress. She is the daughter of filmmakerJohn Cassavetes and actressGena Rowlands. She is best known for her 2007 filmBroken English.
Cassavetes's first experience with the filmmaking business was at the age of one, when she had an uncredited role as a baby girl in her late fatherJohn Cassavetes's filmMinnie and Moskowitz,[2] but it was not until 1991 that she had her first acting role in the filmTed & Venus. This was followed with minor roles in the filmsNoises Off andThe Thing Called Love. In 1994, she and her filmmaking friendSofia Coppola created and hosted theComedy Central television seriesHi Octane,[3] a skit and variety show that featured guests includingKeanu Reeves,Beastie Boys andMartin Scorsese.Hi Octane lasted for only one season but is remembered as one of the first series to be entirely shot indigital video.[3]
Her directorial debut was in 2000 on theSundance Film Festival-featured short filmMen Make Women Crazy Theory.[3] She is best known as the director and writer of the 2007 romance-comedy filmBroken English, which featuredParker Posey andGena Rowlands, Cassavetes's mother.[2] Her inspiration forBroken English came from her perception of other people's impression that happiness only comes from being in love with someone,[4] saying: "I got caught up and swept up in the whole idea that I didn't have any worth until I found that person ... So I just wanted to make a nice, little portrait about what happens to someone when they get caught up in all of that."[5] She was nominated for the 2008Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay but lost toDiablo Cody forJuno.[citation needed]
In 2012 she was invited to participate inMiu Miu's ad campaign The Women's Tales. The short she created for the project,The Powder Room, premiered at the69th Venice International Film Festival.[6]
Her second feature film,Day Out of Days, starsAlexia Landeau as a 40-year-old actress struggling to stay afloat in Hollywood. The supporting cast includesMelanie Griffith,Eddie Izzard,Cheyenne Jackson,Vincent Kartheiser,Alessandro Nivola,Brooke Smith andBellamy Young.[7]
She is on production company Little Minx's roster for commercial representation.[8]
Cassavetes comes from a family of filmmakers: her fatherJohn Cassavetes an actor, screenwriter and director; her motherGena Rowlands an actress; her brotherNick Cassavetes an actor and director; her sisterAlexandra Cassavetes an actress and director; and her grandmotherKatherine Cassavetes an actress.[4] She says that the relationship problems the main character encounters inBroken English are mostly autobiographical, saying: "I'm obsessed with the idea of love on many different levels – love through family, love your friends, love yourself and who you give that love to, who you can take it from."[5] She has been called a muse to fashion designerMarc Jacobs along with actress and directorSofia Coppola.[9] She is married to Sebastien Chenut.[10]
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