Margalit "Maggie" Ruth Gyllenhaal (born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Achs, and the older sister of actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
Gyllenhaal began her career as a teenager with small roles in several of her father's films, and appeared with her brother in the cult favorite Donnie Darko (2001). She then appeared in Adaptation, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (both 2002), and Mona Lisa Smile (2003). Gyllenhaal received critical acclaim for her leading performances in the erotic romantic comedy drama Secretary (2002) and the drama Sherrybaby (2006), each of which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. After several commercially successful films in 2006, including World Trade Center, she received wider recognition for playing Rachel Dawes in the superhero film The Dark Knight (2008).
For her performance as a single mother in Crazy Heart (2009), she received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She subsequently starred in the comedies and dramas: Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010), Hysteria (2011), and Won't Back Down (2012). Her other roles include a Secret Service agent in the action-thriller White House Down (2013), a musician in Frank (2014), and the title role in the drama The Kindergarten Teacher (2018). In 2021, Gyllenhaal made her writing and directing debut with the psychological drama The Lost Daughter, for which she won the Venice International Film Festival's Best Screenplay Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Gyllenhaal has also appeared in five stage productions since 2000, including making her Broadway debut in a revival of The Real Thing. She has starred in several television series, including the BBC political-thriller miniseries The Honourable Woman. For her performance, she won a Golden Globe award for Best Actress, and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. She also produced and starred in the HBO period drama series The Deuce (2017–19). Gyllenhaal has been married to actor Peter Sarsgaard since 2009 and they have two children together.
How To with John Wilson
Self · (1 episode)
2020
Best Summer Ever
TV Reporter
2020
Joker: Put on a Happy Face
Self
2020
The Ben Cobb Show
Amun Ra
2019
The Kindergarten Teacher
Lisa Spinelli
2018
Sylvia Plath: Inside The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar Reader (voice)
2018
The Deuce
Eileen 'Candy' Merrell · (25 episodes)
2017
Home
Ruth
2016
The New Empress
Olive
2016
Beauty Mark
Valerie
2016
Chelsea
Self · (1 episode)
2016
Starring Austin Pendleton
Self
2016
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self · (1 episode)
2015
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self · (2 episodes)
2015
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Self · (2 episodes)
2014
The Honourable Woman
Nessa Stein · (8 episodes)
2014
Frank
Clara
2014
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self · (2 episodes)
2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self · (2 episodes)
2014
River of Fundament
Hathfertiti
2014
The Sturgeon Queens
Self
2014
The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy
Self (archive footage)
2013
White House Down
Deputy SAIC Carol Finnerty
2013
Won't Back Down
Jamie Fitzpatrick
2012
BAM150
Self
2012
Finding Your Roots
Self · (1 episode)
2012
Honest Trailers
Rachel Dawes (archive footage) · (1 episode)
2012
Curiosity
Host · (1 episode)
2011
Hysteria
Charlotte Dalrymple
2011
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Isabel Green
2010
Crazy Heart
Jean Craddock
2009
Live from Studio Five
Self · (1 episode)
2009
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest · (3 episodes)
2009
Away We Go
LN
2009
Heath Ledger: A Tribute
Self
2009
The Dark Knight
Rachel
2008
Gotham Tonight
Rachel Dawes · (1 episode)
2008
Voyage to the Bunny Planet
2008
The Graham Norton Show
Self · (1 episode)
2007
High Falls
April
2007
Stranger Than Fiction
Ana Pascal
2006
Sherrybaby
Sherry Swanson
2006
World Trade Center
Allison Jimeno
2006
Monster House
Zee (voice)
2006
Paris Je T'aime
Liz (Quartier des Enfants Rouges)
2006
Quartier des Enfants-Rouges
Liz
2006
Trust the Man
Elaine
2005
The Great New Wonderful
Emme Keeler
2005
Happy Endings
Jude
2005
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Self · (1 episode)
2005
The Misbehavers
Self
2004
Donnie Darko: Production Diary
Self
2004
Criminal
Valerie
2004
The Pornographer: A Love Story
Sidney
2004
Strip Search
Linda Sykes
2004
Mona Lisa Smile
Giselle Levy
2003
Casa de los Babys
Jennifer
2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
(2 episodes)
2003
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Debbie
2002
Adaptation.
Caroline Cunningham
2002
Secretary
Lee Holloway
2002
40 Days and 40 Nights
Sam
2002
Riding in Cars with Boys
Amelia
2001
Donnie Darko
Elizabeth Darko
2001
Cecil B. Demented
Raven
2000
The Photographer
Mira
2000
Independent Lens
(278 episodes)
1999
Resurrection
Mary
1999
Homegrown
Christina
1998
The Patron Saint of Liars
Lorraine Thomas
1998
The View
Self · (2 episodes)
1997
The View
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1997
The Daily Show
Self · (8 episodes)
1996
Shattered Mind
Clothes Clerk
1996
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest · (3 episodes)
1993
A Dangerous Woman
Patsy
1993
Late Show with David Letterman
Self · (1 episode)
1993
Waterland
Maggie Ruth
1992
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
(2 episodes)
1992
Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story
Noreen Bixler · (1 episode)
1991
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
(1 episode)
1988
The Oscars
Self · (1 episode)
1953