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New Girlactress Zooey Deschanel has famous parents and an even more famous sister, Emily Deschanel. The actress was born to cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel. Caleb has six Oscar nominations to his name, including the one for his work onThe Passion of the Christ.However, theAlmost Famousactress doesn’t believe that she got roles in Hollywood due to her famous father.
Deschanel’s sister, Emily, played Temperance “Bones” Brennan in 12 seasons of the Fox police procedural seriesBones. Her mom is also famous for her role in David Lynch’s famous series,Twin Peaks. Deschanel considers her family as a community of artists who helped her grow as an actress.
Zooey Deschanel Responds To The Criticisms About Being A Nepo Baby
Zooey Deschanelmade her film debut in the comedy-drama Mumford. She went on to grab some notable roles in projects likeAlmost Famous,The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and500 Days of Summer. Her most famous role came in the form of Jess Day on the Fox sitcomNew Girl, which aired for seven seasons from 2011 to 2018, earning her several award nominations.
“She knows the things that are important to me”: Zooey Deschanel Will Let Fiancé to Have One Thing in Their Wedding That His Ex-Wife Never Allowed
Deschanel recently appeared onThe School of Greatnesspodcastwith Lewis Howes and opened up about her acting career. During her interview, she also shed light on the role of her family in helping advance her acting career. She revealed that since a young age, she wanted to be a child actress but her parents, who knew a lot of child actors, advised her against it.
Her parents’ only condition for her pursuing acting was that she could only attend auditions when she could drive to them. Deschanel revealed that she attended her proper first audition when she was 16 as per her parents’ condition. She added that she received a lot of creative help from her actress mom and her cinematographer dad.
She further addressed the criticism that she was a product of nepotism, jokingly sharing that her dad was a Director of Photography and no one would’ve gotten an acting job because their dad’s a DOP. She shared,“My father is a cinematographer … no one is getting jobs because [of that]”.
However, she added that her father was a great creative mind and knew the ins and outs of cinema. She revealed that her mom was a great actor and coached her for her auditions. She shared that her family, including her sister, was like having an acting community to help her out.
Fans Were Divided On Zooey Deschanel’s Response
Fans on X had a mixed reaction to Zooey Deschanel’s response. While some supported the actress saying that she was not wrong, others felt that the actress was in denial. The more positive comments shared that bothZooey and Emily Deschanelfound their place in the industry with their acting talents. Fans also mentioned her famous works includingNew Girl, which proved that she paved her own way in the industry.
The more negative comments criticized the actress for denying the fact that her parents’ film connection may have helped her get opportunities. Another comment shared that Deschanel was too entitled, while others suggested the actress embrace her ‘nepo baby’ status.
Nepo baby aside, she did well carrying her weight with her acting skills
— Bacon 🚀🔋 (@Smoothbaecon)August 19, 2025
https://twitter.com/PharaohOnX/status/1774696630882599139?s=20
Both zooey Deschanel and Emily Deschanel have their places in the industrypic.twitter.com/EvOLGqAU8e
— IndianActress (@INDACTRESSPIC)June 10, 2025
Your parents aint work that damn hard for you to deny the step up they gave you
— 𝕏 Meme Team (@XMemeTeam)June 04, 2025
Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
— Matt Jarbo (@mjarbo)July 08, 2025
https://twitter.com/_AndrewAllen/status/1774731929004146897?s=20
Her recent projects include the role of Kelly in season 3 of the comedy-dramaPhysicaland Nancy in the biographical drama filmDreamin’ Wild. Zooey Deschanel’sNew Girlis now available for streaming on Hulu.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3018
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
