Jessica Chastain does on 24th March - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 39, at the end of this feature.
Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!
Sunday 20th March
- Carl Reiner - Born 1922, turns 94 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
- William Hurt - Born 1950, turns 66 - Actor | Producer
- David Thewlis - Born 1963, turns 53 - Actor | Writer
- Spike Lee - Born 1957, turns 59 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor
- Holly Hunter - Born 1958, turns 58 - Actress | Producer
Monday 21st March
- Rosie O'Donnell - Born 1962, turns 54 - Actress | Producer | Writer
- Timothy Dalton - Born 1946, turns 70 - Actor
- Matthew Broderick - Born 1962, turns 54 - Actor
- Gary Oldman - Born 1958, turns 58 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
- Scott Eastwood - Born 1986, turns 30 - Actor | Producer
Tuesday 22nd March
- William Shatner - Born 1931, turns 85 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
- Matthew Modine - Born 1959, turns 57 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
- Bruno Ganz - Born 1941, turns 75 - Actor
- M. Emmett Walsh - Born 1935, turns 81 - Actor
- Stephen Sondheim - Born 1930, turns 86 - Composer | Songwriter | Writer
- Andrew Lloyd Webber - Born 1948, turns 68 - Composer | Songwriter | Writer | Producer
- Reese Witherspoon - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actress | Producer | Singer
Wednesday 23rd March
- Amanda Plummer - Born 1957, turns 59 - Actress
- Catherine Keener - Born 1959, turns 57 - Actress | Producer
- Michelle Monaghan - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actress | Producer
- Keri Russell - Born 1976, turns 40 - Actress
Thursday 24th March
- Jessica Chastain - Born 1977, turns 39 - Actress | Producer
- Lara Flynn Boyle - Born 1970, turns 46 - Actress | Producer
- Kelly LeBrock - Born 1960, turns 56 - Actress
- Keisha Castle-Hughes - Born 1990, turns 26 - Actress
- Curtis Hanson - Born 1945, turns 71 - Director | Producer | Writer
- Partick Malahide - Born 1945, turns 71 - Actor
Friday 25th March
- Edgar Ramirez - Born 1977, turns 39 - Actor | Producer
- Lee Pace - Born 1979, turns 37 - Actor
- Paul Michael Glazer - Born 1943, turns 73 - Actor | Producer | Director
- Sarah Jessica Parker - Born 1965, turns 51 - Actress | Writer
Saturday 26th March
- Keira Knightly - Born 1985, turns 31 - Actress | Singer
- James Caan - Born 1940, turns 76 - Actor
- Alan Arkin - Born 1934, turns 82 - Actor | Writer | Director
- Francis Lawrence - Born 1971, turns 45 - Director | Producer
- Martin McDonagh - Born 1970, turns 46 - Director | Producer | Writer
- Martin Short - Born 1950, turns 66 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Singer
- Alan Silvestri - Born 1950, turns 66 - Composer | Songwriter
Jessica Michelle Chastain was born in Sacramento, California, USA to mother Jerri Renee, a vegan chef, and father Michael Monasterio, a rock musician who died in early 2013 aged 55. Chastain was estranged from her father for her entire life and has never publicly acknowledged him, with his name not appearing on her birth certificate. She was raised by her mother and her stepfather Michael Hastey - a fireman, whom she does regard as her father to all intents and purposes. She retains her mothers maiden name (Chastain) as did her sister Juliet, who died aged 25 in 2003. She grew up with her siblings from her mothers second marriage - William, Daniel and Jacquelyn Hastey. She is perhaps closest to her maternal grandmother Marilyn who first sparked the interest in Acting in the young seven year old Jessica after attending a performance together of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat' starring David Cassidy. She attended El Camino High School in Sacramento where she struggled academically, and then went on to Sacramento City College before gaining a scholarship donated by Robin Williams that allowed her to attend Juilliard School in New York City where she actively participated in drama, theatre and film projects, before graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 2003.
Her early career saw her move to Venice Beach, California where she started to audition for roles and was subsequently picked up by a talent agency, although she struggled to secure roles because of her red hair and somewhat unconventional looks. Her television debut came with a remake of a popular 1960's gothic series 'Dark Shadows' but the show failed to live up to expectations and was not picked up for broadcast. That was 2004, and the following four years saw several appearances on the likes of 'E.R', 'Close to Home', 'Veronica Mars' and 'Law & Order : Trial by Jury'. About this time she gained an introduction and a recommendation to Al Pacino who was searching for an unknown talent to star in his new theatre production of 'Salome' - he hired her on the spot, and as a result of the plays sell out success she came to much wider attention.
In 2008 Chastain made her film debut in the lead role of 'Jolene' - the story of an abused foster child told over a ten year period from age 15. She receive generally positive reviews and won a Best Actress Award on the film circuit. Next up was 'Stolen' which crashed and burned, and then a year later came the 'Murder on the Orient Express' episode of 'Agatha Christie's : Poirot'.
John Hillcoat's 'Lawless' followed in 2012 with an all star cast that included Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, and Jason Clarke. 'Zero Dark Thirty' came next garnering Chastain an Oscar nomination for this highly praised film Directed by Kathryn Bigelow being the story of the ten year hunt for one Osama bin Laden, resulting in his final capture and death . . . allegedly!
2015 brought along 'The Martian' for Ridley Scott and with Matt Damon, and then 'Crimson Peak' for Guillermo del Toro and with Tom Hiddleston. Next up is 'The Zookeeper's Wife' with Daniel Bruhl in post-production currently for release later this year; 'The Huntsman : Winter's War' for release soon; 'The Death and Life of John F. Donovan' in pre-production; 'Miss Sloane' for Director John Madden currently filming and 'Woman Walks Ahead' recently announced. 
Chastain has 42 Acting credits to her name and has so far garnered seventy award wins and another 94 nominations including two Academy Award nominations for 'Zero Dark Thirty' and 'The Help'; two Golden Globe nominations for 'A Most Violent Year' and 'The Help' with a win for 'Zero Dark Thirty' and two BAFTA nominations for 'Zero Dark Thirty' and 'The Help'. She also lent her voice talent to 'Madagascar 3 : Europe's Most Wanted'.
Chastain is a feminist, and a vegan, and is involved in the suicide support group 'To Write Love On Her Arm'. She turned down roles in 'Iron Man 3', 'Oblivion' and 'Diana', has picked up numerous fashion awards, appears on numerous 'Top' lists, and in the last four years has starred in four films all nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards - 'The Martian' in 2015, 'Zero Dark Thirty' in 2012, 'The Help' and 'Tree of Life' both in 2011.
Jessica Chastain - so much achieved in such a short space of time, diverse acting range across all genres (although perhaps not yet comedy), highly acclaimed, much in demand, bankable, keeping it real, keeping it grounded and very watchable. Happy Birthday to you Jessica, from Odeon Online.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
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