Emily Deschanel Biography

Emily Erin Deschanel (born October 11, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is best known for starring in the Fox crime procedural comedy-drama series Bones as Dr. Temperance Brennan from 2005 to 2017.

Early life

Deschanel was born in Los Angeles, California, to cinematographer and director Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel (ne Weir). Her younger sister is actress and singer-songwriter Zooey Deschanel. Her paternal grandfather was French, from Oullins, Rhne; her roots also include Swiss, Dutch, English, Irish, and other French ancestry.

Deschanel attended Harvard-Westlake and Crossroads School in Los Angeles before graduating from Boston University's Professional Actors Training Program with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater.

Career

In 1994, Deschanel made her feature film debut in the romantic comedy-drama It Could Happen to You. Her next notable role was as Pam Asbury in Stephen King's horror miniseries Rose Red in 2002. Then she appeared in Cold Mountain, The Alamo, and Glory Road and was named one of "six actresses to watch" by Interview Magazine in 2004.

In 2005, Deschanel was cast as Dr. Temperance Brennan with David Boreanaz as FBI agent Seeley Booth on the Fox crime procedural comedy-drama Bones, based on the novels and the career of forensic anthropologist and author Kathy Reichs, created by Hart Hanson. The series ran for 12 seasons from September 13, 2005 to March 28, 2017. For her performance, she received a 2006 Satellite Award nomination and a 2007 Teen Choice Award nomination. Deschanel and Boreanaz served as co-producers at the start of the show's third season, before becoming producers in the middle of the show's fourth season.

Deschanel, with Alyson Hannigan, Jaime King, Minka Kelly, and Katharine McPhee made a video slumber party featured on FunnyorDie.com to promote regular breast cancer screenings for the organization Stand Up 2 Cancer. In recent years, her passion for animal welfare has led her to providing the narration for My Child Is a Monkey and serving as an associate producer on the documentary film How I Became an Elephant. Deschanel ranked number 72 in The 2012 Hot 100 on AfterEllen.

Personal life

Deschanel is a vegan and a committed supporter of animal rights causes. She can be seen in an Access Hollywood video at the book launch event of Karen Dawn's Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals, discussing how vegetarian and vegan diets help the environment, and a video on the homepage of the book's website talking about the importance of animal rights. She collaborated with PETA on a video encouraging mothers to raise their children as vegans. In September 2014, she joined the board of directors at Farm Sanctuary.

Deschanel was raised Roman Catholic, but is no longer practicing, and has expressed agnostic views, saying "I am more of a spiritual person, if anything, and I am of the belief that we don't know, and I'm not going to pretend that I do."

On September 25, 2010, Deschanel married It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor and writer David Hornsby in a small private ceremony in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. On September 21, 2011, Deschanel gave birth to their son, Henry Lamar Hornsby. On June 8, 2015, she gave birth to their second son, Calvin.

Deschanel is best friends with her Bones co-star Michaela Conlin, who played her best friend Angela Montenegro on the show; she is also friends, and has a strong working relationship with her Bones co-star David Boreanaz.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1994	It Could Happen to You	Animal rights activist
2000	It's a Shame About Ray	Maggie	Short film
2003	Easy	Laura Harris
2003	Cold Mountain	Mrs. Morgan
2004	'	Rosanna Travis
2004	Spider-Man 2	Receptionist
2004	Old Tricks	Woman	Short film
2005	Boogeyman	Kate Houghton
2005	Mute	Claire	Short film
2005	That Night	Annie	Short film
2006	Glory Road	Mary Haskins
2007	'	Maggie	Short film
2009	My Sister's Keeper	Dr. Farquad
2011	'	Shannon Cleary
2014	Unity	Narrator	Documentary

Television

Year	Series	Role	Notes
2001	'	Maude Allyn
2002	Rose Red	Pam Asbury	TV mini-series, 3 episodes
2002	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Cassie Germaine	Episode: "Surveillance" Season 3 Episode 17
2002	Providence	Annie Franks	Episodes: "Cloak & Dagger" and "The Eleventh Hour"
2003	'	Sam
2004	Crossing Jordan	Michelle	Episode: "All the News Fit to Print"
2005-2017	Bones	Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan	Lead role, also producer, 246 episodes
2009	Tit for Tat	Emily
2010-11	'	Julia Roberts (voice), Herself (voice)	Episodes: "Cleveland Live!", "Hot Cocoa Bang Bang"
2012	American Dad!	Herself (voice)	Episode: "Less Money, Mo' Problems"
2014	Drunk History	Babe Didrikson Zaharias, pro golfer/LPGA founder	Episode: "Sports Heroes"
2015	Sleepy Hollow	Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan	Episode: "Dead Men Tell No Tales"
2016	BoJack Horseman	Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan	Episode: "Love And/Or Marriage"

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
2006	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama	Bones
2007	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress: Drama
2011	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Crime Fighter
2012		Favorite TV Drama Actress
2013		Favorite Dramatic TV Actress
2015		Favorite TV Duo: David Boreanaz & Emily Deschanel
2015		Favorite Crime Drama TV Actress
2016		Favorite Crime Drama TV Actress