Jessica Chastain then and now (2004 - 2025)

Jessica Chastain began her acting career in the early 2000s after studying at the Juilliard School in New York City. Her first major television appearance was in 2004 on the series ER*, and she went on to have guest roles in shows like *Veronica Mars and Law & Order: Trial by Jury*. However, her big breakthrough came in 2011 when she appeared in several critically acclaimed films, most notably *The Tree of Life directed by Terrence Malick, and *The Help*, for which she received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Over the next few years, Chastain established herself as a versatile and powerful actress. She starred in Zero Dark Thirty (2012), a political thriller about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and widespread acclaim. She followed that with strong performances in films like Mama (2013), Interstellar (2014), A Most Violent Year (2014), and The Martian (2015).

In addition to her acting work, Chastain became known for her advocacy for gender equality in Hollywood. She has been vocal about pay disparity and the need for more representation of women both on screen and behind the camera.

In the late 2010s and early 2020s, she took on a variety of roles in both independent and studio films, including Miss Sloane (2016), Molly’s Game (2017), It Chapter Two (2019), and The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021), the latter of which won her the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker.

More recently, she has appeared in films such as The Good Nurse (2022) and Memory (2023), continuing to show her range as an actress. She also returned to the stage and participated in various television projects, including the limited series Scenes from a Marriage (2021) with Oscar Isaac.

As of now, Jessica Chastain is recognized as one of the most respected and talented actresses of her generation, known for choosing challenging roles and advocating for change in the entertainment industry.