Who is Emily Deschanel?
American actress Emily Erin Deschanel was born in Los Angeles, California USA, on 11 October 1976, making Libra her zodiac sign. She’s had roles in 35 TV series and movies, and is probably known best for starring as Temperance Brennan in all the 245 episodes of the critically acclaimed crime comedy series “Bones”, which Hart Hanson created, and which also starred David Boreanaz and Michaela Conlin. It follows the professional and private lives of FBI agent Seeley Booth and forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance ‘Bones’ Brennan, the series aired from 2005 through 2017, and won eight of its 52 award nominations.
Emily’s also known for being the older sister of famous American actress and singer-songwriter Zooey Deschanel, who’s appeared in close to 70 TV series and movies, and has won seven of her 45 award nominations.
Education and early life
Emily was raised alongside her sister Zooey in Los Angeles, by their mother Mary Jo Deschanel (nee Weir) who’s a popular American actress, and father Jacob Caleb Deschanel who’s an American cinematographer and director.
Emily dreamed of becoming an actress while attending both elementary and high school, but her parents urged her to complete her education prior to pursuing a career in the film industry. She studied at Harvard-Westlake School prior to progressing to Crossroads School, from which she matriculated in 1994; Emily was mostly into sports while attending Crossroads, and was on her school’s track and field team.
She then studied at an acting school, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1998.
Roles in movies
Emily made her debut film appearance in the critically acclaimed 1994 romantic comedy “It Could Happen to You”, directed by Andrew Bergman, and which starred Nicolas Cage, Bridget Fonda and Rosie Perez. It follows a police officer who promised a waitress that he’d share his lottery ticket with her if he won, and has now actually won $6 million.
Some of Emily’s following roles were in the 2000 short comedy “It’s a Shame About Ray”, the 2001 drama “The Heart Department”, and the 2003 romantic comedy “Easy”. Also in 2003, she portrayed Mrs Morgan in the hit romantic adventure “Cold Mountain”, which Anthony Minghella directed, and which starred Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger. Set in the final days of the American Civil War, the movie follows a wounded soldier on his way to his sweetheart in Cold Mountain, North Carolina, and it won 21 of its 122 award nominations, including an Oscar win for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Renee Zellweger).
Some of Emily’s notable performances in the remainder of the 2000s were in 2004 in the historical war drama “The Alamo” and the action science fiction adventure “Spider-Man 2”, also the 2009 family drama “My Sister’s Keeper”.
In 2011, she played the main character Shannon Cleary in the comedy “The Perfect Family”, directed by Anne Renton, and which also starred Kathleen Turner and Jason Ritter. It follows the life of a devout Catholic woman, and the film won one of its two award nominations.
Emily’s since had roles in only three movies: the 2014 animated adventure “Beyond Beyond”, the 2022 drama “Continue”, and the 2023 comedy “Big Boys”.
Roles in TV series
Emily made her debut TV series appearance in 2002, playing Pam Asbury in all the three episodes of the mystery horror thriller mini-series “Rose Red”, which starred Nancy Travis, Matt Keeslar and Kimberly J. Brown, and follows a group of psychic people as they’re spending the night in a haunted house; the series was nominated for eight awards.
Emily could then have been seen appearing in an episode or two of the crime mystery “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”, the romantic drama “Providence”, and the crime mystery “Crossing Jordan”.
In 2010 and 2011, she voiced herself in the animated adventure comedy “The Cleveland Show”, created by Richard Appel, and which starred Mike Henry, Sanaa Lathan and Kevin Michael Richardson; if follows the lives of Cleveland Brown and his family, who are neighbors to the family from the critically acclaimed animated comedy series “Family Guy”. “The Cleveland Show” won one of its nine award nominations.
Emily’s also known for playing Angela in 12 episodes in 2019 of the popular crime drama “Animal Kingdom”, which Jonathan Lisco created, and which starred Jake Weary, Ben Robson and Shawn Hatosy. It follows the lives of members of a criminal family from Southern California, the series aired from 2016 through 2022, and won one of the five awards for which it was nominated.
Emily’s three most recent TV series roles have been in the 2021 episode “Brave Heart” of the crime action “The Rookie”, eight episodes of the 2022 horror mystery mini-series “Devil in Ohio” and 15 episodes of the 2023 horror science fiction thriller podcast “Agent Stoker”.
Other credits
Emily co-produced the 2012 family documentary movie “How I Became an Elephant” and 201 episodes of the crime comedy series “Bones” (2007-2017).
She received special thanks for the 2014 biographical documentary film “Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show”.
Some of Emily’s most recent talk-show appearances have been in “Carpool Karaoke”, “The Late Late Show with James Corden” and “The Kelly Clarkson Show”.
Awards and nominations
Emily’s been nominated for 13 awards, all for her performance in “Bones”; she was nominated for three Teen Choice Awards for Choice TV Actress: Drama in 2007, 2011 and 2012, three TV Guide Awards in 2012 and 2014, and six People’s Choice Awards for Favorite Crime Drama TV Actress between 2011 and 2016.
Love life and relationships
Emily rarely speaks about her love life in public, but has still shared some details about her marriage and children.
She and famous American actor and screenwriter David Alan Hornsby exchanged vows in a small and private ceremony on 25 September 2010; David’s probably known best for playing Matthew ‘Rickety Cricket’ Mara in 24 episodes of the critically acclaimed comedy series “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, while he’s appeared in nearly 50 other TV series and movies.
Emily gave birth to their first son Henry Lamar Hornsby on 21 September 2011, and their second son Calvin Hornsby followed on 8 June 2015 – both pregnancies were written into the series “Bones”.
She hasn’t spoken of the men whom she had been with prior to meeting David, Emily’s married to David Alan Hornsby as of April 2023, and they have two sons together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Emily and three other people filed a lawsuit against Fox in 2015, claiming that the network had cheated them for a large amount of money earned by the series “Bones”; they won the case and were awarded $179 million to share, but the $130 million in punitive damages were voided by the Los Angeles Superior Court in May 2019. The two sides then came to an out of court settlement.
Emily’s two best friends are American actor, producer and director David Boreanaz, and American actress Michaela Conlin, both of whom starred alongside her in the series “Bones”.
Although raised Roman Catholic, Emily’s revealed that she’s today agnostic, meaning that she doesn’t believe that the existence of God can ever be proven, so that it will never be known whether or not s/he’s really out there.
She’s vegan and supports the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA); Emily went vegan after having watched the 1991 documentary movie “Diet for a New America”, based on the eponymous 1987 best-selling book by John Robbins.
Height, eyes and wealth
Emily’s age is 46. She has blue eyes and brown hair, is 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall and weighs around 155lbs (71kgs).
Emily’s net worth’s been estimated at over $30 million as of April 2023, and her sister Zooey’s at over $25 million.