50 interesting facts about Zooey Deschanel: is an excellent tap dancer, has food allergies

Zooey Deschanel is a beautiful and talented actress and has appeared in such films as (500) Days of Summer, and on the hit TV sitcom New Girl. She is also a singer and is in the band She & Him.

1. Zooey was born on January 17, 1980 in Los Angeles, California.

2. Her full name is Zooey Claire Deschanel. She was named after Zooey Glass, the male protagonist of J. D. Salinger's 1961 novella Franny and Zooey.

3. She was born into an artistic family. Her father is the Academy Award-nominated cinematographer and director Caleb Deschanel and her mother is the actress Mary Jo Deschanel (née Weir) who starred in "Twin Peaks".

4. Her paternal grandfather was French, from Oullins, Rhône; her ancestry also includes Swiss, Dutch, English, Irish, and other French roots.

5. She was inspired from an early age to get into acting. "When I saw Wizard of Oz, I, like, wanted to jump into the TV. My dad has the video tape of me seeing it for the first time, and I'm, like, up against the screen." She also likes to tell the story of being in a production of Three Little Pigs at age three. The nursery school did multiple performances of the show because they wanted to give every kid in the class a chance to be on stage. But every go-around, Deschanel says, "some kid would get stage fright, so I would fill in for them. And by the third time, I was apparently, like, very fussy about how the wolf knocked on the door and insisted that the narrator call me The Third Baby Pig. My dad leaned to my mom and said, 'Dustin Hoffman.'"

6. Zooey is the younger sister of actress Emily Deschanel who stars in "Bones."

7. She attended Crossroads, a private preparatory school in Santa Monica, where she befriended future co-stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Kate Hudson.

8. Transylvania was her favorite computer game growing up. "That was one of those ones where you typed in 'move rock' and it moved the rock."

9. Since her family traveled frequently, Zooey had a hard time making friends when she was a child.

10. Zooey began sewing her own clothes in high school because she had a strict allowance, couldn't drive to the mall until she was 17, and constantly needed new clothes for theater.

11. Deschanel has six years of tap dancing experience.

12. Gigi, Singin' in the Rain, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Wizard of Oz, and The Sound of Music are a few of the old musicals she considers her inspirations.

13. Her first acting role was as a model on the T.V. show "Veronica's Closet" which starred Kirstie Alley.

14. She spent several summers at camp upstate New York at French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts. She was also featured in the video for The Offspring's song "She's Got Issues" and the accompanying MTV documentary The Offspring Complete Music Video Collection (2005).

15. She attended Northwestern University for nine months before dropping out to work as an actress.

16. She got her first film role in Mumford in 1999.

17. The following year, she gained fame after starring in Cameron Crowe's popular biopic, Almost Famous alongside Kate Hudson. Deschanel played Anita Miller, the protagonist's rebellious older sister.

18. She also appeared in Jimmy Fallon's "Idiot Boyfriend" music video as his lead girl.

19. She is 5' 6" (1.68 m) tall.

20. In late 2002, The New York Times reported that Deschanel was "one of Hollywood's most sought-after young stars," and the Los Angeles Times wrote in early 2003 that Deschanel had become a recognizable type, due to "her deadpan, sardonic and scene-stealing performances" as the protagonist's best friend. Deschanel objected to her typecasting, arguing, "A lot of these roles are just a formula idea of somebody's best friend, and it's like, I don't even have that many friends. In high school, I stayed home all the time, so I don't know how I'm everybody's best friend now."

21. In 2003, Deschanel played a deadpan department store worker opposite Will Ferrell in the comedy Elf, which became a box office hit.

22. She sang all her songs in Elf.

23. Zooey is in a band called She & Him. She & Him is an indie duo comprised of Zooey and Mathew Ward. Zooey is a singer, songwriter, and can play a multitude of instruments (like piano, guitar, and ukulele).

24. Zooey is into jazz singing, philosophy, fashion and photography.

25. One of her favorite singers of all time is Ella Fitzgerald.

26. She pronounces her name "ZOH-ee" (not "Zoo-ee").

27. Zooey has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

28. In December 2008, Deschanel became engaged to musician Ben Gibbard, lead vocalist for Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service. The couple married on September 19, 2009, near Seattle, Washington.

29. The couple announced they were filing for divorce in 2011.

30. Deschanel hosted Saturday Night Live on February 11, 2012.

31. She has been in relationship with scriptwriter Jamie Linden since June 2012.

32. In May 2011, she launched HelloGiggles, an entertainment website geared towards women, with producer Sophia Rossi and writer Molly McAleer.

33. Since September 2011, Deschanel has been the lead character, Jess Day, on the Fox sitcom New Girl, created by Elizabeth Meriwether. Zooey is also a producer of the show.

34. The working title for New Girl was Chicks and Dicks, a name "they knew they'd never be able to use," says executive producer Jake Kasdan.

35. Zooey earns $125,000 per episode.

36. Her net worth is $15 million.

37. She has received one Emmy and three Golden Globe nominations for her role on the show.

38. In 2011, Deschanel collaborated with Will Ferrell and Don Cheadle on "Drunk History", on the website Funny or Die.

39. Zooey is allergic to eggs, dairy, and wheat gluten. "I am the worst person to ever eat with because I have all these stupid food allergies," she says. "It wasn't that many things, it was just all the things that are fun to eat - everything that I enjoy, like bread. 'Awwwww, this is the worst thing!' It was shitty."

40. She said she is often mistaken for pop singer Katy Perry.

41. She has performed in If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies, a jazz cabaret act.

42. Deschanel has won a Mar del Plata Film Festival Award, and a Critics' Choice Television Award.

43. She is a huge coffee lover and doesn't go a day without drinking at least a cup of java.

44. Zooey says she loves to bake and do crafts in her free time.

45. One of her favorite novels is Pastoralia by George Saunders.

46. She is not a fan of papaya.

47. Zooey rescued two adorable dogs named Dot and Zelda in 2013.

48. She likes being a girlie girl and does not plan to change that anytime soon. "Here's the thing about being a girlie girl. I think there was a generation before us that felt like they needed to act like men to be taken seriously, like they had to use their sexuality to take control of people. I don't judge people for that. But I don't want to take all my clothes off and use myself as an object. It's part of the machine and I don't think that necessarily pushes us forward as women. I think you can still be girlie and maintain your power. The fact that you associate being girlie with being non-threatening, that is ... I mean, I can't think of more blatant example of playing into exactly the thing that we're trying to fight against. I can't be girlie? Why do I need to be defined aesthetically by someone else's perceptions of what makes me seem like someone who should be taken seriously? I'm going to wear whatever I want to wear, because I'm expressing myself, and I deserve that right. And I like the way that looks. You're not demeaning yourself by acting girlie. I think the fact that people are associating being girlie with weakness, that needs to be examined. Not me dressing girlie. I don't think that undermines my power at all.

49. Though she's an incredible actress, Zooey told Health magazine, "Writing music is my favorite thing to do."

50. She is really into nail art and she often shares her latest look on her Instagram page.