50 facts about Jennifer Westfeldt: best known for her smart writing, acting and producing

Her Friends with Kids was a breakout hit at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival. Learn 50 facts about Westfeldt.

1. Jennifer is best known for her smart writing, acting and producing.

2. Attended Yale University.

3. Her background is in theater acting.

4. She was born in Guilford, CT.

5. Best known for her roles in Friends With Kids, Ira & Abby and Kissing Jessica Stein.

6. Jennifer is also an accomplished screenwriter,

7. She has written for all three of the films, Friends With Kids, Ira & Abby and Kissing Jessica Stein.

8. She has been nominated for an IFP Independent Spirit Award.

9. She was also nominated for a Tony Award.

10. Jennifer Westfeldt most recently wrote, produced, starred in and made her directorial debut in the indie hit Friends With Kids, released by Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions in March 2012.

11. Her Friends with Kids was a breakout hit at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival, and boasted a stellar cast including Adam Scott, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig, Chris O'Dowd, Ed Burns, Megan Fox and Jon Hamm.

12. Jennifer co-write and played the title role in her first film, the 2002 indie favorite Kissing Jessica Stein, released by Fox Searchlight.

13. She received an Indie Spirit Nomination for Best First Screenplay, the Golden Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, and a Special Jury Prize for Writing and Acting at the Los Angeles International Film Festival.

14. Her Friends with Kids film won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Los Angeles International Film Festival, the Audience Favorites Award at the Chicago International Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Miami Film Festival, Best Feature at the Louisville Jewish Film Festival, and the GLAAD Media Award.

15. Jennifer's second feature as an actress/scribe, Ira & Abby, marked her first solo screenwriting effort.

16. Ira & Abby won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival, the Jury Prize for Best Feature at the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Boston Jewish Film Festival.

17. Additionally, Jennifer won the Best Actress Award at the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival for her performance as Abby. The film was acquired by Magnolia Pictures and was released to critical acclaim in the fall of '07.

18. A veteran theater actress, Jennifer has starred in over 25 Off-Broadway and regional productions.

19. She made her Broadway debut in 2004's Wonderful Town, directed by Kathleen Marshall.

20. For her Broadway debut she received a Tony nomination, a Theater World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut, and a Drama League Award.

21. Recent stage work includes the world premiere of Cusi Cram's A Lifetime Burning at Primary Stages, directed by Pam Mackinnon, Three Sisters at LA Theaterworks, and Stephen Belber's The Power of Duff at the Powerhouse Theater, directed by Peter Dubois and opposite Greg Kinnear.

22. On the small screen, Jennifer has recently starred in Notes From the Underbelly and Children's Hospital.

23. She appeared as Meredith Reed in the final season of Fox's 24.

24. Other television credits include Grey's Anatomy, Judging Amy, Hack, Numbers, Two Guys, A Girl and A Pizza Place, and many more.

25. Off-screen, Jennifer devotes her time to charitable causes including

26. St. Jude Children's Hospital.

27. She currently splits her time between Los Angeles and New York.

28. Westfeldt was born in Guilford, Connecticut.

29. Her mother was a therapist.

30. Her father Patrick McLoskey Westfeldt, Jr., was an electrical engineer.

31. Westfeldt's mother is Jewish.

32. She graduated from Guilford High School.

33. While at Yale University she sang with the a cappella group Redhot & Blue.

34. Westfeldt started her career as a New York-based theater actor.

35. She first came to Hollywood in 1997.

36. In 1997 she co-wrote and starred in an Off-Broadway play with Heather Juergensen called Lipschtick.

37. In 2004, Westfeldt starred opposite Paul Schneider in the film How to Lose Your Lover.

38. Westfeldt was cast in a series regular role for Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place alongside Ryan Reynolds, Traylor Howard and Richard Ruccolo during its first season on ABC in 1997.

39. In 2001 she was featured in three episodes of Judging Amy.

40. In 2007, she was cast as the lead of ABC's Notes from the Underbelly, directed and executive produced by Barry Sonnenfeld.

41. Her recent television credits include memorable arcs on ABC's hit Grey's Anatomy, as well as starring in the TV movie Before You Say I Do (2009) opposite David Sutcliffe.

42. Additional television credits include appearances in The Gene Pool, Dante, Hack, Snoops.

43. She appeared in The Untitled New York Project.

44. In 2010, she was a guest star on Numb3rs for show 24 of the eighth season.

45. She provided the voice of Kit Luntayne in the Martha Speaks episodes "Cora! Cora! Cora!"

46. She also provided her voice to "Cora Encore!"

47. She made her 2004 Broadway debut in a revival of Wonderful Town.

48. Her stage work includes the world premiere of Joe Gilford's Finks at the Powerhouse Theater, opposite Josh Radnor (2008); the world premiere of Cusi Cram's A Lifetime Burning at Primary Stages (2009); Three Sisters at LA Theaterworks (2011) and the world premiere of Stephen Belber's The Power of Duff at the Powerhouse Theater, opposite Greg Kinnear (2012).

49. Westfeldt was in a long-term relationship with actor Jon Hamm.

50. Westfeldt and Hamm dated from 1997 to July 2015.

Source: facebook.com/JenniferWestfeldt, Wikipedia.org