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IMDbPro

Emily Deschanel

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00075
Emily Deschanel
IMDb takes a closer look at the notable career of actor Emily Deschanel in this retrospective of her various roles.
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Emily Deschanel Career Retrospective
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99+ Photos
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 since 2005.

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

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.

In 1994, Deschanel made her feature film debut in It Could Happen to You. Her next notable role was in Stephen King's 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 won the role of 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 that premiered on September 13, 2005. 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.

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 plays her best friend Angela Montenegro on the show; she is also friends with her Bones co-star David Boreanaz with whom she has a strong working relationship.
BornOctober 11, 1976
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BornOctober 11, 1976
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00075
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards

Photos1031

Emily Deschanel and Madeleine Arthur in Devil in Ohio (2022)
Emily Deschanel in Bones (2005)
Emily Deschanel in Bones (2005)
David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel in Bones (2005)
David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, and Katheryn Winnick in Bones (2005)
David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, and Alyson Reed in Bones (2005)
Emily Deschanel and John Posey in Bones (2005)
David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, and John Posey in Bones (2005)
Emily Deschanel and Paul Zies in Bones (2005)
Michaela Conlin, Emily Deschanel, and Paul Zies in Bones (2005)
Emily Deschanel in Bones (2005)
Emily Deschanel and Kiva Jump in Bones (2005)

Known for

David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel in Bones (2005)
Bones
7.8
TV Series
  • Temperance Brennan
Boogeyman (2005)
Boogeyman
4.1
  • Kate Houghton
  • 2005
Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, and Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Spider-Man 2
7.4
  • Receptionist
  • 2004
Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, and Renée Zellweger in Cold Mountain (2003)
Cold Mountain
7.2
  • Mrs. Morgan
  • 2003

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Madeleine Arthur in Devil in Ohio (2022)
    Devil in Ohio
  • Nadine Crocker in Continue (2022)
    Continue
  • Agent Stoker (2021)
    Agent Stoker
  • Nathan Fillion, Richard T. Jones, Eric Winter, Alyssa Diaz, Melissa O'Neil, and Mekia Cox in The Rookie (2018)
    The Rookie
  • Animal Kingdom (2016)
    Animal Kingdom
  • Drunk History (2013)
    Drunk History
  • Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and Yeardley Smith in The Simpsons (1989)
    The Simpsons
    • (voice)
  • David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel in Bones (2005)
    Bones
  • Will Arnett in BoJack Horseman (2014)
    BoJack Horseman
    • (voice)
  • Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie in Sleepy Hollow (2013)
    Sleepy Hollow
  • Beyond Beyond (2014)
    Beyond Beyond
    • (English version, voice)
  • Patrick Stewart, Curtis Armstrong, Dee Bradley Baker, Chris Diamantopoulos, Jeff Fischer, Scott Grimes, David Koechner, Seth MacFarlane, Kevin Michael Richardson, Wendy Schaal, Daisuke Suzuki, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Mike Barker, Mike Henry, Rachael MacFarlane, and Matt McKenna in American Dad! (2005)
    American Dad!
    • (voice)
  • Jamie Kennedy, Sanaa Lathan, Will Forte, Reagan Gomez-Preston, Arianna Huffington, Seth MacFarlane, Kevin Michael Richardson, Craig Robinson, Jason Sudeikis, John Viener, Glenn Howerton, Alec Sulkin, Mike Henry, Nickie Bryar, and Aseem Batra in The Cleveland Show (2009)
    The Cleveland Show
    • (voice)
  • Kathleen Turner, Emily Deschanel, Michael McGrady, Jason Ritter, and Angelique Cabral in The Perfect Family (2011)
    The Perfect Family
  • Tit for Tat

Producer

  • David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel in Bones (2005)
    Bones
  • How I Became an Elephant (2012)
    How I Became an Elephant

Director

  • David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel in Bones (2005)
    Bones

Star Siblings: Famous Brothers and Sisters

Star Siblings: Famous Brothers and Sisters

Take a look at some of our favorite celebrity siblings, including Toby Sebastian and Florence Pugh, and Bill and Alexander Skarsgård.
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[object Object]
Photos

Videos104

Emily Deschanel Career Retrospective
Clip 1:19
Emily Deschanel Career Retrospective
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:54
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:19
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:40
Official Trailer
U.S. Version
Trailer 2:19
U.S. Version
Bones: The Complete Seventh Season
Trailer 0:16
Bones: The Complete Seventh Season
Bones: Season Nine
Trailer 0:22
Bones: Season Nine
Glory Road
Trailer 2:32
Glory Road
Boogeyman
Trailer 2:21
Boogeyman
Devil In Ohio (Spanish/Spain Subtitled)
Trailer 1:53
Devil In Ohio (Spanish/Spain Subtitled)
Devil In Ohio (Italian)
Trailer 1:53
Devil In Ohio (Italian)
Devil In Ohio
Trailer 1:50
Devil In Ohio

Personal details

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    • Twitter
    • October 11, 1976
    • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • David HornsbySeptember 25, 2010 - present (2 children)
    • Caleb Deschanel
    • Zooey Deschanel(Sibling)
  • Interact Theater's Production of "The Three Sisters"
  • Publicity listings
    • 5 Interviews
    • 6 Articles
    • 7 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    She is real-life best friends with Michaela Conlin who plays Angela Montenegro, her best friend on their show Bones (2005).
  • Quotes
    I was in school with Ginnifer Goodwin; she's a couple of years younger than I am. She's super-sweet. She told me I gave her a pep talk once, even though I can't remember it. And Michael Chiklis - I love The Shield (2002) - he's so good. When I was in school, he came to speak to us about acting and told this story about how he had "As You Like It" on his resume; and a casting director asked if it were a soap opera. The casting guy said, "ABC? NBC?" and Chiklis said, "No, Shakespeare". I'll never forget it.

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