As a youngster, Gyllenhaal appeared in several of her parents' works, including Waterland and A Dangerous Woman, the 1993 Debra Winger film about a mentally disturbed character.

Before settling on an acting career, Gyllenhaal neared a degree in English literature from Columbia University. She began winning roles in quirky films, such as the 2000 John Waters movie Cecil B. DeMented and another comedy-noir, Donnie Darko, with her brother in the lead. Her industry profile rose with parts in Riding in Cars with Boys alongside Drew Barrymore, and in one of 2002's most critically acclaimed films, Adaptation, with Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep.

Spanked in Secretary

Gyllenhaal decided to audition for the title role in The Secretary after reading the controversial script.

"I read three-quarters of the script, put it down and immediately called my agent," she told Daily Variety writer Ramin Zahed. "It was the best thing I'd read. Then I read the last quarter and got very nervous."

Directed by Steven Sheinberg, the film asks viewers to sympathize with Lee Holloway, who has recently emerged from a stay in a psychiatric facility. She takes a job as secretary to icy attorney E. Edward Grey, played by Spader. Grey behaves dreadfully toward her when her lack of office skills becomes evident, but she develops a crush on him anyway. When he spanks her one day for a simple typing error, the dynamics of their relationship are forever altered. The movie earned surprisingly good reviews.

Newsweek critic David Ansen asserted that it "manages to be simultaneously subversive and sweet," noting that Sheinberg "sees this as a romantic comedy in which two terrified, lost souls find liberation in kink...In the wrong hands, the conceit could have turned ugly and offensive. But Spader and Gyllenhaal have a hushed, hilarious chemistry that works like a charm."

Came From "Fierce" Women

Gyllenhaal has three films slated for release in 2003 including In God's Hands, which is currently still in production; Mona Lisa Smile, which casts her alongside Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst and Julia Stiles; and Casa de Los Babys, a John Sayles work about six American women who travel to South America to adopt children. She's also been tapped to play Valerie Gaddis in 2004's Criminal, an English-language version of the Argentine hit Nine Queens (2000).

The actress describes herself as coming from a long line of "fierce" women, she told Kennedy in the New York Times. "My grandmother was a pediatrician, and it was a huge struggle for her. Her sister was a lawyer for 50 years...My mom is a Hollywood writer. She has a fierceness to her. I'm resting on the shoulders of those people."

Gyllenhaal has been in a relationship with actor Peter Sarsgaard since 2002. In 2006, the two became engaged and Gyllenhaal gave birth to their daughter, Ramona, on October 3, 2006. On May 2, 2009, she married Sarsgaard in Italy. She is a politically active Democrat and, like her brother and parents, supports the American Civil Liberties Union. Prior to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq she participated in anti-war demonstrations. Gyllenhaal drew criticism in 2005 for her opinion that America was "responsible in some way" for the 9/11 attacks. She is actively involved in human rights, civil liberty, and anti-poverty campaigns.

Filmography

1992- Waterland
1993- A Dangerous Woman
1996- Shattered Mind
1998- Homegrown
1998-The Patron Saint of Liars
1999- Resurrection
2000- The Photographer
2000-Cecil B. Demented
2001- Riding in Cars with Boys
2001-Donnie Darko
2002- Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
2002-Adaptation.
2002-40 Days and 40 Nights
2002-Secretary
2003- Mona Lisa Smile
2003-Casa de los Babys
2004- Criminal
2004-Strip Search
2005- The Great New Wonderful
2005-Happy Endings
2006-Trust the Man
2006-Sherrybaby
2006-World Trade Center
2006-Monster House
2008- The Dark Knight
2009- Away We Go
2009-Crazy Heart
2010- Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang