Movies

Jena Laine Malone (/ˈdʒɛnə məˈloʊn/; born November 21, 1984) is an American actress, musician, and photographer. Known for her roles in both independent films and mainstream blockbuster features, she has received numerous accolades, including nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Born in Sparks, Nevada, Malone spent her early life there and in Las Vegas, while her mother acted in local theater productions. Inspired to become an actress herself, Malone convinced her mother to relocate to Los Angeles. After auditioning for several projects, Malone was cast by Anjelica Huston in her television film Bastard Out of Carolina (1996), for which she earned acclaim. She subsequently obtained roles in the major studio productions Contact (1997), Hope (1997) and Stepmom (1998).

Malone began the 2000s with the independent psychological thriller Donnie Darko (2001), which became a cult film. She followed this with roles in the drama Life as a House and the miniseries Hitler: The Rise of Evil (both 2003), and starred in the dark comedy Saved! (2004). She was subsequently cast as Lydia Bennet in Joe Wright's adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice (2005). She additionally had supporting roles in the dramas The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005), Into the Wild (2007), and the horror film The Ruins (2008). Malone made her foray into action films with Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch (2011) and was subsequently cast as Johanna Mason in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), a role she reprised in two sequels between 2014 and 2015; The Hunger Games franchise ranks among her highest-grossing film roles. She was then cast in supporting roles in Nicolas Winding Refn's psychological horror film The Neon Demon and Tom Ford's thriller Nocturnal Animals (both 2016).

Malone has ventured into music, releasing a single as Jena Malone and the Blood Stains in 2007. The following year she began performing street shows with a musical project called The Shoe, which features Malone performing with various instruments contained in a steamer trunk.