Manic Pixie Dream Girls
The MPDG concept is a further manifestation of what John Berger wrote about in his analysis of the masculine gaze in visual art, “One might simplify this by saying: men act and women appear.” The way bodies are framed, and the way the camera moves, teaches us to look at women the way that patriarchy already does.
This list "tries" to stick to the original definition of the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" film trope. "The character of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl is inserted in the story to give new meaning to the male hero's life! She's stunningly attractive, energetic, and high on life. She is also full of wacky quirks and idiosyncrasies." In its worst configuration a MPDG is subordinate to a Stale White Wonderbread Boy. In its best configuration Young Ellie in "Up" is young Carl's manic pixie dream girl in the standard manner but their relationship matures into a very balanced lifelong partnership.
Entirely on the plus side a true MPDG tends to not take herself or life all that seriously, in the refreshing sense of not being overburdened with a huge ego.
By the most restrictive description the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype is largely defined by secondary status and lack of an inner life. She's on hand to lift a gloomy male protagonist out of the doldrums, not to pursue her own happiness. I understand why a character meeting that description is objectionable and while several on my list do fit it - most have an inner life and are in pursuit of their own happiness - just not obsessively.
The lamentable trend has been to assign that label to any attractive female airhead. I will try to resist that temptation and at the very least will confess to stretching a bit if I should stray from the classic definition. The fact is that for a film trope the MPDG is a bit of a rarity which may explain the tendency to draft these simple airhead characters as examples.
The standard criticism of the MPDG is that the concept is mostly about how weak writing has reduced women to shallow plot devices. In an existential sense making them inauthentic. While the list confirms this I think it also illustrates that the concept is a lot more complicated.
The real downside is that after a steady diet of this stock character many boys and men feel they are entitled to having their lives enriched by their own MPDG and react with frustration when a fantasy love interest does not follow the script.
The list is in the order than I happened to think of them except for the first two examples.
This list "tries" to stick to the original definition of the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" film trope. "The character of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl is inserted in the story to give new meaning to the male hero's life! She's stunningly attractive, energetic, and high on life. She is also full of wacky quirks and idiosyncrasies." In its worst configuration a MPDG is subordinate to a Stale White Wonderbread Boy. In its best configuration Young Ellie in "Up" is young Carl's manic pixie dream girl in the standard manner but their relationship matures into a very balanced lifelong partnership.
Entirely on the plus side a true MPDG tends to not take herself or life all that seriously, in the refreshing sense of not being overburdened with a huge ego.
By the most restrictive description the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype is largely defined by secondary status and lack of an inner life. She's on hand to lift a gloomy male protagonist out of the doldrums, not to pursue her own happiness. I understand why a character meeting that description is objectionable and while several on my list do fit it - most have an inner life and are in pursuit of their own happiness - just not obsessively.
The lamentable trend has been to assign that label to any attractive female airhead. I will try to resist that temptation and at the very least will confess to stretching a bit if I should stray from the classic definition. The fact is that for a film trope the MPDG is a bit of a rarity which may explain the tendency to draft these simple airhead characters as examples.
The standard criticism of the MPDG is that the concept is mostly about how weak writing has reduced women to shallow plot devices. In an existential sense making them inauthentic. While the list confirms this I think it also illustrates that the concept is a lot more complicated.
The real downside is that after a steady diet of this stock character many boys and men feel they are entitled to having their lives enriched by their own MPDG and react with frustration when a fantasy love interest does not follow the script.
The list is in the order than I happened to think of them except for the first two examples.
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Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, who also holds German citizenship. She was born on April 30, 1982 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, to parents Inez (née Rupprecht), who owned an art gallery, and Klaus Dunst, a medical services executive. She has a younger brother named Christian Dunst, born in 1987. Her father is German, from Hamburg, and her mother, who is American, is of German and Swedish descent.
Her career began at the age of 3 when she started modeling and appearing in commercials. She made her feature film debut with an uncredited role at age 6 in the 'Oedipus Wrecks' segment of Woody Allen's 1989 film New York Stories (1989). She received her first film credit in The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990). Her family moved to Los Angeles in 1993, where her film career took off.
In 1994, she made her breakthrough performance in Interview with the Vampire (1994), alongside such stars as Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination, the MTV Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and the Saturn Award for Best Young Actress. In 1995, she was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. Over the next few years, she made a string of hit movies including Little Women (1994), Jumanji (1995) and Small Soldiers (1998).
In 2000, she received rave reviews for her role as "Lux Lisbon" in Sofia Coppola's independent film, The Virgin Suicides (1999) and proved her status as a leading actress in the comedy hit, Bring It On (2000). She also graduated from Notre Dame High School in Los Angeles in June of that year.
In 2002, she landed one of her best known roles as Peter Parker's love interest, Mary Jane Watson, in Spider-Man (2002). She continued her role in Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007).
She went on to land roles in such films as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), the romantic comedy Wimbledon (2004), and in Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown (2005). She also played the title character in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette (2006).
Dunst won the Best Actress Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival for her performance as Justine in Lars von Trier's Melancholia (2011). In 2012, she appeared in Walter Salles' film adaptation of On the Road (2012) and the independent comedy Bachelorette (2012). She also has several films in production, including The Two Faces of January (2014).
Her charity work includes designing a necklace to raise funds for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation as well as supporting various cancer charities.2005 - Elizabethtown (2005) - Claire Colburn
Claire is #1 on the list because she started the whole Manic Pixie Dream Girl phenomenon. Not the trope itself but a new catchy name for a plot device hundreds of years old.
Describing Elizabethtown’s adorably daffy love interest played by Kirsten Dunst, Nathan Rabin defined the MPDG as a fantasy figure who “exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.”
Rubin soon regretted coining the phrase as it has since been way over-used; while he had meant it to be specific to the Claire character. Rubin retrospectively wrote: "I remember watching "Elizabethtown" and being distracted by the preposterousness of its heroine. Dunst's psychotically bubbly stewardess seemed to belong in some magical, otherworldly realm -- hence the "pixie" -- offering up her phone number to strangers and drawing whimsical maps to help her man find his way."
I suspect that Dunst is nothing whatsoever like Claire and while the movie itself is absolutely horrible she should get credit for having the capacity to play this character with a straight face.- Actor
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English actor, writer, and comedian Simon Pegg was born Simon John Beckingham in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, to Gillian Rosemary (Smith), a civil servant, and John Henry Beckingham, a jazz musician. His parents divorced when he was seven. He later took his stepfather's surname "Pegg." He was educated at Brockworth Comprehensive Secondary School in Gloucestershire and went on to Stratford-upon-Avon College to study English literature and performance studies. He then attended the University of Bristol, and earned a bachelor's degree in drama. In the early 2000s, Pegg moved to London and began forging a successful career in stand-up comedy. Television opportunities followed including roles in Six Pairs of Pants (1995), Asylum (1996), and We Know Where You Live (1997). In 1999, Pegg and Jessica Hynes teamed up to write and star in cult sitcom Spaced (1999), directed by Edgar Wright. The series also featured Pegg's best friend Nick Frost. Pegg's breakthrough in film came with the zom-rom-com Shaun of the Dead (2004), which he also co-wrote with director Edgar Wright. Again, the film featured Nick Frost. The trio also scored a hit with police comedy Hot Fuzz (2007). Further film successes followed for Pegg, notably in the iconic role of Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in Star Trek (2009) and alongside Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III (2006) and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011).2008 - How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) - Sidney Young/b]
I can't resist inserting this immediately after "Elizabethtown"; pointing out that Kirsten Dunst redeems her over-the-top MPDG performance in that film by portraying a gloomy "female" character who "Manic Pixie Not So Dream Guy" Sidney lifts out of her doldrums. I suspect that Alison Olsen is much closer to Dunst's real life persona than Claire. But the two very contrasting roles nicely illustrate her ability to perform from both sides of the equation.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Gail Russell was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 21, 1924. She remained in the Windy City, going to school until her parents moved to California when she was 14. She was an above-average student in school and upon graduation from Santa Monica High School was signed by Paramount Studios.
Because of her ethereal beauty, Gail was to be groomed to be one of Paramount's top stars. She was very shy and had virtually no acting experience to speak of, but her beauty was so striking that the studio figured it could work with her on her acting with a studio acting coach.
Gail's first film came when she was 19 years old with a small role as "Virginia Lowry" in Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour (1943) in 1943. It was her only role that year, but it was a start. The following year she appeared in another film, The Uninvited (1944) with Ray Milland (it was also the first time Gail used alcohol to steady her nerves on the set, a habit that would come back to haunt her). It was a very well done and atmospheric horror story that turned out to be a profitable one for the studio. Gail's third film was the charm, as she co-starred with Diana Lynn in Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1944) that same year. The film was based on the popular book of the time and the film was even more popular.
In 1945 Gail appeared in Salty O'Rourke (1945), a story about crooked gamblers involved in horse racing. Although she wasn't a standout in the film, she acquitted herself well as part of the supporting cast. Later that year she appeared in The Unseen (1945), a story about a haunted house, starring Joel McCrea. Gail played Elizabeth Howard, a governess of the house in question. The film turned a profit but was not the hit that Paramount executives hoped for.
In 1946 Gail was again teamed with Diana Lynn for a sequel to "Our Hearts Were Young and Gay"--Our Hearts Were Growing Up (1946). The plot centered around two young college girls getting involved with bootleggers. Unfortunately, it was not anywhere the caliber of the first film and it failed at the box-office. With Calcutta (1946) in 1947, however, Gail bounced back with a more popular film, this time starring Alan Ladd. Unfortunately, many critics felt that Gail was miscast in this epic drama. That same year she was cast with John Wayne and Harry Carey in the western Angel and the Badman (1947). It was a hit with the public and Gail shone in the role of Penelope Worth, a feisty Quaker girl who tries to tame gunfighter Wayne. Still later Gail appeared in Paramount's all-star musical, Variety Girl (1947). The critics roasted the film, but the public turned out in droves to ensure its success at the box-office. After the releases of Song of India (1949), El Paso (1949), and Captain China (1950), Gail married matinée idol Guy Madison, one of the up-and-coming actors in Hollywood.
After The Lawless (1950) in 1950 Paramount decided against renewing her contract, mainly because of Gail's worsening drinking problem. She had been convicted of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, and the studio didn't want its name attached to someone who couldn't control her drinking. Being dumped by Paramount damaged her career, and film roles were coming in much more slowly. After Air Cadet (1951) in 1951, her only film that year, she disappeared from the screen for the next five years while she attempted to get control of her life. She divorced Madison in 1954.
In 1956 Gail returned in 7 Men from Now (1956). It was a western with Gail in the minor role of Annie Greer. The next year she was fourth-billed in The Tattered Dress (1957), a film that also starred Jeanne Crain and Jeff Chandler. The following year she had a reduced part in No Place to Land (1958), a low-budget offering from "B" studio Republic Pictures.
By now the demons of alcohol had her in its grasp. She was again absent from the screen until 1961's The Silent Call (1961) (looking much older than her 36 years). It was to be her last film. On August 26, 1961, Gail was found dead in her small studio apartment in Los Angeles, California.1947 - Angel and the Badman (1947) - Penelope Worth
Gail shone in the role of Penelope "Penny" Worth, a feisty Quaker girl who tames outlaw gunfighter Quirt Evans (John Wayne). Russell was another actress whose innate shyness subtly bleeds into her characters, giving her a subconscious appeal that is often amazing.
Penny is a classic example of the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" film trope. The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is here to give new meaning to the male hero's life! She's stunningly attractive, energetic, and high on life. She is also full of wacky quirks and idiosyncrasies - in Penny's case these are credible because they are passed off as Quaker homilies.
In this case the MPDG trope gets title billing and is pretty much the whole basis of the film, although unlike the hero the character does not undergo any growth. Which makes her perfect for an early slot on this list as other examples can be validated by comparisons to her.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Sandra Dee was born Alexandria Zuck on April 23, 1942 in Bayonne, New Jersey, to Mary (Cymboliak) and John Zuck. She was of Carpatho-Rusyn descent. Her mother envisioned a show business career for her daughter and would often lie about her age in order to get Sandy where she wanted to go. For example, her mother enrolled her in school early so she could have a head start. Sandy was only four years old when she entered the second grade. Sandra was an extremely pretty young lady, which enabled her to get into modeling. In fact, she was already very successful at her craft by the time she was 12 years old. This in turn led to television commercials for local companies, an added benefit for the young model.
Through her mother's prodding and the talent scouts, Sandra was signed to do a movie when she was 14 called Until They Sail (1957), released in 1957. While the film didn't exactly top the charts, it would lay the foundation for Sandra's career. The new young actress was then signed to two more films for 1958, The Reluctant Debutante (1958) and The Restless Years (1958), both with a young actor, John Saxon. In 1959, Sandra appeared in five productions with Gidget (1959) and A Summer Place (1959) being the two most popular. Sandra was 17 years old and becoming the heartthrob of teenage boys all across America. In 1960, Sandra appeared in only one film, Portrait in Black (1960), but is remembered by her for something else. She married teen idol Bobby Darin in December of that year. It may have sunk a few teen boys' hearts, but most still were enamored of her. Her work, once again, took off. The 1961 releases were Come September (1961), Romanoff and Juliet (1961), and as Tammy Tyree in Tammy Tell Me True (1961).
Sandra had replaced the ever-popular Debbie Reynolds in the "Tammy" series, but the film and its 1963 sequel, Tammy and the Doctor (1963), didn't do all that well at the box-office. The films were now slowing for Sandra. The last few that she made were I'd Rather Be Rich (1964), That Funny Feeling (1965), A Man Could Get Killed (1966), Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! (1967), and Rosie! (1967). By 1967, her marriage to Darin ended and so did her film career. There was little call for a teenage movie star to play daughters and such, when everyone knew that she was a divorcée. Plus, the face of movies had changed and sugary stories were not the ones that people wanted to see. Sandra did nail down the part of "Nancy Wagner" in 1970's The Dunwich Horror (1970).
In the 1970s, Dee made a few appearances in made-for-television movies, but it was the film Grease (1978) that made her famous to a new generation. While she was not in the film, one of the popular songs was "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee".
Sandra's last silver screen role was in Lost (1983). She died of kidney complications on February 20, 2005.1959 - The Wild and the Innocent (1959) - Rosalie Stocker/b]
Rosalie was the best example of Dee's typecasting as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Although her character is more shy and vulnerable than manic, she has been inserted into the story entirely in the service of motivating the two male characters, played by Audie Murphy and Gilbert Roland. A female with her looks, youth and innocence being something that men see as a means to redeeming their lives.
Although Dee was only 14 (she was born in 1944 - not 1942) and playing off two actors decades older, she is credible as the ultimate irresistible femme fatale. In fact the contrasts incorporated into the sequence where she first dresses in elaborate lingerie is one of the most erotic in movie history.
Rosalie is where all the energy comes from in this story, making her in that sense the most powerful MPDG on this list. Amazing. And amazing that Hollywood did not aggressively follow up on this potential.- Actress
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Mary Elizabeth Winstead is an actress known for her versatile work in a variety of film and television projects. Possibly most known for her role as Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), she has also starred in critically acclaimed independent films such as Smashed (2012), for which she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination, as well as genre fare like Final Destination 3 (2006) and Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof (2007).
Winstead was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina but largely raised in Sandy, Utah, which is where she discovered a love for the performing arts. She grew up training to be a ballerina and attended the Joffrey Ballet School training program at the age of 12. It was also around this time that she began to pursue a career in acting and soon started working steadily in television and film.
Winstead is also a recording artist and performs under the name "Got a Girl" alongside producer Dan the Automotor.2010 - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) - Ramona Flowers
Winstead's resume includes a number of weird girls and her varied characters demonstrate that the actress is not just another pretty face. Ramona is the driving force and main plot device in this film about a magically realistic version of Toronto. Ramona hits all the MPDG requirements, including the rarest one "often with a touch of wild hair dye" - in fact she changes wild hair dye daily.
She's inexplicably obsessed with the wimpy Scott, on whom she focuses her antics until he learns to live freely and love madly. Ramona is more dimensional than your standard MPDG, a shade more world-weary, and delivers many of her lines more deadpan than pixie-like.- Carroll Baker was born on May 28, 1931 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of a traveling salesman, William W. Baker. She attended community college for a year and then worked as a dancer and magician's assistant. After a brief marriage, she had a small part in Easy to Love (1953), did TV commercials, and had a bit part on Broadway. She studied at the Actors Studio and was married to director Jack Garfein (one daughter, Blanche Baker). Warner Brothers, sensing a future Marilyn Monroe, cast her in Giant (1956), Baby Doll (1956) (Oscar nomination for her thumb-sucking role), The Carpetbaggers (1964) and Harlow (1965) (title role). Moving to Italy, she made films there and in England, Germany, Mexico and Spain . After returning to American films, she married Donald Burton in 1982 and resided in Hampstead, London in the 1980s. They remained together until Burton's death from emphysema in their home in Cathedral City, California in 2007.1958 - The Big Country (1958) - Patricia Terrill
I'll put Patricia on the list because I have only recently realized that they have incorporated the MPDG trope into this film in a unique way. All the MPDG elements take place off screen, in fact they take place before the opening scene. We learn that straight-laced ship captain James McKay (Gregory Peck) became charmed and smitten with a MPDG version of Patricia when she visited New England.
She snares him and they return to Texas to be married. An impulsive departure from his life-long conventional behavior. But back with her wealthy rancher father Pat's defects slowly reveal themselves, and her frustration explodes when she realizes that she cannot control Jim. It turns out that Pat was only posing as a MPDG.
McKay falls out of love and ends up with school teacher Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons), although it takes a bit for Jim and Julie to realize what has happened. Julie nicely fits the "pixie" label and is certainly a "dream girl", but is otherwise quite conventional and authentic. - Actress
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Almost everyone who has spent time with Kate Hudson -including directors, family members, co-stars and interviewers - is quick to comment on her ability to light up a room. Through some combination of a winning smile, solid work ethic, and good old-fashioned talent, the young actress has gone from indie beginner to Vanity Fair cover girl in just three years. What's more, she's done it all without capitalizing on the success of legendary actress mom, Goldie Hawn.
Kate Hudson was born in Los Angeles, California, to Goldie Hawn and Bill Hudson, a comedian, actor and singer. She was raised by her mother and her mother's longtime boyfriend, actor Kurt Russell, whom she considers to be her father. Kate is the sister of actor Oliver Hudson, the half-sister of actor and hockey player Wyatt Russell, and the granddaughter of band musician Rut Hawn. She is the niece of entertainment publicist Patti Hawn, record producer Mark Hudson and musician Brett Hudson. Kate is of Hungarian Jewish (from her maternal grandmother), Italian (from her paternal grandmother), English, and German ancestry.
By all accounts, Hudson was a born performer - as a child she danced and sang at every opportunity. Her family hoped that she would attend New York University after graduating from high school, but she opted to get her feet wet in the professional acting world first. She made her big-screen debut as an ambitious young starlet stranded in a tiny California town in Desert Blue (1998). Her next two films, while critically panned, made it into wider release: 200 Cigarettes (1999) (in which she played an earnest but accident-prone ditz) and Gossip (2000) (which cast her as a rich, virginal college student). Perhaps Hudson's biggest break was landing the role of rock groupie (or "Band Aide") Penny Lane in Almost Famous (2000). The part was originally intended for Sarah Polley; when Polley backed out to pursue another project, director Cameron Crowe considered scrapping the film altogether. Hudson, who had been cast in a smaller role (as William's stewardess sister), begged for a chance to read for Penny. Crowe was impressed, Hudson got the part, and the show went on. As much as Tinseltown gossipmongers would like to put them at odds, mother and daughter agree that Hawn is one of Hudson's biggest supporters.2000 - Almost Famous (2000) - Penny Lane
Penny is the second Cameron Crowe character to make this list which gives you some idea where his head is at.
A perfectly cast 20-year-old Kate Hudson with bouncing golden ringlets is the iconic central female character of the film. Sarah Priscus wrote that "The twinkling gleam in her eye and her aloof charisma make her easy to favor."
At the time Penny Lane really was an easy to idolize "Dream Girl" for male viewers and Hudson's pixie cuteness was a big reason for that. Her youthful glow was such a large part of the package that a short shelf life is to be expected.
Penny is a transactional heroine in the spirit of Holly Golightly. Neither seems to need much aside from male attention, and a large part of their attraction is the creation of a mystery personna and an unwillingness to take anything seriously.
"I always tell the girls, never take it seriously, if ya never take it seriously, ya never get hurt, ya always have fun, and if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends."
Both are kind of a subversion of the trope because they play the one dimensional role on purpose, as a way to assert control. If there is a message to any of this it is that a classic MPDG has an innate appeal to males and male viewers, or at least that screenwriters believe such to be the case.
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Mary Elle Fanning was born on the 9th of April 1998 in Conyers, Georgia, USA, to Heather Joy (Arrington) and Steven J. Fanning. Her mother played professional tennis, and her father, now an electronics salesman, played minor league baseball. She is of German, Irish, English, French, and Channel Islander descent.
Elle's ascent into stardom began when she was almost three years old, when she played the younger version of her sister, Dakota Fanning's, character Lucy in the drama film I Am Sam (2001). She then played younger Dakota again in Taken (2002) as Allie, age 3. But her first big independent movie without her sister was in 2003's Daddy Day Care (2003) as Jamie. She then had two guest appearances on Judging Amy (1999) and CSI: Miami (2002).
Elle was becoming more successful and she got another role, in 2004's The Door in the Floor (2004) with Kim Basinger. Her career kept improving, as she had two movies in 2005, Because of Winn-Dixie (2005) and I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006).
She has since starred in a number of prominent films, including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Super 8 (2011), We Bought a Zoo (2011), and Maleficent (2014).2011 - We Bought a Zoo (2011) - Lily Miska
I include this character on my list not to pile onto Cameron Crowe (although it is telling) but to illustrate the pervasiveness of the trope. Fanning was not yet a teenager or a "charming tween" (she was a year of two from acquiring that label) when Crowe cast her in this role and her depressed guy love interest was barely out of junior high.
Lily is not a central character, but in her limited screen time she inspires a brooding Dylan to be free-spirited and to move on from the recent death of his mother. An unusual solitary but dazzling girl who adds quirky joy to a coming of age boy’s humdrum existence.- Actress
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Zooey Deschanel's quirky charm, striking blue eyes, and distinctively offbeat humor have made her one of the most beloved indie darlings of recent decades. Hailing from a renowned entertainment family, she began her career in the late 1990s. Deschanel's talent shines through her diverse roles, encompassing both comedic and dramatic territory, as well as her musical abilities.
After a brief guest appearance on the sitcom 'Veronica's Closet,' Deschanel made her feature film debut in Lawrence Kasdan's 'Mumford' (1999). Her breakout role came courtesy of Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical 'Almost Famous' (2000), where she portrayed the enigmatic Anita Miller, the older sister of the film's protagonist. Deschanel effortlessly embodies the rebellious and free-spirited youth of the 1970s rock scene. Her nuanced performance in 'Almost Famous' solidified her status as a rising star.
Deschanel's reputation is built on her ability to portray endearingly awkward and unconventional female characters. Her portrayal of the heartbroken yet resilient Summer Finn in '(500) Days of Summer' (2009) became an iconic portrayal of unconventional romance in the 21st-century. Her deadpan delivery and self-aware humor found perfect expression in her most well-known role, Jessica Day, in the hit sitcom 'New Girl' (2011 - 2018). As the bubbly and optimistic school teacher who moves in with three male roommates, she quickly became a beloved television icon, earning numerous award nominations for her performance.
While widely recognized for her comedic roles, Deschanel has also proven her dramatic chops in independent films such as 'All the Real Girls' (2003). This critically-acclaimed film earned her recognition for authentically portraying a young woman navigating a complex relationship. She further demonstrated her versatility with the role of Trillian in the science-fiction comedy 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'(2005), demonstrating her ability to adapt to fantastical and quirky settings.
Deschanel's off-screen talents extend to her musical abilities. She often showcases her singing in films and television, notably in 'Elf' (2003) where her rendition of 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' with Will Ferrell is a holiday classic. She also starred in the television adaptation of 'Once Upon a Mattress' (2005). Deschanel formed the musical duo 'She & Him' in 2006 with singer-songwriter M. Zooey Claire Deschanel, is an American actress and musician.
Ward, where her retro-inspired vocals and songwriting talents have produced multiple successful albums.
Beyond acting and music, Deschanel has become a multi-faceted figure in popular culture. Her co-founding of the women-focused digital media company HelloGiggles in 2011 demonstrated her entrepreneurial spirit and desire to empower women. Her carefully curated personal style, often featuring vintage-inspired pieces, has also earned her recognition as a fashion icon.
Deschanel's career has continued to thrive in recent years. She lent her voice to the animated film 'Trolls' (2016) and its sequel 'Trolls World Tour' (2020), playing the cheerful and optimistic Princess Bridget. She also took on supporting roles in films like 'Rock the Kasbah' (2015) and 'The Driftless Area' (2015). Alongside her continued musical endeavors, Deschanel remains an active figure on television, hosting 'The Celebrity Dating Game' (2021).
Looking ahead, Deschanel has several projects in development. She's attached to star in 'Dreamin' Wild', a biopic where she will portray legendary singer-songwriter Cass Elliot of The Mamas & the Papas. Deschanel is also slated to make a return to dramatic territory with the film 'Harold and the Purple Crayon,' a live-action adaptation of the beloved children's book. Her continued willingness to experiment across genres solidifies her place as a dynamic and enduring talent in the entertainment world.
With her endearing personality, comedic timing, and the ability to imbue both quirky and serious characters with depth and heart, Zooey Deschanel has built a captivating and enduring career. Her contributions to film, television, and music have earned her a devoted following and a position as a beloved figure in popular culture. As she ventures into new projects, Deschanel continues to captivate audiences with her unique blend of charm, talent, and undeniable individuality.2009 - 500 Days of Summer (2009) - Summer/b]
Summer is an extraordinarily interesting example because Tom spends their entire relationship trying to convert her to his Manic Pixie Dream Girl and their relationship suffers accordingly. So despite making a lot of these MPDG lists she manages to avoid actually becoming one.
She not only is the titular character (the title is not "Summer and I") in a double entendre sort of way but the entire film is about a guy looking back and lamenting the end of his relationship with her.
Hard to sell that as anything but a writer's generally correct belief that males find the concept of possessing their own MPDG as one road to male happiness. And that females should aspire to being a MPDG.
It is probably a good thing Deschanel refuses to become a MPDG because she has a unique ability to showcase her natural charm on screen, meaning that both male and female viewers must constantly suspend disbelief that such a fantasy ideal could be real, with the capacity to be anyone's love interest or rival.
https://lithub.com/manic-pixie-dream-portrait-on-500-days-of-summer-and-dorian-gray/- Actress
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Ask Kate Winslet what she likes about any of her characters, and the word "ballsy" is bound to pop up at least once. The British actress has made a point of eschewing straightforward pretty-girl parts in favor of more devilish damsels; as a result, she's built an eclectic resume that runs the gamut from Shakespearean tragedy to modern-day mysticism and erotica.
Kate Elizabeth Winslet was born in Reading, Berkshire, into a family of thespians -- parents Roger Winslet and Sally Anne Bridges-Winslet were both stage actors, maternal grandparents Oliver and Linda Bridges ran the Reading Repertory Theatre, and uncle Robert Bridges was a fixture in London's West End theatre district. Kate came into her talent at an early age. She scored her first professional gig at eleven, dancing opposite the Honey Monster in a commercial for a kids' cereal. She started acting lessons around the same time, which led to formal training at a performing arts high school. Over the next few years, she appeared on stage regularly and landed a few bit parts in sitcoms. Her first big break came at age 17, when she was cast as an obsessive adolescent in Heavenly Creatures (1994). The film, based on the true story of two fantasy-gripped girls who commit a brutal murder, received modest distribution but was roundly praised by critics.
Still a relative unknown, Winslet attended a cattle call audition the next year for Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility (1995). She made an immediate impression on the film's star, Emma Thompson, and beat out more than a hundred other hopefuls for the part of plucky Marianne Dashwood. Her efforts were rewarded with both a British Academy Award and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Winslet followed up with two more period pieces, playing the rebellious heroine in Jude (1996) and Ophelia in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996).
The role that transformed Winslet from art house attraction to international star was Rose DeWitt Bukater, the passionate, rosy-cheeked aristocrat in James Cameron's Titanic (1997). Young girls the world over both idolized and identified with Winslet, swooning over all that face time opposite heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio and noting her refreshingly healthy, unemaciated physique. Winslet's performance also garnered a Best Actress nomination, making her the youngest actress to ever receive two Academy Award nominations.
After the swell of unexpected attention surrounding Titanic (1997), Winslet was eager to retreat into independent projects. Rumor has it that she turned down the lead roles in both Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Anna and the King (1999) in order to play adventurous soul searchers in Hideous Kinky (1998) and Holy Smoke (1999). The former cast her as a young single mother traveling through 1970s Morocco with her daughters in tow; the latter, as a zealous follower of a guru tricked into a "deprogramming" session in the Australian outback. The next year found her back in period dress as the Marquis de Sade's chambermaid and accomplice in Quills (2000). Kate holds the distinction of being the youngest actor ever honored with four Academy Award nominations (she received her fourth at age 29). As of 2016, she has been nominated for an Oscar seven times, winning one of them: she received the Best Actress Oscar for the drama The Reader (2008), playing a former concentration camp guard.
For her performance of Joanna Hoffman in Steve Jobs (2015), she received her seventh Academy Award nomination.
Off camera, Winslet is known for her mischievous pranks and familial devotion. She has two sisters, Anna Winslet and Beth Winslet (both actresses), and a brother, Joss.
In 1998, she married assistant director Jim Threapleton. They had a daughter, Mia Honey Threapleton, in October 2000. They divorced in 2001. She later married director Sam Mendes in 2003 and gave birth to their son, Joe Alfie Winslet-Mendes, later that year. After seven years of marriage, in February 2010 they announced that they had amicably separated, and divorced in October 2010. In 2012, Kate married Ned Rocknroll, with whom she has a son. She was awarded Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the 2012 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to Drama.2004 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - Clementine Kruczynski/b]
For those into the whole brevity thing Winslet's character is known as that blue-haired girl from Eternal Sunshine. She does not belong on this list and is included only for discussion purposes. It is an example of the subversion of the trope or perhaps the subverted subversion of the trope. Anytime you have to explain something with a double negative you have a tell.
Think of it this way, a MPDG recognizes the absurdity of life and for the most part does not take it seriously. Someone who has significant portions of their memory erased does so because they do not have that capacity. A MPDG has received enough gamma rays to bloom a little differently but not so much that they are stunted like Clementine.
The blue haired girl does have the standard purpose of a MPDG, as an object for the hapless nerd to gain, her value as a hallowed object being based on being “not like other girls”.
In this film the male laments: "I wish I had stayed too. NOW I wish I had stayed. I wish I had done a lot of things. I wish I had... I wish I had stayed. I do".- Actress
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Daughter of a law professor at Northwestern University, she moved with her family to Los Angeles when he transferred to the University of California at Los Angeles (U.C.L.A.). She began acting in school plays at North Hollywood High, graduated from The Oakwood School and then continued her stage training at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and the drama division of The Juilliard School in New York. Following a pleasant screen debut in Robert Redford's Oscar-winning Ordinary People (1980), McGovern gave a great performance as Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime (1981) for which she earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress. She has continued performing on stage between screen assignments rather than concentrate on being a film star, where her notable work in prolific plays, among others, also includes an acclaimed production of Alexi Kaye Campbell's "Sunset at the Villa Thalia" premiered in London at the National Theatre of Great Britain in May 2016, directed by Simon Godwin together with Ben Miles, Sam Crane, Pippa Nixon, Christos Callow, Glykeria Dimou and Eve Polycarpou in the brilliant cast..1980 - Ordinary People (1980) - Jeannine Pratt/b]
This is an interesting one because I think more men worldwide fell in love with Jeannine than any female movie character in history. And then it was over, 40+ years later McGovern is still acting but IMHO has never come close to duplicating the adoration. Could it be because Jeannine has been her only MPDG portrayal?
Jeannine is manic in a very charming way - not at all irritating. And she has a pixie quality that I assume is innate to McGovern. And the romance part is understated and mostly about healing Conrad (Timothy Hutton). And really she is probably exactly what most guys would love to find. So while she is the fulfillment of a dream it is not too much of a stretch to imagine someone like her happening to you.- Actress
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Natalie Portman is the first person born in the 1980s to have won the Academy Award for Best Actress (for Black Swan (2010)).
Natalie was born Natalie Hershlag on June 9, 1981, in Jerusalem, Israel. She is the only child of Avner Hershlag, an Israeli-born doctor, and Shelley Stevens, an American-born artist (from Cincinnati, Ohio), who also acts as Natalie's agent. Her parents are both of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Natalie's family left Israel for Washington, D.C., when she was still very young. After a few more moves, her family finally settled in New York, where she still lives to this day. She graduated with honors, and her academic achievements allowed her to attend Harvard University. She was discovered by an agent in a pizza parlor at the age of 11. She was pushed towards a career in modeling but she decided that she would rather pursue a career in acting. She was featured in many live performances, but she made her powerful film debut in the movie Léon: The Professional (1994) (aka "Léon"). Following this role Natalie won roles in such films as Heat (1995), Beautiful Girls (1996), and Mars Attacks! (1996).
It was not until 1999 that Natalie received worldwide fame as Queen Amidala in the highly anticipated US$431 million-grossing prequel Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). She then she starred in two critically acclaimed comedy dramas, Anywhere But Here (1999) and Where the Heart Is (2000), followed by Closer (2004), for which she received an Oscar nomination. She reprised her role as Padme Amidala in the last two episodes of the Star Wars prequel trilogy: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). She received an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Black Swan (2010).
She received a second nomination for Best Actress, for playing Jacqueline Kennedy in Jackie (2016).2004 - Garden State (2004) - Sam/b]
This character makes it into almost as many discussions of the MPDG phenomenon as Claire in "Elizabethtown" which was made a year later and unsuccessfully tried to emulate "Garden State". Portman gives Sam more dimensionality than Claire, but not a lot more.
Zach Braff wrote and directed the film so you have to assume that Sam is in many ways his idea of dream girl. What is odd is that while stunningly attractive, Sam is incredibly irritating, even more irritating than Claire. She would only be a dream girl to someone masochistic enough to take pleasure from close association with someone who was off the scale tedious.- Actress
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Gwyneth Kate Paltrow was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of noted producer and director Bruce Paltrow and Tony Award-winning actress Blythe Danner. Her father was from a Jewish family, while her mother is of mostly German descent. When Gwyneth was eleven, the family moved to Massachusetts, where her father began working in summer stock productions in the Berkshires. It was here that she received her early acting training under the tutelage of her parents. She graduated from the all-girls Spence School in New York City and moved to California where she attended the UC Santa Barbara, majoring in Art History. She soon quit, realizing it was not her passion. She made her film debut with a small part in Shout (1991) and for the next five years had featured roles in a mixed bag of film fare that included Flesh and Bone (1993); Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994); Se7en (1995); Jefferson in Paris (1995); Moonlight and Valentino (1995); and The Pallbearer (1996). It was her performance in the title role of Emma Woodhouse in Emma (1996) that led to her being offered the role of Viola in Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which she was awarded the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Her roles have also included The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Shallow Hal (2001), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), Proof (2005), Iron Man (2008), Two Lovers (2008), and Country Strong (2010). She has two children with her former husband, English musician Chris Martin.1998 - Shakespeare in Love (1998) - Viola De Lesseps/b]
Not a character who makes many MPDG lists, perhaps because Viola is such a sensational part for an actress. She is Shakespeare's muse, a traditional function of a MPDG but she could also be considered his collaborator.
"Twelfth Night's" Viola, arguably the most delightful and engaging female character in Shakespeare’s comedies, could be considered a very intelligent and resourceful Manic Pixie Dream Girl, but one with whom the trope's critics could not find fault. "A Midsummer Night's Dream's" Helena is way too fully drawn and unsure of herself to be a MPDG. And "The Tempest's" Miranda is a living representation of female virtue which few are likely to confuse with a MPDG although those who create MPDG's often include some of Miranda's traits. Shakespeare did not short-change the dimensionality of his best female characters
While she is concerned with her own happiness it is secondary to her concern for Will's because she recognizes his creative passion and sees him as capable of making huge literary contributions with the right encouragement.
Viola is the inspiration for "Twelfth Night" and the most lyrical closing credits of all time. "Goosebumps! That's the only word that can describe this ending. And Stephen Warbeck's accompanying score is absolutely magical".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0r3Ga23tD4- Actress
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Minneapolis native Rachael Leigh Cook began her career as a model at the tender age of 10, gracing Milk-Bone boxes and Target ads nationwide in the USA. She also appeared in a now-famous (in the USA) anti-drug TV spot in which, armed with a frying pan, she bashed her way through a kitchen to show the disastrous effects of heroin. At 14, her modeling agency sent her to read for a short film (26 Summer Street (1996)) and changed the course of her young life--from that moment on, Cook was hooked on acting. When she reached L.A. later that year, Cook bypassed the wannabe stage and nailed her first audition (for the part of a budding entrepreneur in The Baby-Sitters Club (1995)). She returned to theaters three months later in the Jonathan Taylor Thomas vehicle Tom and Huck (1995), then filled her calendar with appearances in independent and made-for-TV movies. She divided her time between Minneapolis and Tinseltown, shuttling from school events to movie shoots with her mother in tow. Cook's starlet status crystallized in 1999, when she starred opposite Freddie Prinze Jr. in the Pygmalion retelling She's All That (1999). Her on-screen transformation from ugly duckling to ravishing beauty scored several teen-oriented awards and made Cook a hot commodity in Hollywood. She signed for a handful of plum follow-up roles, including a troubled adolescent in Sylvester Stallone's Get Carter (2000), a frontier gal in Texas Rangers (2001), and the caterwauling lead in the live-action version of Josie and the Pussycats (2001). Cook now lives primarily in Los Angeles, but she returns home frequently to visit with friends and family. Her father, Tom (a former stand-up comic), is a social worker in the public school system, and her younger brother, Ben, is an aspiring filmmaker.2003 - The Big Empty (2003) - Ruthie/b]
Cowboys. Aliens. Blue suitcases and bowling balls. Strange things are happening out in the middle of nowhere. One of those things is a mysterious MPDG, although the hero is having his world view changed by all manner of things so that the viewer cannot dwell too long on any one character.- Entrancing Leigh Taylor-Young was born on January 25, 1945, in Washington, D,C,. to a diplomat father and raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, the older sister of future actress Dey Young and writer/director Lance Young. She studied classical ballet and, following high school, attended Northwestern University where she initially majored in economics. She switched gears after developing an interest in theater, however, and studied under drama teacher Alvina Krause, and would apprentice as the youngest member of the Eaglesmere Summer Repertory Theatre.
Leigh eventually moved to New York with designs on a professional career and studied under acting guru Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Her major break came when she was cast in the already firmly established primetime TV soap Peyton Place (1964). She played the mysterious Rachael Welles, whose character was brought in to provide clues to the disappearance of Allison MacKenzie (played by Mia Farrow who shocked ardent viewers by abruptly leaving the series). A mysterious girl herself, Leigh proved to be a fetching figure with her slightly off-kiltered beauty and unsympathetic countenance.
Like Farrow, Leigh developed a bit of bad publicity when she too walked off the weekly series after only one season. She also fell into the arms of the very popular -- and very married -- series star Ryan O'Neal. The couple would marry in February 1967 following his divorce from actress Joanna Moore. By then, Leigh was already pregnant with their child Patrick O'Neal, who would later become an actor before turning to sportscasting.
Leigh started off in films auspiciously as a "flower child" of the psychedelic late 1960s. She earned a Golden Globe nomination for "Best Newcomer," when she played opposite Peter Sellers, in the eccentric comedy, I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968), but then appeared opposite her husband in The Big Bounce (1969), a kinky misfire. She went on to appear in a cameo in her husband's British-made movie, The Games (1970), but her career sputtered again with a series of misguided features, including the star-heavy epic, The Adventurers (1970); another kinky British film, The Buttercup Chain (1970), which dealt with kissing cousins who don't quite stop at kissing; the beautifully photographed but rather hollow action-adventure The Horsemen (1971) co-starring Omar Sharif; and the mild romp, The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971) which is best remembered for starting Robert De Niro off and running in films. Arguably, Leigh's best remembered role during that period came alongside Charlton Heston in the controversial film Soylent Green (1973), although she was a bit overshadowed by the grisly topic material and showier performances of co-stars Heston and Edward G. Robinson.
Following her separation from O'Neal in 1971 (they didn't divorce until 1974), the actress made herself somewhat scarce while raising her young son. In 1978, she married agent/director Guy McElwaine, but that marriage would also end in divorce. In the 1980s, she made a comeback of sorts as a mature -- but still spicy -- presence. Taking a backseat to Albert Finney in the film thriller Looker (1981) and to Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges in the whodunnit Jagged Edge (1985), she found her best results back on TV.
Leigh would nab a supporting Emmy award in 1994 for her portrayal of vixen Rachel Harris on the acclaimed drama series Picket Fences (1992). In addition, she performed in several plays, in the US, England and Scotland, including "The Beckett Plays", "Knives" and "Sleeping Dogs". More recently, she appeared in her writer/director brother Lance Young's film Bliss (1997). Leigh also would play a regular role on the daytime soap, Passions (1999) as wealthy Katherine Crane.
A few movie roles have come her way into the millennium, including the film comedy Slackers (2002); a cameo role (as Mrs. Leigh Taylor Young) in then-husband Craig Sheffer's film Ritual (2002); the comedy crimer Klepto (2003); the comedy A-List (2006); as a psychiatrist in the sci-fi adventure Spiritual Warriors (2007) and, more recently, the drama The Wayshower (2011).
Finding a fulfilling life off-camera, Leigh became an ordained minister in the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, and her voice can be heard in the Search of Serenity series of audio meditations from The Course in Miracles trainings. She is also a grandmother of two granddaughters from son Patrick's affair with the older Rebecca De Mornay.1968 - I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968) - Nancy/b]
Believe it or not Nancy was not the title character and was not a homage to the Fiiresign Theater line "but everyone knew her as Nancy" in the Nick Danger skit.
50+ years ago a MPDG sub genre emerged of spacey hippie chicks who got grim establishment types to turn on and become groovy. The girls themselves seemed to get off on their ability to effectuate this transformation although there was little exploration of their motivation.
This film is the best of this sub genre at least in part because in 1968 Taylor-Young was the best looking chick on the planet. - Actress
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Rachel Bilson was born in Los Angeles, to Janice (Stango), a sex therapist, and Danny Bilson. Her father is Ashkenazi Jewish and her mother is of Italian descent. She began acting while still at Notre Dame High School. She graduated high school in 1999 and went to Grossmont College but dropped out after a year and was encouraged to pursue a career in acting by her father, himself a writer, director and producer.
She worked in commercials and landed a few one-off roles in high profile TV shows before landing the part of Summer Roberts in the hit TV series The O.C. (2003), establishing herself as a household name.2006 - The Last Kiss (2006) - Kim/b]
Zach Braff's real claim to fame is as a MPDG magnet without much originality. Bilson is a poor man's Natalie Portman (think pixie size Sandra Bullock), both Bison and Portman are regulation size pixies, 5'2" and 5'3" respectively.
In this film Braff plays his standard dour "Garden State" character begging to be lifted out of his rut. The difference is that Kim is actually manic, dangerously manic.
Seriously, while Sam in "Garden State" was just incredibly tedious Kim is a physical threat. Of course by the end of film this has taken Kim out of running for MPDG classification but up until the big reveal she is playing a MPDG.- Actress
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Lindy Booth was born on April 2, 1979, in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. She played "Riley Grant" on the Disney Channel series, The Famous Jett Jackson (1998) (and "Agent Hawk" in the show-within-a-show, "Silverstone"). Other credits include guest-starring as different characters in two different episodes of the A&E Network series, A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001), and a recurring role in season two of the USA Network series, The 4400 (2004).1998 - Relic Hunter (1999) - Claudia/b]
I'll do something a little bit weird here and include Lindy on the list. Although I am not sure that she ever played a MPDG, her standard early character Claudia is visually and in manner the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the trope. And if I could have constructed a MPDG to come into my life, Claudia would do nicely.- Actress
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Hannah was born on 1 April 1981 at Great Yarmouth, England. At the age of 3 she modelled in a Mothercare catalogue. At school she liked sports but at 12 she decided she wanted to be a performer. She landed a part in a local production of Annie. Hannah enjoyed it so much she decided to join the National Youth Music Theatre production of Pendragon where she met S Club 7 member Paul. She also appeared in English TV shows such as Blue Peter and the National Lottery. Then at age 18 she joined the pop group S Club 7.2004 - Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004) - Emily/b]
Gosh, if I can find an excuse to put Lindy Booth on the list I should also include Hannah who I found unexpectedly irresistible as pixie secret agent Emily. Unfortunately for this list Emily is the put upon straight part to the mildly manic Cody. But she physically resembles this list's cover girl Kirsten Dunst and is regulation pixie size so I have included her with the just discussed disclaimers.
Ideally Hannah and Lindy are what a MPDG should look like.- Actress
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Meg Tilly was set on being a dancer, and at 17 connected to the Connecticut Ballet Company and later Throne Dance Theatre. It was in this capacity that she had her screen debut in Alan Parker's Fame (1980). Unfortunately, an injury to her back cut short her plans for a dance career, and a small appearance in the TV series Hill Street Blues (1981) turned her towards acting (her dancing skills were not all forgotten, as was evident in The Big Chill (1983) and Psycho II (1983)). She received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Agnes of God (1985), and nobody doubted that she was on her way to stardom. One step on the road to that status was her being cast in Milos Forman's Amadeus (1984) as Constanza, but again her body interfered, and seven weeks into the production with her foot in a cast were more than the producers could accept, and she was replaced. Her "consolation", was a role in Forman's next project Valmont (1989), didn't do her career much good. Since then she has averaged a movie a year, and with the exception of Leaving Normal (1992), none have tapped the enormous reservoir of talent she has.1983 - The Big Chill (1983) - Chloe/b]
You may notice an interesting pattern with the last few characters on this list, most of them only have a first name. Which is what you would expect for shallow characters who like their names are not fully developed. Although in this film about a group of friends none are given last names.
You may also notice that despite criticism of the trope, most MPDG's are a positive force in their stories. Which is nicely illustrated in this film.
Tilly gives such a beautifully restrained performance that you barely notice Chloe during your first viewing(s) of the film. But eventually you see her as integral to the whole story and certainly to the film's climatic sequence.
This is an actor's film and she is the eighth major character, thrown in as the one outsider when the other seven assemble for a weekend after their college friend Alex's suicide. Chloe was Alex's young lover and shocks the others with her emotional detachment and inappropriate reactions. In this Chloe has a lot in common with Ramona Flowers (an earlier MPDG) with both characters having diminished expectations of what they are likely to get from life. Although world-weary they are still plugging away as positive forces and are attracted to men who are not players.
So as the weekend progresses she is slowly connecting with Nick, the most troubled of the seven old friends. This culminates in the film's most moving scene as she is finally able to express her grief to Nick over Alex's death. The sequence goes out with her peacefully asleep in her bed, and Nick transformed with a new meaning to his life.- Actress
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Hayden Lesley Panettiere was born on August 21, 1989 in Palisades, New York, to actress Lesley Vogel and fire department captain Skip Panettiere. Her younger brother was actor Jansen Panettiere (1994-2023). Her parents are both of half Italian descent, along with German and English. Her mother got her started in the business by doing commercials when she was just 11 months old. Then, at only 4 1/2, she was cast on the soap opera One Life to Live (1968), where she remained until 1997. Since then, she has gone on to appear in many feature films and TV movies. But she is probably best known in the United States for her role as "Claire" on the hit TV show, Heroes (2006).
As for movies, Hayden starred in Remember the Titans (2000) with Denzel Washington and Joe Somebody (2001) with Tim Allen. When Hayden isn't working, she enjoys singing, dancing, horseback riding, gymnastics, taking piano lessons, and swimming.
She has been involved with many animated movies, beginning with A Bug's Life (1998) as "Dot", later to follow was Dinosaur (2000), the video game Kingdom Hearts (2002), and The Mark of Kri (2002). Her next movie is Racing Stripes (2005), a partly animated film, but Hayden will star in the human role; other cast members include the voices of Whoopi Goldberg, Dustin Hoffman, Joshua Jackson and Mandy Moore.
In 2003, she joined the likes of Jessica Lange, Tom Wilkinson and Clancy Brown in Jane Anderson's Normal (2003), a film about a Midwestern husband and father who announces his plans to have a sex-change operation. In July of the same year, Hayden appeared in a John Guare play, "Landscape of the Body", for the Williamstown theater festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts.2004 - The Dust Factory (2004) - Melanie Lewis/b]
This weird and challenging allegorical film is probably the best thing Panettiere has ever done - probably because her style of acting (overwhelming a role) is identical to Melanie's style of living.
She is regulation pixie size and pretty spot on with the trope although the film requires so much heavy philosophical thinking from viewers that they are likely to get distracted from any character analysis.- Actress
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The dark, petulant beauty of this petite American film and musical star worked to her advantage, especially in her early dramatic career. Anne Marie Blythe was born of Irish stock to Harry and Annie (nee Lynch) Blythe on August 16, 1928 in Mt. Kisco, New York. Her parents split while she was young and she, her mother and elder sister, Dorothy, moved to New York City, where the girls attended various Catholic schools. Already determined at an early age to perform, Ann attended Manhattan's Professional Children's School and was already a seasoned radio performer, particularly on soap dramas, while in elementary school. A member of New York's Children's Opera Company, the young girl made an important Broadway debut in 1941 at age 13 as the daughter of the characters played by Paul Lukas and Mady Christians in the classic Lillian Hellman WWII drama "Watch on the Rhine", billed as Anne (with an extra "e") Blyth. She stayed with the show for two years.
While touring with the play in Los Angeles, the teenager was noticed by director Henry Koster at Universal and given a screen test. Signed on at age 16 as Ann (without the "e") Blyth, the pretty, photographic colleen displayed her warbling talent in her debut film, Chip Off the Old Block (1944), a swing-era teen musical starring Universal song-and-dance favorites Donald O'Connor and Peggy Ryan. She followed it pleasantly enough with other "B" tune-fests such as The Merry Monahans (1944) and Babes on Swing Street (1944). It wasn't until Warner Bros. borrowed her to make self-sacrificing mother Joan Crawford's life pure hell as the malicious, spiteful daughter Veda in the film classic Mildred Pierce (1945) that she really clicked with viewers and set up her dramatic career. With murder on her young character's mind, Hollywood stood up and took notice of this fresh-faced talent.
Although Blyth lost the Best Supporting Actress Oscar that year to another Anne (Anne Revere), she was borrowed again by Warner Bros. to film Danger Signal (1945). During filming, she suffered a broken back in a sledding accident while briefly vacationing in Lake Arrowhead and had to be replaced in the role. After a long convalescence (over a year and a half in a back brace) Universal used her in a wheelchair-bound cameo in Brute Force (1947).
Her first starring role was an inauspicious one opposite Sonny Tufts in Swell Guy (1946), but she finally began gaining some momentum again. Instead of offering her musical gifts, she continued her serious streak with Killer McCoy (1947) and a dangerously calculated role in Another Part of the Forest (1948), a prequel to The Little Foxes (1941) in which Blyth played the Bette Davis role of Regina at a younger age. Her attempts at lighter comedy were mild at best, playing a fetching creature of the sea opposite William Powell in Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) and a teen infatuated with a much-older film star, Robert Montgomery, in Once More, My Darling (1949).
At full-throttle as a star in the early 1950s, Blyth transitioned easily among glossy operettas, wide-eyed comedies and all-out melodramas, some of which tended to be overbaked and, thereby, overplayed. When not dishing out the high dramatics of an adopted girl searching for her birth mother in Our Very Own (1950) or a wrongly-convicted murderess in Thunder on the Hill (1951), she was introducing classic standards as wife to Mario Lanza in The Great Caruso (1951) or playing pert and perky in such light confections as Katie Did It (1950). A well-embraced romantic leading lady, she made her last film for Universal playing a Russian countess courted by Gregory Peck in The World in His Arms (1952). MGM eventually optioned her for its musical outings, having borrowed her a couple of times previously. She became a chief operatic rival to Kathryn Grayson at the studio during that time. Grayson, however, fared much better than Blyth, who was given rather stilted vehicles.
Catching Howard Keel's roving eye while costumed to the nines in the underwhelming Rose Marie (1954) and his daughter in Kismet (1955), she also gussied up other stiff proceedings like The Student Prince (1954) and The King's Thief (1955) will attest. Unfortunately, Blyth came to MGM at the tail end of the Golden Age of musicals and probably suffered for it. She was dropped by the studio in 1956. She reunited with old Universal co-star Donald O'Connor in The Buster Keaton Story (1957). Blyth ended her film career on a high note, however, playing the tragic title role in the The Helen Morgan Story (1957) opposite a gorgeously smirking Paul Newman. She had a field day as the piano-sitting, kerchief-holding, liquor-swilling torch singer whose train wreck of a personal life was destined for celluloid. Disappointing for her personally, no doubt, was that her singing voice had to be dubbed (albeit superbly) by the highly emotive, non-operatic songstress Gogi Grant.
Through with films, Blyth's main concentration (after her family) were musical theatre and television. Over the years a number of classic songs were tailored to suit her glorious lyric soprano both in concert form and on the civic light opera/summer stock stages. "The Sound of Music", "The King and I", "Carnival", "Bittersweet", "South Pacific", "Show Boat" and "A Little Night Music" are but a few of her stage credits. During this time Blyth appeared as the typical American housewife for Hostess in its Twinkie, cupcake and fruit pie commercials, a job that lasted well over a decade. She made the last of her sporadic TV guest appearances on Quincy, M.E. (1976) and Murder, She Wrote (1984) in the mid-1980s.
Married since 1953 to Dr. James McNulty, the brother of late Irish tenor Dennis Day, she is the mother of five, Blyth continues to be seen occasionally at social functions and conventions.1948 - Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) - Pym the Mermaid/b]
Here is a film based on a novel that is an exploration of the tendency of a midlife crisis man to seek out renewed fulfillment through a much younger Manic Pixie Dream Girl of their own. That Pym is an actual mermaid who showers focused adoration on Mr. Peabody is kind of the point. What could be more perfect for a lonely man than an undemanding mermaid?- Actress
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- Executive
Amy Lou Adams was born in Vicenza, Veneto, Italy, to American parents, Kathryn (Hicken) and Richard Kent Adams, a U.S. serviceman who was stationed at Caserma Ederle in Italy at the time. She was raised in a Mormon family of seven children in Castle Rock, Colorado, and has English, as well as smaller amounts of Danish, Swiss-German, and Norwegian, ancestry.
Adams sang in the school choir at Douglas County High School and was an apprentice dancer at a local dance company, with the ambition of becoming a ballerina. However, she worked as a greeter at The Gap and as a Hooters hostess to support herself before finding work as a dancer at Boulder's Dinner Theatre and Country Dinner Playhouse in such productions as "Brigadoon" and "A Chorus Line". It was there that she was spotted by a Minneapolis dinner-theater director who asked her to move to Chanhassen, Minnesota for more regional dinner theatre work.
Nursing a pulled muscle that kept her from dancing, she was free to audition for a part in Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999), which was filming nearby in Minnesota. During the filming, Kirstie Alley encouraged her to move to Los Angeles, where she soon won a part in the Fox television version of the film, Cruel Intentions (1999), in the part played in the film by Sarah Michelle Gellar, "Kathryn Merteuil". Although three episodes were filmed, the troubled series never aired. Instead, parts of the episodes were cobbled together and released as the direct-to-video Cruel Intentions 2 (2000). After more failed television spots, she landed a major role in Catch Me If You Can (2002), playing opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. But this did not provide the break-through she might have hoped for, with no work being offered for about a year. She eventually returned to television, and joined the short-lived series, Dr. Vegas (2004).
Her role in the low-budget independent film Junebug (2005) (which was shot in 21 days) got her real attention, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress as well as other awards. The following year, her ability to look like a wide-eyed Disney animated heroine helped her to be chosen from about 300 actresses auditioning for the role of "Giselle" in the animated/live-action feature film, Enchanted (2007), which would prove to be her major break-through role. Her vivacious yet innocent portrayal allowed her to use her singing and dancing talents. Her performance garnered a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Adams next appeared in the major production, Charlie Wilson's War (2007), and went on to act in the independent film, Sunshine Cleaning (2008), which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Her role as "Sister James" in Doubt (2008) brought her a second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild award, and a British Academy Film award. She appeared as Amelia Earhart in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) and as a post-9/11 hot line counselor, aspiring writer, amateur cook and blogger in Julie & Julia (2009). In the early 2010s, she starred with Jason Segel in The Muppets (2011), with Philip Seymour Hoffman in Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master (2012), and alongside Clint Eastwood and Justin Timberlake in Trouble with the Curve (2012). She played reporter Lois Lane in Man of Steel (2013) and con artist Sydney Prosser in American Hustle (2013), before portraying real-life artist Margaret Keane in Tim Burton's biopic Big Eyes (2014).
In 2016, she reprised her role as Lane in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and headlined Denis Villeneuve's science fiction drama Arrival (2016) and Tom Ford's dark thriller Nocturnal Animals (2016). In 2018, she received another Oscar nomination, her sixth, for starring as Lynne Cheney in the biographical drama Vice (2018), opposite Christian Bale as Dick Cheney.2007 - Enchanted (2007) - Giselle/b]
You might miss this during the first viewing because the MPDG elements are a subtext to the main story; Giselle's reactions to modern day Manhattan as she waits for her Prince, to whom she was hours away from being married back in the animator's world of Andalasia.
But while waiting Giselle inserts herself into all areas of Robert's life, enriching it significantly.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Sharon's early life was one of constant moving as her father served in the military. When she lived in Italy, she was voted "Homecoming Queen" of her high school. After being an extra in a few Italian films, Sharon headed to Hollywood where she would again start as an extra. Her first big break came when she was cast as the shapely bank secretary, "Janet Trego", in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies (1962) (1963-1965). In 1967, she would meet her future husband, director Roman Polanski, on the set of the English film The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967). Sharon's big role would be that same year when she was the starlet in Valley of the Dolls (1967). With her marriage to Roman, her life became one of parties, travel and meeting influential movie people. She would appear as a red-haired beauty in the spy spoof The Wrecking Crew (1968) working with Dean Martin and the equally beautiful Elke Sommer. Sharon was 2 months pregnant of her first child while filming in Italy and France a funny Italian comedy movie 12 + 1 (1969) in February 1969. On August 9, 1969 Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, Jay Sebring, Steve Parent, and Voytek Frykowski were murdered by 3 of Charles Manson's followers: Charles 'Tex' Watson, Susan Atkins (died in prison in 2009), and Patricia Krenwinkel. Manson died in prison in 2017. Watson and Krenwinkel are still in prison.1968 - The Wrecking Crew (1968) - Freya Carlson/b]
This might be a stretch because you don't expect much in the way of female characterization in a Matt Helm movie but if I was trying to explain the Manic Pixie Dream Girl idea to someone I would cite Tate's portrayal of the seemingly bumbling sidekick and romantic interest in this film.
Freya's slightly manic character gets a lot of development and she brings a lot of erotic voltage to spice up Matt's life and a lot of amusing aggravations to keep him from becoming bored.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Debbie Watson is the ideal perky teenager of the 1960s, who started when she became one of the hopefuls of Ted Mack & the Original Amateur Hour (1948) in 1963 and, the following year, she starred as "Karen Scott" in Karen (1964) on "90 Bristol Court" (1964) and, after that, she's the 3rd and last actress to play "Tammy Tarleton" on Tammy (1965). Both of her TV shows lasted 1 Season, each, by Universal Pictures Television (and now NBC Universal). In 1967, the movies, The Cool Ones (1967) & Tammy and the Millionaire (1967) were flops of the year and continued appearing on television until her retirement in 1972.1967 - The Cool Ones (1967) - Hallie Rodgers/b]
Watson was actually typecast as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, including 26 episodes of Tammy based on that premise. Being able to play a MPDG led to producers expending considerable effort toward promoting her career. "The Cool Ones" was the first time she was allowed to emphasize sexy over cute and might have allowed her to break away from the type casting had the film actually been entertaining.
My guess is that “Pixie” became Watson's career problem. The pixie thing was a screen illusion made possible by her youthful appearance. But Watson was a heavy 5' 8”. Once you got past the face no one could mistake her for tiny and delicate. She was talented enough to bridge into other types of roles but was not bankable enough for anyone to take the risk.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Shari Lewis was born on 17 January 1934 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress and writer, known for Lamb Chop's Play-Along (1992), The Charlie Horse Music Pizza (1998) and Star Trek (1966). She was married to Jeremy Tarcher and Stanley Harry Lipschitz (Lewis). She died on 2 August 1998 in Los Angeles, California, USA.1966 - The Off-Broadway Affair (1966) - Janet Jerrod/b]
Janet definitely has the manic and the pixie going for her and what characterization there is points her at being Napoleon's MPDG. This was a great role for the five foot Lewis, her charm gets to bubble and she even does some sizzling dancing. Who knew?