Jennifer Connelly was born in the Catskill Mountains, New York, to Ilene (Schuman), a dealer of antiques, and Gerard Connelly, a clothing manufacturer. Her father had Irish and Norwegian ancestry, and her mother was from a Jewish immigrant family. Jennifer grew up in Brooklyn Heights, just across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan, except for the four years her parents spent in Woodstock, New York. Back in Brooklyn Heights, she attended St. Ann's school. A close friend of the family was an advertising executive. When Jennifer was ten, he suggested that her parents take her to a modeling audition. She began appearing in newspaper and magazine ads (among them "Seventeen" magazine), and soon moved on to television commercials. A casting director saw her and introduced her to Sergio Leone, who was seeking a young girl to dance in his gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America (1984). Although having little screen time, the few minutes she was on-screen were enough to reveal her talent. Her next role after that was an episode of the British horror anthology TV series Tales of the Unexpected (1979) in 1984.

Paul Bettany (1 January 2003 - present) (2 children)

Trivia

Has a son, Kai Dugan (born 1997), with photographer David Dugan.
Cut a single in Japan, which she sang in phonetic Japanese. She says her agent made up the idea that she is semi-fluent in the language.
Is fluent in French and Italian.
Was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People by People Magazine in 2002.
The character Veronica in Heathers (1988) was originally written with her in mind, but she turned the role down.
Daughter-in-law of actor Thane Bettany and Anne Kettle.
First child with husband Paul Bettany, a son named Stellan Bettany, born 5 August, 2003. Stellan's Godfather is the actor Charlie Condou, Paul's best friend.
Her father was of Irish and Norwegian heritage. Her mother was from an Ashkenazi Jewish family (from Poland and Russia).
Named her son Stellan after Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård.
In three of her movies (Dark City (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), and House of Sand and Fog (2003)), she appears standing at the end of a pier in a striking image. All three directors created the shots for different reasons, and they are not an homage or reference to each other, just a coincidence.
She was nearly cast as Diane Court in Cameron Crowe's Say Anything... (1989). Ione Skye got the part instead.

Acting is great. When it works it is so fulfilling. You do the research and work with other talented people who are creative and compassionate and use all your faculties. The ability to express yourself completely is the most wonderful feeling in the world. Each film is a chapter in my life wherein I learn so much more about myself.
I so much enjoy being able to completely allow myself to be consumed by a role, and really grow in the process,once you've done that, it's hard to go back working on things you don't care about.
[talking about the films she did in the beginning of her career]: You don't want to get rid of your experiences, because they're your experiences - good or bad - and you need them, but it would be great if they weren't on the video shelf!