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Map of Normandy

Traditional flag of Normandy

Normandy (French: Normandie, pronounced [nɔʁ.mɑ̃.di], Norman: Nourmaundie, from Old French Normanz, plural of Normand, originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages)^[1] is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. The continental territory covers 30,627 km²^[2] and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two regions: Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy. The Channel Islands (referred to as Îles Anglo-Normandes in French) are historically part of Normandy, cover 194 km²^[3] and comprise two bailiwicks: Guernsey and Jersey, which are British Crown Dependencies.

Upper Normandy (Haute-Normandie) consists of the French departments of Seine-Maritime and Eure, and Lower Normandy (Basse-Normandie) of the departments of Orne, Calvados, and Manche. The former province of Normandy comprised present-day Upper and Lower Normandy, as well as small areas now part of the départements of Eure-et-Loir, Mayenne, and Sarthe. The name of Normandy is derived from the settlement of the territory by Vikings ("Northmen") from the 9th century, and confirmed by treaty in the 10th century. For a century and a half following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by Norman and Frankish rulers.

During the Second World War, the D Day landings on the Normandy beaches under the code name Operation Overlord, started the lengthy Battle of Normandy which resulted in the Liberation of Paris, the restoration of the French Republic, and was a significant turning point in the war.

The population of Normandy is around 3.45 million. The continental population of 3.26 million accounts for 5.5% of the population of France (in 2005).

Lower Normandy is predominantly agricultural in character, with cattle breeding the most important sector (although in decline from the peak levels of the 1970s and 1980s). The bocage is a patchwork of small fields with high hedges, typical of western areas. Upper Normandy contains a higher concentration of industry. Normandy is a significant cider-producing region, and also produces calvados, a distilled cider or apple brandy. Other activities of economic importance are dairy produce, flax (60% of production in France), horse breeding (including two French national stud farms), fishing, seafood, and tourism. The region contains three French nuclear power stations.

History[link]

Roman theatre in Lillebonne

Archaeological finds, such as cave paintings, prove that humans were present in the region in prehistoric times.

Belgae and Celts, known as Gauls, invaded Normandy in successive waves from the 4th to the 3rd century BC.

When Julius Caesar invaded Gaul, there were nine different Gallic tribes in Normandy.^[4]

The Romanisation of Normandy was achieved by the usual methods: Roman roads and a policy of urbanisation. Classicists have knowledge of many Gallo-Roman villas in Normandy.

In the late 3rd century, barbarian raids devastated Normandy. Coastal settlements were raided by Saxon pirates. Christianity also began to enter the area during this period. In 406, Germanic tribes began invading from the east, while the Saxons subjugated the Norman coast. The Roman Emperor withdrew from most of Normandy.

As early as 487, the area between the River Somme and the River Loire came under the control of the Frankish lord Clovis.

The Vikings started to raid the Seine Valley during the middle of 9th century. After attacking and destroying monasteries, including one at Jumieges, they took advantage of the power vacuum created by the disintegration of Charlemagne's empire to take northern France. The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Viking leader Rollo (also known as Robert of Normandy). Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered vassalage to the king of the West Franks, Charles the Simple, through the Treaty of Saint Clair-sur-Epte. In exchange for his homage and fealty, Rollo legally gained the territory which he and his Viking allies had previously conquered. The name "Normandy" reflects Rollo's Viking (i.e. "Northman") origins.

The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local Gallo-Romantic language and intermarried with the area's original inhabitants. They became the Normans – a Norman-speaking mixture of Scandinavians, Hiberno-Norse, Orcadians, Anglo-Danish, and indigenous Franks and Gauls.

Rollo's descendant William, Duke of Normandy, became king of England in 1066 in the Norman Conquest culminating at the Battle of Hastings, while retaining the fiefdom of Normandy for himself and his descendants.

Norman expansion[link]

Norman possessions in the 12th century

Besides the Norman conquest of England and the subsequent conquests of Wales and Ireland, the Normans expanded into other areas. Norman families, such as that of Tancred of Hauteville, played important parts in the Crusades.

Tancred's sons William Iron Arm, Drogo of Hauteville, Humphrey of Hauteville, Robert Guiscard and Roger the Great Count conquered the Emirate of Sicily and additional territories in Southern Italy. They also carved out a place for themselves and their descendants in the Crusader States of Asia Minor and the Holy Land.

The 14th century Norman explorer Jean de Béthencourt established a kingdom in the Canary Islands. Béthencourt received the title King of the Canary Islands but recognised as his overlord Henry III of Castile, who had provided aid during the conquest.

13th to 17th centuries[link]

Animated map of the Hundred Years' War

In 1204, during the reign of England's King John, mainland Normandy was taken from England by France under Philip II of France. Insular Normandy (the Channel Islands) remained under English control. In 1259, Henry III of England recognised the legality of French possession of mainland Normandy under the Treaty of Paris. His successors, however, often fought to regain control of mainland French Normandy.

The Charte aux Normands granted by Louis X of France in 1315 (and later re-confirmed in 1339) – like the analogous Magna Carta granted in England in the aftermath of 1204 – guaranteed the liberties and privileges of the province of Normandy.

French Normandy was occupied by English forces during the Hundred Years' War in 1345–1360 and again in 1415–1450. Normandy lost three-quarters of its population during the war.^[5] Afterward prosperity returned to Normandy until the Wars of Religion. When many Norman towns (Alençon, Rouen, Caen, Coutances, Bayeux) joined the Protestant Reformation, battles ensued throughout the province. In the Channel Islands, a period of Calvinism following the Reformation was suppressed when Anglicanism was imposed following the English Civil War.

Samuel de Champlain left the port of Honfleur in 1604 and founded Acadia. Four years later, he founded Quebec City. From then onwards, Normans engaged in a policy of expansion in North America. They continued the exploration of the New World: René Robert Cavelier de La Salle travelled in the area of the Great Lakes, then on the Mississippi River. Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and his brother Lemoyne de Bienville founded Louisiana, Biloxi, Mobile and New Orleans. Territories located between Quebec and the Mississippi Delta were opened up to establish Canada and Louisiana. Colonists from Normandy were among the most active in New France, comprising Acadia, Canada, and Louisiana.^{[citation needed]}

Honfleur and Le Havre were two of the principal slave trade ports of France.

18th and 19th centuries[link]

Although agriculture remained important, industries such as weaving, metallurgy, sugar refining, ceramics, and shipbuilding were introduced and developed.

In the 1780s, the economic crisis and the crisis of the Ancien Régime struck Normandy as well as other parts of the nation, leading to the French Revolution. Bad harvests, technical progress and the effects of the Eden Agreement signed in 1786 affected employment and the economy of the province. Normans laboured under a heavy fiscal burden.

In 1790 the five departments of Normandy replaced the former province.

11 July 1793, the Norman Charlotte Corday assassinated Marat.

The Normans reacted little to the many political upheavals which characterised the 19th century. Overall they warily accepted the changes of régime (First French Empire, Bourbon Restoration, July Monarchy, French Second Republic, Second French Empire, French Third Republic).

There was an economic revival (mechanization of textile manufacture, first trains...) after the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815).

And new economic activity stimulated the coasts: seaside tourism. The 19th century marks the birth of the first beach resorts.

Second World War[link]

Allied invasion of Normandy, D-Day, 1944

During the Second World War, following the armistice of 22 June 1940, continental Normandy was part of the German occupied zone of France. The Channel Islands were occupied by German forces between 30 June 1940 and 9 May 1945. The town of Dieppe was the site of the unsuccessful Dieppe Raid by Canadian and British armed forces.

The Allies coordinated a massive build-up of troops and supplies to support a large-scale invasion of Normandy in the D-Day landings (June 6, 1944) under the code name Operation Overlord. The Germans were dug in to fortified emplacements above the beaches. Caen, Cherbourg, Carentan, Falaise and other Norman towns endured many casualties in the Battle of Normandy, which continued until the closing of the so-called Falaise gap between Chambois and Montormel, then the liberation of Le Havre.

This led to the restoration of the French Republic, and was a significant turning point in the war. The remainder of Normandy was liberated only on 9 May 1945 at the end of the war, when the Occupation of the Channel Islands effectively ended.

Geography[link]

A typical Norman village

The historical Duchy of Normandy was a formerly independent duchy occupying the lower Seine area, the Pays de Caux and the region to the west through the Pays d'Auge as far as the Cotentin Peninsula.

The region is bordered along the northern coasts by the English Channel. There are granite cliffs in the west and limestone cliffs in the east. There are also long stretches of beach in the centre of the region. The bocage typical of the western areas caused problems for the invading forces in the Battle of Normandy. A notable feature of the landscape is created by the meanders of the Seine as it approaches its estuary.

The highest point is the Signal d'Écouves (417m) in the Massif armoricain.

Normandy is sparsely forested:^[6] 12.8% of the territory is wooded, compared to a French average of 23.6%, although the proportion varies between the departments. Eure has most cover (21%) while Manche has least (4%), a characteristic shared with the Islands.

Regions[link]

Former Cistercian Abbey of Gruchet-le-Valasse.

Marais-Vernier

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Mer et bateaux (Sea and ships), 1883, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

• The Avranchin
• The Bessin
• The Bauptois
• The bocage virois
• The campagne d'Alençon
• The campagne d'Argentan
• The campagne de Caen
• The campagne de Falaise
• The campagne du Neubourg
• The campagne de Saint-André (or d’Évreux)
• The Cotentin
• The Perche
• The Domfrontais or Passais
• The Hiémois
• The Lieuvin
• The Mortainais
• The pays d'Auge, central Normandy, is characterized by excellent agricultural land.
• The pays de Bray
• The pays de Caux
• The pays d'Houlme
• The pays de Madrie: territoire entre la Seine et L'Eure
• The pays d'Ouche
• The Roumois et Marais-Vernier
• The Suisse normande (Norman Switzerland), in the south, presents hillier terrain.
• The Val de Saire
• The Vexin normand

Channel Islands[link]

• The bailliage of Jersey
• The bailliage of Guernsey

The Channel Islands, although British Crown Dependencies, are considered culturally and historically a part of Normandy.

Although the British surrendered claims to mainland Normandy, France, and other French possessions in 1801, the monarch of the United Kingdom retains the title Duke of Normandy in respect to the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands (except for Chausey) remain Crown dependencies of the British Crown in the present era. Thus the Loyal Toast in the Channel Islands is La Reine, notre Duc ("The Queen, our Duke"). The British monarch is understood to not be the Duke with regards to mainland Normandy described herein, by virtue of the Treaty of Paris of 1259, the surrender of French possessions in 1801, and the belief that the rights of succession to that title are subject to Salic Law which excludes inheritance through female heirs.^{[citation needed]}

Rivers[link]

The Seine in Les Andelys

The Bresle

Rivers in Normandy include:

• the Seine and its tributaries:
  • the Andelle
  • the Epte
  • the Eure
  • the Risle
  • the Robec

And many coastal rivers:

• the Bresle
• the Couesnon, which traditionally marks the boundary between the Duchy of Brittany and the Duchy of Normandy
• the Dives
• the Orne
• the Sée
• the Sélune
• the Touques
• the Veules, the shortest French river
• the Vire

Towns[link]

Half-timbered Houses in Rouen

See: Category:Towns in Normandy

The principal cities (population at the 1999 census) are Rouen (518,316 inhabitants in the metropolitan area), the capital of Upper Normandy and formerly of the whole province; Caen (420,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area), the capital of Lower Normandy; Le Havre (296,773 inhabitants in the metropolitan area); and Cherbourg (117,855 inhabitants in the metropolitan area).

Population[link]

In January 2006 the population of Normandy (including the part of Perche which lies inside the Orne département but excluding the Channel Islands) was estimated at 3,260,000 with an average population density of 109 inhabitants per km², just under the French national average, but rising to 147 for Upper Normandy.

Economy[link]

This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (April 2011)

Food and drink[link]

Norman cow

Parts of Normandy consist of rolling countryside typified by pasture for dairy cattle and apple orchards. A wide range of dairy products are produced and exported. Norman cheeses include Camembert, Livarot, Pont l'Évêque, Brillat-Savarin, Neufchâtel, Petit Suisse and Boursin.^[12] Normandy butter and Normandy cream are lavishly used in gastronomic specialties.

Cider from Normandy

Fish and seafood are of superior quality in Normandy. Turbot and oysters from the Cotentin Peninsula are major delicacies throughout France. Normandy is the chief oyster-cultivating, scallop-exporting, and mussel-raising region in France.

Normandy is a major cider-producing region (very little wine is produced). Perry is also produced, but in less significant quantities. Apple brandy, of which the most famous variety is calvados, is also popular. The mealtime trou normand, or "Norman hole", is a pause between meal courses in which diners partake of a glassful of calvados in order to improve the appetite and make room for the next course, and this is still observed in many homes and restaurants. Pommeau is an apéritif produced by blending unfermented cider and apple brandy. Another aperitif is the kir normand, a measure of crème de cassis topped up with cider. Bénédictine is produced in Fécamp.

Apples are also widely used in cooking: for example, moules à la normande are mussels cooked with apples and cream, bourdelots are apples baked in pastry, partridges are flamed with reinette apples, and localities all over the province have their own variation of apple tart. A classic pastry dish from the region is Norman Tart a pastry-based variant of the apple tart.

Other regional specialities include tripes à la mode de Caen, andouilles and andouillettes, salt meadow (pré salé) lamb, seafood (mussels, scallops, lobsters, mackerel…), and teurgoule (spiced rice pudding).

Normandy dishes include duckling à la rouennaise, sautéed chicken yvetois, and goose en daube. Rabbit is cooked with morels, or à la havraise (stuffed with truffled pigs' trotters). Other dishes are sheep's trotters à la rouennaise, casseroled veal, larded calf's liver braised with carrots, and veal (or turkey) in cream and mushrooms.

Normandy is also noted for its pastries. It is the birthplace of brioches (especially those from Évreux and Gisors) and also turns out douillons (pears baked in pastry), craquelins, roulettes in Rouen, fouaces in Caen, fallues in Lisieux, sablés in Lisieux. Confectionery of the region includes Rouen apple sugar, Isigny caramels, Bayeux mint chews, Falaise berlingots, Le Havre marzipans, Argentan croquettes, and Rouen macaroons.

Normandy is the native land of Taillevent, cook of the kings of France Charles V and Charles VI. He wrote the earliest French cookery book named Le Viandier. Confiture de lait was also made in Normandy around the 14th century.

Culture[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Symbols[link]

The traditional provincial flag of Normandy, gules, two leopards passant or, is used in both modern regions. The historic three-leopard version (known in the Norman language as les treis cats, "the three cats") is used by some associations and individuals, especially those who support reunification of the regions and cultural links with the Channel Islands and England. Jersey and Guernsey use three leopards in their national symbols. The three leopards represents the strength and courage Normandy has towards the neighbouring provinces.

The unofficial anthem of the region is the song "Ma Normandie".

"Three-leopard" version   Nordic Cross of Le Mouvement Normand   "Two-leopard" flag of Sark   Coat of arms of the Duchy of Normandy   Coat of arms of Guernsey   Coat of arms of Jersey

Literature[link]

Guy de Maupassant

The dukes of Normandy commissioned and inspired epic literature to record and legitimise their rule. Wace, Orderic Vitalis and Étienne de Rouen were among those who wrote in the service of the dukes. After the division of 1204, French literature provided the model for the development of literature in Normandy. Olivier Basselin wrote of the Vaux de Vire, the origin of literary vaudeville. Among notable Norman writers in French are Jean Marot, Rémy Belleau, Guy de Maupassant, Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, Gustave Flaubert, Octave Mirbeau and Remy de Gourmont. The Corneille brothers, Pierre and Thomas, born in Rouen, were great figures of French classical literature.

David Ferrand (1591–1660) in his Muse Normande established a landmark of Norman language literature. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the workers and merchants of Rouen established a tradition of polemical and satirical literature in a form of language called the parler purin. At the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century a new movement arose in the Channel Islands, led by writers such as George Métivier, which sparked a literary renaissance on the Norman mainland. In exile in Jersey and then Guernsey, Victor Hugo took an interest in the vernacular literature. Les Travailleurs de la mer is a well-known novel by Hugo set in the Channel Islands. The boom in insular literature in the early 19th century encouraged production especially in La Hague and around Cherbourg, where Alfred Rossel, Louis Beuve and Côtis-Capel became active. The typical medium for literary expression in Norman has traditionally been newspaper columns and almanacs. The novel Zabeth by André Louis which appeared in 1969 was the first novel published in Norman.

Painting[link]

Branch of the Seine near Giverny (1897) by Claude Monet

In the 17th century some major French painters were Normans like Nicolas Poussin, born in Les Andelys and Jean Jouvenet.

Romanticism drew painters to the Channel coasts of Normandy. Richard Parkes Bonington and J. M. W. Turner crossed the Channel from Great Britain, attracted by the light and landscapes. Théodore Géricault, a native of Rouen, was a notable figure in the Romantic movement. The competing Realist tendency was represented by Jean-François Millet, a native of La Hague.

Breaking away from the more formalised and classical themes of the early part of the 19th century, Impressionist painters preferred to paint outdoors, in natural light, and to concentrate on landscapes, towns and scenes of daily life. Leader of the movement and father of modern painting, Claude Monet is perhaps one of the best known Impressionists and a major character in Normandy's artistic heritage. His house and gardens at Giverny are one of the region's major tourist sites, much visited for their beauty and their water lilies, as well as for their importance to Monet's artistic inspiration. Normandy was at the heart of his creation, from the paintings of Rouen's cathedral to the famous depictions of the cliffs at Etretat, the beach and port at Fécamp and the sunrise at Le Havre. It was Impression, Sunrise, Monet's painting of Le Havre, that led to the movement being dubbed Impressionism.

Landscapes and scenes of daily life were also immortalised on canvas by artists such as William Turner, the Honfleur born Eugène Boudin, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Auguste Renoir, Gustave Caillebotte, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat, Pierre Bonnard, George Braque and Pablo Picasso. While Monet's work adorns galleries and collections all over the world, a remarkable quantity of Impressionist works can be found in galleries throughout Normandy, such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Rouen, the Musée Eugène Boudin in Honfleur or the André Malraux Museum in Le Havre.

The Société normande de peinture moderne was founded in 1909. Among members were Raoul Dufy, a native of Le Havre, Albert Marquet, Francis Picabia and Maurice Utrillo. Also in this movement were the Duchamp brothers, Jacques Villon and Marcel Duchamp, also natives of Normandy.

Languages[link]

French is the only official language in continental Normandy. English is also an official language in the Channel Islands. The Norman language, a regional language, is spoken by a minority of the population on the continent and the islands, with a concentration in the Cotentin Peninsula in the far West (the Cotentinais dialect), and in the Pays de Caux in the East (the Cauchois dialect). Many place names demonstrate the Norse influence in this Oïl language; for example -bec (stream), -fleur (river), -hou (island), -tot (homestead), -dal or -dalle (valley) and -hogue (hill, mound).^[13]

Architecture[link]

Château d'Ételan (1494)

Architecturally, Norman cathedrals, abbeys (such as the Abbey of Bec) and castles characterise the former Duchy in a way that mirrors the similar pattern of Norman architecture in England following the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Domestic architecture in upper Normandy is typified by half-timbered buildings that also recall vernacular English architecture, although the farm enclosures of the more harshly landscaped Pays de Caux are a more idiosyncratic response to socio-economic and climatic imperatives. Much urban architectural heritage was destroyed during the Battle of Normandy in 1944 – post-war urban reconstruction, such as in Le Havre and Saint-Lô, could be said to demonstrate both the virtues and vices of modernist and brutalist trends of the 1950s and 1960s. Le Havre, the city rebuilt by Auguste Perret, was added to Unesco’s World Heritage List in 2005.

Vernacular architecture in lower Normandy takes its form from granite, the predominant local building material. The Channel Islands also share this influence – Chausey was for many years a source of quarried granite, including that used for the construction of Mont Saint-Michel.

The south part of Bagnoles-de-l'Orne is filled with bourgeois villas in Belle Époque style with polychrome façades, bow windows and unique roofing. This area, built between 1886 and 1914, has an authentic “Bagnolese” style and is typical of high-society country vacation of the time. The Chapel of Saint Germanus (Chapelle Saint-Germain) at Querqueville with its trefoil floorplan incorporates elements of one of the earliest surviving places of Christian worship in the Cotentin – perhaps second only to the Gallo-Roman baptistry at Port-Bail. It is dedicated to Germanus of Normandy.

Religion[link]

The Abbey of Jumièges

Since the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State there is no established church in mainland Normandy. In the Channel Islands, the Church of England is the established church.

Christian missionaries implanted monastic communities in the territory in the 5th and 6th centuries. Some of these missionaries came from across the Channel. The influence of Celtic Christianity can still be found in the Cotentin. By the terms of the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, Rollo, a Viking pagan, accepted Christianity and was baptised. The Duchy of Normandy was therefore formally a Christian state from its foundation. The cathedrals of Normandy have exerted influence down the centuries in matters of both faith and politics. King Henry II of England, did penance at the cathedral of Avranches on 21 May 1172 and was absolved from the censures incurred by the assassination of Thomas Becket. Mont Saint-Michel is a historic pilgrimage site.

Normandy does not have one generally-agreed patron saint, although this title has been ascribed to Saint Michael, and to Saint Ouen. Many saints have been revered in Normandy down the centuries, including:

• Aubert who's remembered as the founder of Mont Saint-Michel
• Marcouf and Laud who are important saints in Lower Normandy
• Helier and Samson of Dol who are evangelizers of the Channel Islands
• Thomas Becket, an Anglo-Norman whose parents were from Rouen, who was the object of a considerable cult in mainland Normandy following his martyrdom
• Joan of Arc who was martyred in Rouen, and who is especially remembered in that city
• Thérèse de Lisieux whose birthplace in Alençon and later home in Lisieux are a focus for religious pilgrims.
• Germanus of Normandy

People from Normandy[link]

See Category:People from Normandy

Gallery[link]

William the Conqueror, the Bayeux Tapestry   Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy.   Rouen Cathedral by Claude Monet   World War II German gun in Normandy.   Pegasus Bridge   Château Gaillard   Honfleur   Le Havre   Arromanches, Mulberry Harbour   Port Racine   Half-timbered houses in Rouen   Saint-Cenéri Le Gerei   Mont-Saint-Michel   Mont-Saint-Michel

See also[link]

Normandy portal

• COGEMA La Hague site
• Duchy of Normandy
• Duke of Normandy
• Invasion of Normandy

References[link]

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (April 2011)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Normandy

• (French) Normandie Héritage
• The Norman Worlds
• Gallery of photos of Normandy
• New Normandy Commemorative Project Cauquigny
• Normandy Regional Tourist Board Official Normandy Tourist Board website containing information on all aspects of the region from history and culture to local transport and current events.
• A History of Normandy Contains a useful list of and detail about the rulers of Normandy
• TVNormanChannel WebTelevision of current events and history on Normandy, in English and French.
• Mount St. Michael, Storm on the Coast, Normandy, 1857 by D.J. Kennedy, Historical Society of Pennsylvania

v t e Historical Provinces of France Alsace Angoumois Anjou Artois Aunis Auvergne Basse-Navarre Béarn Beaujolais Berry Bourbonnais Brittany Burgundy Champagne Corsica Dauphiné Flanders and Hainaut Foix Forez Franche-Comté Gascony Guyenne Île-de-France Languedoc Limousin Lorraine Lyonnais Maine Marche Montbéliard Mulhouse Nice Nivernais Normandy Orléanais Perche Picardy Poitou Provence Roussillon Saintonge Savoy Touraine Trois-Évêchés Venaissin

Zooey Deschanel
Deschanel performing as part of She & Him at Terminal 5 in New York, 2008
Born	Zooey Claire Deschanel (1980-01-17) January 17, 1980 (age 32) Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Actress, model, singer, songwriter, musician
Years active	1998–present
Spouse	Ben Gibbard (m. 2009) «start: (2009)»"Marriage: Ben Gibbard to Zooey Deschanel" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Zooey_Deschanel)
Parents	Caleb Deschanel (father) Mary Jo Deschanel (mother)
Relatives	Emily Deschanel (sister)

Zooey Claire Deschanel ( /ˈzoʊ.iː deɪʃəˈnɛl/ ZOH-ee day-shə-NEL; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress, musician and singer-songwriter. In 1999, Deschanel made her film debut in Mumford, followed by her breakout role as young protagonist William Miller's troubled older sister Anita in Cameron Crowe's 2000 semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous. Deschanel soon became known for her deadpan or "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" supporting roles in films such as Elf (2003), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Failure to Launch (2006), Bridge to Terabithia (2007), and Happening, TheThe Happening (2008). She then began playing lead roles in films, including Yes Man (2008) and (500) Days of Summer (2009).^[1][2][3] She currently stars in the Fox series New Girl. She has been nominated for Golden Globe and Grammy Awards.

For a few years starting in 2001, Deschanel performed in the jazz cabaret act If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies with fellow actress Samantha Shelton.^[4] Besides singing, she plays keyboards, percussion, banjo and ukulele.^[5] She also often sings in her films. Deschanel teamed up with M. Ward to release their debut album Volume One (recorded with M. Ward under the moniker She & Him) which was released in March 2008. The follow-up album Volume Two was released in the U.S. in March 2010. She married Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard in September 2009, and filed for divorce from him in December 2011.

Early life[link]

Born in Los Angeles in 1980, Deschanel is the daughter of cinematographer/director Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel (née Weir). She is of French (from her paternal grandfather) and Irish descent.^[6] She was raised as a Roman Catholic. ^[7] She was named after Zooey Glass, the male protagonist of J. D. Salinger's 1961 novella Franny and Zooey.^[8] Her older sister, Emily Deschanel, is also an actress and stars in the TV series Bones.

Deschanel lived in Los Angeles, but spent much of her childhood traveling because her father shot films on location; she later said that she "hated all the traveling ... I'm really happy now that I had the experience, but at the time I was just so miserable to have to leave my friends in Los Angeles and go to places where they didn't have any food I liked or things I was used to."^[9] She attended Crossroads, a private preparatory school in Santa Monica, California, where she befriended future co-stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Kate Hudson.^[8][10] She sang throughout high school, planning to pursue a career in musical theatre and attending French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts.^[6] She attended Northwestern University for seven months before dropping out to work as an actress.^[9]

Career[link]

Acting[link]

Deschanel appeared in a guest role on the television series Veronica's Closet before making her film debut in Lawrence Kasdan's 1999 comedy Mumford, and later in the year she appeared (non-singing) in the music video for The Offspring's single "She's Got Issues". In her second film, director Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical Almost Famous (2000), Deschanel played Anita Miller, the protagonist's rebellious older sister. The film received critical praise,^[11] but was not a box office success. She also appeared in Jimmy Fallon's "Idiot Boyfriend" music video as his lead girl.

Deschanel played supporting roles in a series of films that include Manic (2001), with Don Cheadle and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Big Trouble (2002), with Tim Allen and Rene Russo, Abandon (2002) alongside Katie Holmes, Benjamin Bratt and Melanie Lynskey, and The Good Girl (2002) alongside Jennifer Aniston and Jake Gyllenhaal. In late 2002, The New York Times reported that Deschanel was "one of Hollywood's most sought-after young stars,"^[8] and the Los Angeles Times wrote in early 2003 that Deschanel had become a recognizable type, due to "her deadpan, sardonic and scene-stealing [film] performances" as the protagonist's best friend.^[6] Deschanel objected to her typecasting, arguing, "A lot of these roles are just a formula idea of somebody's best friend, and it's like, I don't even have that many friends. In high school, I stayed home all the time, so I don't know how I'm everybody's best friend now."^[6]

Deschanel appeared in Frasier, starring as Roz's out-of-control cousin, Jen, in the season 10 episode 'Kissing Cousin' in 2002. That year, she also appeared in the film The New Guy as Nora, the guitar player in the lead character's band, Suburban Funk.

After turning down several supporting roles, Deschanel played her first lead role in All the Real Girls (2003). Her performance as Noel, a sexually curious 18-year-old virgin who has a life-changing romance with an aimless 22-year-old, received critical praise,^[6] and she received an Independent Spirit nomination for Best Actress.^[12] Later in 2003, Deschanel played a deadpan department store worker opposite Will Ferrell in the comedy Elf, which became a box office hit.^[13]

Zooey Deschanel with co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt at a premiere for (500) Days of Summer in March 2009

In 2004, Deschanel starred in Eulogy, and in 2005 as Trillian in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' science fiction novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Also in 2005, she played the main character, Reese Holden in the film Winter Passing with supporting role from Will Ferrell. Deschanel then played Sarah Jessica Parker's neurotic roommate in Failure to Launch (2006), and appeared on four episodes of the Showtime television series Weeds from 2006 to 2007, playing Andy Botwin's quirky ex-girlfriend, Kat. In September 2006, Variety announced that Deschanel would play 1960s singer Janis Joplin in the film The Gospel According to Janis, to be co-written and directed by Penelope Spheeris.^[14] Deschanel planned to sing all of Joplin's songs, and took four months of singing lessons "to approximate Joplin's gritty vocals."^[14] The film, scheduled to begin shooting on November 13, 2006,^[14] was postponed indefinitely.^[15] However, the project is now back on track and will be released in 2012.^[16]

In 2007, Deschanel appeared in two children's films: Bridge to Terabithia, in which she played Jesse's quirky music teacher, and the animated film Surf's Up, in which she voiced a penguin named Lani Aliikai. She played DG, the lead in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Tin Man, a re-imagined science fiction version of L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Tin Man aired on Sci Fi in December 2007. Deschanel also narrated the children's book Players in Pigtails.^[17]

On April 27, 2008, she performed on The Simpsons, playing the role of Mary, Cletus's daughter,^[18] and in June she starred opposite Mark Wahlberg in M. Night Shyamalan's poorly received environmental thriller The Happening.

Also in 2008, Deschanel starred in Gigantic, and later that year in the comedy film Yes Man, opposite Jim Carrey.^[19]

Deschanel was next seen as the title character in the 2009 award winning romantic-drama-comedy (500) Days of Summer, opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt (for a second time after Manic). The film, about the development and demise of a relationship, received widespread praise and was directed by long-time commercial and music video director Marc Webb.^[20] The film received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical), but was ultimately defeated by The Hangover.^[21]

Deschanel guest starred in a Christmas 2009 episode of Bones as Brennan's never-before-seen cousin.^[22] In the first-ever on-screen pairing of the Deschanel sisters, Zooey portrayed Margaret Whitesell, a distant relative of Emily's Dr. Temperance Brennan. Brennan's father, Max Keenan (guest star Ryan O'Neal), invites Margaret to spend Christmas with him and his daughter.^[23]

A pilot was made for the HBO series I'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, in which she plays the role of Pamela Des Barres, who wrote a memoir based on her own experience as a former groupie.^[24] In 2011, Deschanel portrayed the role of Belladonna in the fantasy-comedy film Your Highness^[25] alongside Natalie Portman and James Franco. She is currently appearing as the lead in the Fox series New Girl, created by Elizabeth Meriwether. Deschanel also hosted Saturday Night Live on February 11, 2012.^[26]

Film-related music[link]

The New Guy (2002) was the first of Deschanel's films in which she sang onscreen. In Elf, she sings with Will Ferrell in the bathroom shower scene on "Baby, It's Cold Outside", and was also heard singing it on the soundtrack with Leon Redbone. Her piano composition "Bittersuite" was used thematically in the dark, off-beat 2004 dramedy Winter Passing, in which she starred alongside Will Ferrell and Ed Harris. Subsequently, Deschanel also sings in Winter Passing ("My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean").

Others include: the television musical Once Upon a Mattress ("An Opening for a Princess", "In a Little While", "Normandy", and "Yesterday I Loved You"); an old cabaret song in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ("A Bird in a Gilded Cage"); and the 2007 short film Raving ("Hello, Dolly!").

Deschanel and the cast of school children sing the Steve Earle song "Someday" and War's "Why Can't We Be Friends?" in the 2007 film Bridge to Terabithia.

In the film Yes Man, Deschanel sings several songs featured in the film and on the film soundtrack, and is shown singing "Uh-Huh" and "Sweet Ballad" alongside San Franciscan all-girl electro soul-punk group Von Iva in a fictional band called "Munchausen by Proxy".

In (500) Days of Summer Deschanel sings a cover of "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" by The Smiths—it also appears on the soundtrack of the film, as performed by She and Him. She also sings a cover of "Sugar Town" by Nancy Sinatra. (500) Days of Summer director Marc Webb also directed Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt in a music video, Bank Dance, with the She & Him song "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?".

Deschanel sings "The Greatest Most Beautiful Love Song in All the Land" with James Franco in the film Your Highness. She also appears in a number of songs (with M. Ward) on the soundtrack album for the 2011 release of Disney's Winnie the Pooh. Deschanel wrote and sings the theme song to her current television series New Girl.^[27]

Non-film music[link]

Deschanel and M. Ward performing as She & Him on a Wurlitzer Electric Piano at the Newport Folk Festival (August 2, 2008)

In 2001, Deschanel formed If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies, a jazz cabaret act with fellow actress Samantha Shelton.^[8] The pair performed around Los Angeles.^[28]

In March 2007, Deschanel contributed vocals to two songs "Slowly" and "Ask Her to Dance" on the album Nighttiming by Jason Schwartzman's band Coconut Records. In May 2007, singer/songwriter M. Ward, who had previously performed with Deschanel onstage, said that he was "just finishing work" on her debut album,^[29] which will feature songs written by Deschanel and produced by Ward.^[30] Fox reported that Deschanel and Ward were recording under the moniker She & Him. Their first album, titled Volume One, was released by Merge Records on March 18, 2008.^[31][32]

On March 23, 2010, the second She & Him album, Volume Two, was released.^[33] In spring of 2010, She & Him went on tour in the USA and Europe to promote the album.^[34]

Deschanel and M. Ward both featured on The Place We Ran From, the 2010 album by Snow Patrol member Gary Lightbody's side project, Tired Pony. Deschanel contributed vocals to the tracks "Get On the Road" and "Point Me at Lost Islands", while M. Ward contributed vocals and guitar to the track "Held in the Arms of Your Words" and guitar to the track "That Silver Necklace".^[35]

Deschanel also recorded "The Fabric of My Life" for a 2009 advertising campaign for Cotton Incorporated.^[36]

Deschanel also performed "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch during game three of the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants on October 19, 2010 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California.^[37]

On October 23, 2011, Deschanel performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before game four of the World Series between the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington in Arlington, TX.^[38]

Deschanel contributed a cover of Buddy Holly's "It's So Easy" for the tribute album Listen to Me: Buddy Holly, released on September 6, 2011. She had previously appeared on Rave On Buddy Holly with She & Him performing "Oh Boy", released in June 2011.

A Very She & Him Christmas was announced on Pitchfork.com in September 2011. The 12-track Christmas album was released October 25, 2011 under Merge Records.^[39]

On December 28, 2011, she and Joseph Gordon-Levitt recorded an informal version of "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" for her Hellogiggles YouTube Channel. It was immensely popular and within four days had over 6 million views.^[40]

Deschanel is also featured on She & Him bandmate M. Ward's sixth solo album, A Wasteland Companion.^[41]

Other work[link]

Deschanel was a judge for the ninth Independent Music Awards.^[42]

She has signed on to represent Rimmel, a cosmetics brand.^[43]

In May 2011, she launched HelloGiggles, an entertainment website geared towards women, with producer Sophia Rossi and writer Molly McAleer.^[44]

In 2012, she was featured in a commercial for the iPhone 4S (Siri).

Coal Miner's Daughter the Musical: During a May, 2012 performance at the Ryan Auditorium Country music singer Loretta Lynn announced that she was in the development stages of creating a Broadway musical from her autobiography and Deschanel would play the title role. Lynn said "…there's a little girl back stage that's going to do the play of 'Coal Miner's Daughter' on Broadway." She then brought Deschanel onstage and the two sang a duet of the title song.^[45]

Personal life[link]

In December 2008, Deschanel became engaged to musician Ben Gibbard, lead vocalist for The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie.^[46] The couple married on September 19, 2009 near Seattle, Washington.^[47] On November 1, 2011, they announced their separation after two years of marriage.^[48] Deschanel subsequently filed for divorce on December 27, 2011, citing irreconcilable differences.^[49]

Deschanel became an aunt on September 21, 2011, when her sister Emily gave birth to a son, Henry.^[50]

Deschanel—who is allergic to eggs, dairy, and wheat gluten^[51]—formerly adhered to a vegan diet.^[52] She was featured on episode eight of season one of Bravo's Top Chef Masters, in which the chefs participating in the competition were challenged to cater a vegan lunch party for her family and friends using no eggs, dairy, soy, or gluten.^[53] However, according to a March 2010 interview with Health magazine, she had to come off the diet because her food sensitivities made it too difficult for her to stay healthy as a vegan.^[54]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Soundtracks[link]

• 2003: Elf "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Leon Redbone
• 2005: Once Upon a Mattress (TV movie) "In a Little While" with Matthew Morrison
• 2008: Yes Man; "Yes Man", "Sweet Ballad", "Uh-huh", "Keystar" with Von Iva, by "Munchausen By Proxy" a fictional band that appears in the film, and "Can't Buy Me Love" with Jim Carrey^[56][57]
• 2009: (500) Days of Summer "Sugar Town"
• 2011: Winnie the Pooh "A Very Important Thing to Do", "Everything is Honey" with Jim Cummings and Robert Lopez, "Winnie the Pooh" with M. Ward, "So Long" with M. Ward, "Finale" with Jim Cummings, Robert Lopez and cast
• 2011: Your Highness "The Greatest Most Beautiful Love Song in All the Land" with James Franco

Appearances on other albums[link]

• 2008: Acid Tongue – Jenny Lewis "The Next Messiah", "Carpetbaggers", "Trying My Best to Love You", "Jack Killed Mom"
• 2009: Hold Time – M. Ward "Never Had Nobody Like You", "Rave On"
• 2010: The Place We Ran From – Tired Pony "Get on the Road", "Point Me at Lost Islands"
• 2011: Listen to Me: Buddy Holly "It's So Easy" (tribute album)
• 2012: A Wasteland Companion – M. Ward "Sweetheart"

She & Him[link]

Studio albums

• 2008: Volume One^[58] (No.71 US)^{[citation needed]}
• 2010: Volume Two (No.6 US)
• 2011: A Very She and Him Christmas

Singles

• "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" (January, 2008)
• "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (December, 2009)
• "In the Sun" (February, 2010)^[59]
• "Thieves" (June, 2010)

Soundtracks

• 2009: Sweetheart "I Put A Spell On You" (Starbucks' CD)
• 2007: The Go-Getter "When I Get To The Border"
• 2009: (500) Days of Summer "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want"

Awards and nominations[link]

• 2003: Mar del Plata Film Festival for Best Actress; All the Real Girls (Won)
• 2004: Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress; All the Real Girls (Nominated)
• 2004: Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead; All the Real Girls (Nominated)
• 2009: Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy; (500) Days of Summer (Nominated)
• 2011: Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical or Comedy Television Series; New Girl (Nominated)
• 2011: Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy; New Girl (Nominated)
• 2012: Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media; "So Long" (Nominated)

References[link]