Jena Malone was recently cast in the upcoming Hunger Games Sequel The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as Johanna Mason, but the 27-year-old actress is no stranger to the film industry with several awards and nominations under her belt already. Find out more in her Kidzworld Bio!
The Moving Malones
Jena was born in Sparks, Nevada but moved around a lot as child, having lived in 27 different places by the time she was 9 years old. Jena grew up in a house with two moms, her mom Deborah and her Godmom. Seeing her mom Deborah perform community theater is what first inspired her love of acting, and when her family moved to Los Angeles she had the perfect opportunity to pursue it, especially since she was already in the process of being home schooled.
Silver Screen Sweetheart
After landing her first role in the film Bastard Out of Carolina Jena quickly caught the attention of the rest of Hollywood. For her first film she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance. After that she also won critical praise for work in the TV Miniseries Hope, but it was landing the part of a young Jodie Foster in the sci-fi thriller Contact that put her name on the map for most viewers, followed by a starring role in Stepmom with Julia Roberts.
Even though Jena’s star was clearly on the rise, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Around this time she filed for and was granted legal emancipation from her mother so that she could take hold of her finances and career.
Leading Lady
Jena had her first role as the leading lady in the time-travel cult classic Donnie Darko alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and afterwards in the teen comedy-drama Saved, about a deeply Christian girl who becomes pregnant during high school. She also appeared Pride & Prejudice with Kiera Knightely as a spoilt younger sister and also started performing in on stage, most notably in the Broadway production of Doubt. That’s not all she’s been getting up to, Jena is also a talented musician and performs with an act called The Shoe creating loose electronic music. Most recently she appeared in the action movie Sucker Punch and it was also just announced that she would be taking on the role of Johanna Mason in the next two Hunger Games films.
Have Your Say
What do you think about Jena as Johanna Mason in the next Hunger Games movie? Let us know in the comments section below.
