Zoe Cassavetes
Birth nameZoe Rowlands Cassavetes
Birth dateJune 29, 1970 (age 56)[1]
Birth placeLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active1991–present
SpouseSebastien Chenut
ParentsJohn Cassavetes
Gena Rowlands
FamilyNick Cassavetes (brother)
Alexandra Cassavetes (sister)
Katherine Cassavetes (paternal grandmother)
Lady Rowlands (maternal grandmother)
Edwin Myrwyn Rowlands (maternal grandfather)
OccupationActress, film director, screenwriter

Zoe Rowlands Cassavetes (born June 29, 1970) is an American film director, screenwriter, and actress. The daughter of filmmaker John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands, she is best known for her 2007 film Broken English. She is the sister of actor and director Nick Cassavetes.

Education

Rowlands Cassavetes attended Campbell Hall, a private K-12 school in Los Angeles, graduating in 1988.

Career

Cassavetes's first experience with the filmmaking business was at the age of one, when she had an uncredited role as a baby girl in her father John Cassavetes's film Minnie and Moskowitz,[2] but it was not until 1991 that she had her first acting role in the film Ted & Venus. This was followed with minor roles in the films Noises Off and The Thing Called Love. In 1994, she and her filmmaking friend Sofia Coppola created and hosted the Comedy Central television series Hi Octane,[3] a skit and variety show that featured guests including Keanu Reeves, Beastie Boys and Martin Scorsese. Hi Octane lasted for only one season but is remembered as one of the first series to be entirely shot in digital video.[3]

Cassavetes's directorial debut was in 2000 on the Sundance Film Festival-featured short film Men Make Women Crazy Theory.[3] She is best known as the director and writer of the 2007 romance-comedy film Broken English, which featured Parker Posey and her mother Gena Rowlands.[2] Cassavetes's inspiration for Broken English came from her perception of other people's impression that happiness only comes from being in love with someone,[4] saying: "I got caught up and swept up in the whole idea that I didn't have any worth until I found that person ... So I just wanted to make a nice, little portrait about what happens to someone when they get caught up in all of that."[5] She was nominated for the 2008 Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay but lost to Diablo Cody for Juno.[citation needed]

In 2012, she was invited to participate in Miu Miu's ad campaign The Women's Tales. The short she created for the project, The Powder Room, premiered at the 69th Venice International Film Festival.[6]

Her second feature film, Day Out of Days, stars Alexia Landeau as a 40-year-old actress struggling to stay afloat in Hollywood. The supporting cast includes Melanie Griffith, Eddie Izzard, Cheyenne Jackson, Vincent Kartheiser, Alessandro Nivola, Brooke Smith and Bellamy Young.[7]

She is on production company Little Minx's roster for commercial representation.[8]

Personal life

Cassavetes comes from a family of filmmakers: her father John Cassavetes an actor, screenwriter and director; her mother Gena Rowlands an actress; her brother Nick Cassavetes an actor and director; her sister Alexandra Cassavetes an actress and director; and her grandmother Katherine Cassavetes an actress.[4] She says that the relationship problems the main character encounters in Broken English are mostly autobiographical, saying: "I'm obsessed with the idea of love on many different levels – love through family, love your friends, love yourself and who you give that love to, who you can take it from."[5] She has been called a muse to fashion designer Marc Jacobs along with actress and director Sofia Coppola.[9] She is married to Sebastien Chenut.[10]

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

  • Men Make Women Crazy Theory (2000)
  • The Powder Room (2012)

References

  1. ^ Fine, Marshall (2005). Accidental Genius: How John Cassavetes Invented American Independent Film. Miramax Books/Hyperion. p. 229
  2. ^ Ehrenstein, David (2007-05-24). "French Lessons". LA CityBeat. Archived 2008-04-13 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  3. ^ "Zoe Cassavetes". Tokion. Archived 2008-02-09 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  4. ^ Rosenblum, Emma (2007-01-11). "Celluloid Heir: Zoe Cassavetes". New York Magazine. Archived August 14, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  5. ^ Roberts, Sheila. "Zoe Cassavetes & Parker Posey Interview, Broken English". MoviesOnline.com. Archived March 5, 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  6. ^ Sowray, Bibby (2012-08-31). "Venice Film Festival: Miu Miu showcases 'Women's Tales'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived January 31, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  7. ^ Yamato, Jen (2014-08-19). "Zoe Cassavetes Ponders Plight Of The L.A. Actress In 'Day Out Of Days'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived January 20, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  8. ^ Jardine, Alexandra (2015-06-02). "Little Minx Signs Cassavetes, Mortier Joins Pulse and More". Ad Age. Archived March 7, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-09-22.
  9. ^ Chocano, Carina (2001-07-16). "Money for nothing and your clothes for free". Salon. Archived from the original on February 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
  10. ^ Mistry, Meenal (2011-04-20). "Zoe Cassavetes And Gaby Basora Collaborate For The Girl Who "Loves Clothes But Hates Fashion"". Style.com. Archived August 28, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2014-08-28.