Zooey Claire Deschanel (born January 17, 1980) is an American actress, musician and singer-songwriter. Deschanel made her film debut in 1999's Mumford and soon became known for memorable, deadpan supporting roles in films such as Almost Famous (2000) and The New Guy (2002). She then began playing lead roles, including All the Real Girls (2003), Elf (2003), Winter Passing (2005), The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (2005), Tin Man (2007), Yes Man (2008), and 500 Days of Summer (2009).

Since 2001, Deschanel has performed in the jazz cabaret act If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies with fellow actress Samantha Shelton. She plays the piano, percussion[vague], xylophone, banjo and ukulele. She has sung in several of her films, and her debut album Volume One (recorded with M. Ward under the moniker She & Him) was released on March 18, 2008.