Her paternal grandfather was French, from Oullins, Rhône; she also has Swiss, Dutch, English, Irish, and other French ancestry.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 ...; born January 17, 1980) is an American actress and singer-songwriter.
She also received Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media nomination for her song "So Long", which featured in the Winnie the Pooh soundtrack.
Deschanel is also a co-founder of the female-focused website Hello Giggles, which was acquired by Time, Inc. She is the younger daughter of cinematographer and director Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel (née Weir).
She took on the brief role of Dorothy Evans in the revisionist Western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and starred in the B comedy Flakes, which was released in only one theater.
Deschanel starred as DG in the Syfy Channel miniseries Tin Man, a re-imagined science fiction version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Deschanel also narrated the children's book Players in Pigtails. Night Shyamalan's thriller The Happening (2008), she starred opposite Mark Wahlberg as a couple trying to escape from an inexplicable natural disaster.
She appeared with Katie Holmes, Benjamin Bratt and Melanie Lynskey in the psychological thriller Abandon.
Deschanel appeared in Frasier, in the season ten episode titled "Kissing Cousin" as Roz Doyle's out-of-control cousin, Jen.Deschanel appeared in the independent drama Manic (2001), as the love interest of a troubled teen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).The film was screened at the Sundance Film Festival and received a limited theatrical release.The New York Times reported that Deschanel was "one of Hollywood's most sought-after young stars", in 2002, 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.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.Despite largely negative reviews, critic Roger Ebert felt that Wahlberg and Deschanel's performances "bring a quiet dignity to their characters", She starred in the independent comedy Gigantic (2008), which screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and was distributed for a limited release in certain parts of the United States only.