An American actress of French and Irish descent. She was named after Zooey Glass, the male protagonist of J. D. Salinger's 1961 novella Franny and Zooey. Her older sister Emily Deschanel is also an actress. She made her film debut in Lawrence Kasdan's 1999 comedy Mumford. In her second film, director Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical Almost Famous (2000), she played Anita Miller, the protagonist's rebellious older sister. The film received critical praise, but was not a box office success. Deschanel played supporting roles in a series of films that included Manic (2001), Big Trouble (2002), Abandon (2002) and The Good Girl (2002).