What You Don't Know About Jessica Chastain

Jessica Chastain may be known for being one of Hollywood's most talented actors (with both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe under her belt), yet the California native has managed to keep her life off-screen under the radar. Chastain has been working steadily in Hollywood since 2004, with her first role being an appearance on the hit TV series "ER," per her IMDb. However, you could say it was her role in the popular flick "The Help" that launched Chastain into fame in 2011, before the critically acclaimed film "Zero Dark Thirty" solidified her A-list status that next year. Of course, Chastain has continued to thrive over the years, even taking home the Best Actress Oscar for 2021's "The Eyes of Tammy Faye."

It seems that Chastain isn't your average movie star though, in that she's rarely in the tabloids outside of a silly viral video (more on that later) and has been able to keep her personal life pretty guarded throughout her career despite her massive success. Because of that, there's a lot that fans may not know about Chastain outside of the characters she has played on-screen.

While Chastain has had a variety of interesting roles, the actor herself is just as fascinating, not only because of how far she's come in life but also because of the work she does outside of acting. So with that said, let's break down what you don't know about Jessica Chastain.

Jessica Chastain apparently knew that she was destined to become an actor ever since she saw "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at age seven. She recalled to The Independent, "There was a 10-year-old girl on stage as the narrator. And as soon as I saw the girl ... I just knew it was what I was going to do." After that, Chastain began to pursue her dreams, telling The Guardian, "I was always like: Mom, can you take me to LA so I can be in commercials? I don't think my parents thought that was even a real possibility." 

Chastain eventually dropped out of high school but worked with a professional theater company, which turned out to be a better fit. She explained to The Hollywood Reporter, "I wasn't interested in what the teachers were teaching me." That all changed though when Chastain later went to The Juilliard School, even though it initially had its challenges. She told The Guardian, "I was the first person in my family to go to college. I was terrified by this idea that my whole family was paying for it and I could get cut from the program." 

However, it was a scholarship from late actor Robin William that helped her afford it and subsequently changed her life. She explained, "My New York experience made me realize that my desire had nothing to do with becoming famous or making money. I was interested in exploring the human soul."

It's pretty evident that despite being an A-list movie star, Jessica Chastain has managed to keep most of her life off-screen private. "​​I'm not interested in the fame of being a personality," she told InStyle, per E! News. For Chastain, getting a lot of attention apparently gives her anxiety so she makes it a point to keep certain aspects of her personal life to herself. For example, she told USA Today, "I've never gone on the red carpet with a significant other. Never." She even claimed to the Independent, "I will never say my age because I'm an actress, and I want to play different ages."

With that said, it should come as no surprise that she has kept her children very much under the radar, too. Chastain had welcomed a daughter via surrogate in 2018 and then had a second child in 2020. She never formally announced either birth but the paparazzi captured photos of her walking with the children both times in New York City.

Chastain later confirmed the birth of her first child on Instagram by writing in a caption of a 2018 New Year's photo, "Thank you all for respecting my privacy while I was blessed with the gift of becoming a mother." She also shared a photo of her baby's hands that next year. As for her second child, Chastain revealed their name by thanking her kids in her 2022 Oscars acceptance speech, saying, "Giulietta and Augustus, you are my heart."

Fans may be surprised to learn that Jessica Chastain has another successful career off-camera as a producer. According to her IMDb, Chastain has been working behind-the-scenes in that role since 2010 and since then has been earning producing credits on critically acclaimed projects like, "Scenes from a Marriage," as well as "The Eyes of Tammy Faye." In 2016, Chastain even launched her own production company, Freckle Films. It's run strictly by female executives which, per Forbes, is a way for Chastain to push against gender inequality in Hollywood.

When it came to starting the company, Chastain explained to Variety, "I went 'well ... I need to put my money where my mouth is, and I need to start creating a company that will offer some opportunities for women and also highlight the stories that perhaps have been unheard and invisible." And she did just that with their first feature film "The 355," an all female-led action movie that Chastain also stars in alongside Lupita Nyong'o, Penelope Cruz, and Diane Kruger. "I have longed to work with other actresses ... but it feels like the industry doesn't want us in a room together," Chastain dished.

Yet Chastain did admit to ComicBook.com that creating "The 355" did come with its challenges. She recalled, "As a producer, every step of the way this movie was hard. I'm not gonna like sugarcoat, it wasn't easy ... We made it outside of a studio system independently for a fraction of the cost of what this normally would be."

With how Jessica Chastain helped Octavia Spencer increase her salary, it should come as no surprise that the "Ava" star has a lot of celebrity friends. When it comes to Spencer in particular, it appears that she and Chastain hit it off instantly when auditioning for "The Help." Chastain recalled to HuffPost, "Our very first scene that we read ... it's that moment just before you break character, and we're looking at each other, smiling, and she says, "I love you" and I said, "I love you!" The two apparently hung out off set, too. "​​She would come over to my apartment when we were shooting and I would bake her my vegan version of Southern food," Chastain told Metro.

Chastain also remained close with her "Interstellar" costar Anne Hathaway. Hathaway spoke of their friendship to Glamour UK, saying, "I'm trying right now to start a book club with Em and Jessica." It seems the actors support each other's work, too, since, per Daily Mail, Hathaway attended a special screening of Chastain's movie, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," where they were photographed hugging. 

From the looks of her Instagram, Chastain is also into giving her friends birthday shoutouts on social media. She's posted tributes to Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, and, of course, Spencer, to name a few. Chastain even dedicated a post to Andrew Garfield, gushing, "​​Always grateful to this gem for his generous spirit and an inspiring collaboration."

Jessica Chastain became a vegan over a decade ago after she says gaining and losing weight for roles left havoc on her body. That feeling initially led "The Zookeeper's Wife" actor to try a vegan raw food diet. She recalled to Shape, "The first week, I was so miserable. But by the second week, I had so much energy." She then decided to go just vegan, adding, "My body was clearly telling me the way it wanted me to eat."

It probably helps that Chastain is also very passionate about animals. She even partnered with The Humane Society to promote Veganism, as well as animal adoption. "I've always been a huge animal lover, supporter. I've adopted every animal I've ever had ... I'm vegan. I believe in buying cruelty-free products," she explained in a video by PeopleTV. While Chastain advocates for veganism, she dished to People, "I don't think everyone needs to be vegan. It just means helping create healthier choices for society and for our hearts at the end of the day."

Yet Chastain did joke on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" that her diet does sometimes make things difficult when dining with her Italian In-laws, who she says don't really understand her declining some of their food because of cultural differences and the language barrier. She joked, "​​In the beginning, I would say I'm vegan ... which is like the worst thing ... I would say, 'I'm sorry I can't eat that,' and [my mother-in-law] would say, 'No problem, we have fish.'"

Jessica Chastain may be worth more than you think since her income doesn't just come from acting and producing. In fact, she's also a savvy businesswoman who's invested in different companies. One of those is the plant-based meat brand, Beyond Meat, which she also did advertisements for. It appeared to be a good fit for Chastain not only because it became a super successful IPO, but because it was something she used herself as a vegan. She explained on Instagram, "I won't invest in something unless I believe in it, and use it in my real life."

Chastain went on to invest in LA's first professional women's soccer team in 2020. She also made money as the face of high-end brands like Ralph Lauren and Yves Saint Laurent. When it came to partnering with the latter, Chastain dished to WWD, "The brand has conveyed strong values that I cherish, such as an unwavering commitment, absolute love and feminine audacity."

Because of that, it should come as no surprise that Chastain has an impressive amount in the bank, which per Celebrity Net Worth, is about $50 million. It seems Chastain likes to spend some of that money on real estate, including the $8.875 million five-story townhouse she bought in New York City's Upper West Side in 2019. If that's not enough space, Chastain also owns a $1.8 million Greenwich Village apartment too, as well as a home in Los Angeles presumably for when she's working in Hollywood.