The Untold Truth Of Jennifer Connelly

Actor, dancer, singer, model, Oscar-winner. These are some of the titles Jennifer Connelly has earned over her almost four-decade-long career in the entertainment business. A born and raised New Yorker, Connelly seemed to shoot right to stardom from the moment she was discovered at the age of ten by a family friend who was also an advertising executive, according to the Independent.

She immediately began modeling and doing commercials, and like one of those unattainable fairytale stories about being discovered, her star power slowly rose when a casting director connected her with director Sergio Leone for his next film. At the time, pre-teen Connelly probably didn't realize a role in the epic crime drama "Once Upon a Time in America" — working with Robert De Nero, no less — would be the jump start to a long acting career. Yet Connelly went on to star in dozens of movies including "Labyrinth," "The Rocketeer," "Requiem for a Dream," and more recently, the 2022 sequel to "Top Gun," the Tom Cruise blockbuster film "Top Gun: Maverick," in which Connelly plays his love interest.

The highly sought after and talented actor not only made a name for herself in her art but was thought of all over the world as one of the most beautiful women, appearing on several publication rankings. She's also a mother of three and has been married since 2003 to the same man, Paul Bettany—that story could be its own Hollywood movie. So, read on to find out why and discover more untold truths about Jennifer Connelly.

Being in the limelight has its perks, but for Jennifer Connelly, there were points in her life where being recognized was simply, well, awkward. Unfortunately, since she started her career at a young age, some of these moments happened in high school and college. She shared with Rolling Stone that a boy she was dating in high school was part of a bet to see how fast he could get her into bed. She also told The Sun in 2013, that a professor at Yale had seen one of her movie posters — where she was on top of a rocking horse — and mentioned it to her. Connelly didn't say whether this was part of the reason she transferred to Stanford after her sophomore year, but she did say, "I wish I had not been a complete nerd. I had no sense of humor and took myself so seriously." 

By 1997 she still hadn't graduated, but she admitted on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" during the promotion of her film "Inventing the Abbotts," "I still have like a year left to graduate, and I sort of toy with going back every once in a while."

Connelly's son Kai also attended Yale, and the "Top Gun: Maverick" actor admitted on "Live with Kelly and Michael" that she cried the moment she dropped her son off. She'd been so worried, she drove there the next weekend and found him thriving. "It all kind of went away. I mean, yes, I miss him, but I actually, it completely overrides my feelings," she said.

In 1997's "Inventing the Abbotts," Jennifer Connelly plays Eleanor, one of three sisters in the well-to-do Abbott family. Of the three girls (the other two are played by Joanna Going and Liv Tyler), Connelly's character is the most rebellious and promiscuous. Rolling Stone called the acting in the film — which was directed by Pat O'Connor and produced by the dynamic duo of Ron Howard and Brian Grazer — "exemplary." Of Connelly specifically, they said, "Connelly slyly blends eroticism and humor."

At this point in her career, Connelly had been in more than a dozen films, including the star-studded "Mulholland Falls" the previous year. When the actor appeared on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" to promote the film, she opened up about her character and her love of the film. "I've seen it twice now and I, actually, it's so nice to do a movie that I can look at and say I actually love this movie," she said. She went on to talk about the character's free spirit and how she wished she was more like that, adding, "It was like such a joy playing someone so uninhibited."

But it wasn't just the wild and free character that she was drawn to as the future Oscar winner told O'Donnell, "It's nice because it sort of like takes time to look at families and things that are important and things that are stupid that we strive for, and it's a really moving kind of story."

Whether she was modeling, dancing, or acting, for most of her life, Jennifer Connelly has turned heads with her stunning looks. Of course, fans appreciate her talent as an actor and admire her for who she is, but in the business of entertainment, beauty is the icing on the cake. And this actor's beauty has helped her land on many of the "most beautiful" and "sexiest" lists in the industry.

In 2011 the Los Angeles Times published their list of the 50 Most Beautiful Women in film (via Film Industry Network), with Connelly gracing the ninth spot. In 2019, Empire Online ranked the "100 Sexiest Movie Stars," and Connelly was selected as one of the 50 women on the list, which included both current and past stars like Grace Kelly and Angelina Jolie. And according to the publication, Connelly has appeared on lists from Vanity Fair, Esquire, and Time magazine. She even made TheTrendSpotter's list of the "50 Most Beautiful Women Over 40."

In 2014, Connelly was on the cover of Allure and in her cover story she talked about the real meaning of beauty. She doesn't like the idea of torturing yourself to fit into the confines of society's beauty standards. "The thing that really matters to me is well-being and happiness," she declared.

Yes, Jennifer Connelly does appear to be a woman who can do it all —but singing in Japanese? Apparently, she not only sang in Japanese, but either didn't remember that it happened or didn't want to admit it. During an appearance on "The Graham Norton Show" alongside actors Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, and Paul Whitehouse, the fellow A-listers seemed intrigued when Norton brought up the interesting tidbit from Connelly's past.

As Connelly explained it to the captive audience, when she was a young girl doing commercials, she appeared in a Japanese ad for Panasonic in which she had to sing, even though she never desired to do so. And apparently, the song for the commercial was also released as a single. "I vaguely remember recording a song," she said reluctantly. Norton kept filling in the blanks. "And it was a hit, so modest," he chimed in. "If I'd had a number one song in Japan, it'd be the first thing I'd tell people."

Crazy as it sounds, when Norton cued up the commercial, Connelly admitted she'd never heard it before, shocking Elizabeth Banks. The ad starts with a closeup on the young Connelly signing, then strangely shows a plate of fruit before showing a CD going into a boombox. But the best part is the ending, when Connelly comes back on the screen, donning a headset. After a phone rings, she says, "This is Jennifer." A blushing Connelly laughed and covered her face, as everyone in the studio clapped.

Most people remember where they were when the tragic details of 9/11 unfolded. Many remember it as a day that would forever change their lives. For Paul Bettany, it was the case for more than one reason, as he shared with Larry King in 2015. It was at that moment, consumed with worry for Jennifer Connelly, that he realized he was in love with her, despite the fact that the two hadn't officially been dating, and at the time were actually in two different countries.

Bettany and Connelly met on the set of "A Beautiful Mind," which was released a few months after the attacks. But Bettany had known about Connelly long before that. The two are close in age, and Bettany admitted he started noticing Connelly when he saw her in "Labyrinth" and "Once Upon a Time in America," and overtime, his admiration turned into a full-on crush.

When the two finally laid eyes on each other during the first table read for "A Beautiful Mind" sparks flew in both directions. Connelly told ET she was at first impressed with Bettany's acting, adding, "He started playing guitar and it was all over." However, nothing happened between the two, and they went their separate ways. But when Bettany had his epiphany, he called Connelly (something that took two days) and straight out asked her to marry him. "And that's really what happened," Bettany stated, still seemingly in disbelief. As astounding as that would be for anyone, Connelly said yes immediately.

In 1997, while promoting her new film "Inventing the Abbotts," Jennifer Connelly was pregnant with her first child, son Kai. The father was photographer David Dugan, with whom Connelly had a brief relationship. So, when Paul Bettany proposed to Jennifer Connelly shortly after 9/11, he wasn't just getting a wife but a family. Per People, it wasn't long after Bettany and Connelly married that they gave Kai siblings — little brother Stellan was born in 2003 and then in 2011, the boys got a sister with the birth of Agnes Lark.

Connelly told People that being a parent has changed her life. "Becoming a mother has made all the difference in terms of learning to take more responsibility for myself and my life." One thing that hasn't changed is that this native New Yorker prefers to stick to her roots. The actor explained on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" that she loves Brooklyn and that they live mere blocks away from where she grew up. In fact, she said, "My kids go to the school that I went to, so every day is kind of like a reunion."

Will any of her children follow in her acting footsteps? Connelly shared some updates with Kimmel back in 2019 to include her oldest graduating college and her middle child interested in music. And while all three kids have visited movie sets, Agnes seems to have a knack for the business, even giving her mom some redirection during a scene rehearsal. "So I did it and the director was like, 'I like that take,'" Connelly quipped.