Evan Rachel Wood

Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987)^[1] is an American actress and singer.

Wood began her acting career in the late 1990s, appearing in several television series, including American Gothic and Once and Again. She made her debut as a leading film actress in 2002's Little Secrets and became well-known after her transition to a more adult-oriented Golden Globe-nominated role in the critically acclaimed film Thirteen (2003).^[2]

Wood continued acting mostly in independent films, including Pretty Persuasion (2005), Down in the Valley (2006), Running with Scissors (2006), and in the big studio production Across the Universe (2007). Wood's acting has drawn critical praise, and she has been described by The Guardian newspaper as being "wise beyond her years" and as "one of the best actresses of her generation."^[3] Her relationship with singer Marilyn Manson, whom she dated from December 2006 through October 2008, received considerable news coverage.^[4]

Wood was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, the daughter of Sara Lynn Moore, an actress, director and acting coach, and Ira David Wood III, an actor, singer, theater director and playwright.^[3] Wood's brother, Ira David Wood IV, is also an actor. Wood has another brother, Dana. Her paternal aunt, Carol Winstead Wood, is a Hollywood production designer.^[5]

Wood is Jewish.^[6][7] She has described the music of The Beatles as being a major part of her life since her first family Christmas.^[8] Wood and her brothers were actively involved in Theatre in the Park, a community theater directed by her father, while growing up; she played the Ghost of Christmas Past in several productions of A Christmas Carol at the theater, and later starred as Helen Keller alongside her mother (who played Annie Sullivan) in a production of The Miracle Worker, under her father's direction.^[9][10]

Wood made her teenage debut as a leading film actress in 2002's Little Secrets, directed by Blair Treu. She played aspiring 14-year-old concert violinist Emily Lindstrom, and she was nominated for Best Leading Young Actress at the Young Artist Awards. ^[13] That same year, Wood played a supporting role in the Andrew Niccol-directed science fiction satirical drama film,S1m0ne, which starred Al Pacino.

Wood's breakthrough movie role followed with the somewhat controversial 2003 independent film Thirteen. She played the role of Tracy Louise Freeland, one of two young teens who sink into a downward spiral of hard drugs, sex, lies, and petty crime. Her performance was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Actress - Drama and for a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for Best Actress. During the time of Thirteen's release, Vanity Fair named Wood as one of the It Girls of Hollywood, and she appeared, along with the other actresses, on the magazine's July 2003 cover.^[14] A supporting role opposite Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones in Ron Howard's The Missing, in which she played the kidnapped daughter, Lilly Gilkeson, in a Searchers-style western, followed the same year.

In 2005, Wood appeared in the Mike Binder-directed The Upside of Anger, opposite Kevin Costner and Joan Allen, a well-reviewed film in which Wood played Lavender "Popeye" Wolfmeyer, one of four sisters dealing with their father's absence. Her character also narrated the film.^[3]Wood's next two starring roles were in dark independent films. In the 2005 Grand Jury Prize Sundance Film Festival nominee Pretty Persuasion, a black comedy/satirical focusing on themes of sexual harassment and discrimination in schools and attitudes about females in media and society, Wood played Kimberly Joyce, a villainous, sexually-active high-schooler. One critic commented, "Wood does flip cynicism with such precise, easy rhythms and with such obvious pleasure in naughtiness that she's impossible to hate."^[15]

In Down in the Valley, which was directed by David Jacobson, Wood's character, Tobe, falls in love with an older man posing as a cowboy at odds with modern society (Edward Norton). Of her performance, it was written that "Wood conveys every bit of the adamant certainty and aching vulnerability inherent in late adolescence."^[16] Wood has commented on her choice of sexually themed roles, saying that she is not aiming for the "shock factor" in her film choices.^[3]

In 2005, Wood starred in the music videos for Bright Eyes' "At the Bottom of Everything" and Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends".

In 2007, Wood's relationship with Marilyn Manson became public. The two met at a party at the Chateau Marmont Hotel; Wood has stated that she was attracted to Manson's frequent use of black eye liner and once described their relationship as "healthy and loving."^[32] Two portraits of Wood, painted by Manson, have been exhibited at the Celebritarian Corporation Gallery of Fine Art. Wood is also the inspiration behind Manson's song "Heart-Shaped Glasses," and she appeared with Manson in the song's music video. Manson has said that Wood's appearance in the film was the highest-paid music video role ever.^[24] In November 2008, Wood issued a statement saying "Manson and I both decided to take some time apart so we could concentrate on work."^[33]

Wood has since been linked to actor Mickey Rourke. She played his daughter in the film The Wrestler, but she denies that they had any kind of romantic relationship. In a December 2008 interview, Wood said, "People thought we were dating because we got so close in a family kind of way. That's why we felt comfortable enough to put our arms around each other. We were just buds."^[28]