Â鶹APP

Jena Malone at Berlinale 2015. Photo by Sebaso.

Top 10 Little Known Facts about Jena Malone

Jena Malone is a well-known American actress who has appeared in films such as ‘Bastard Out of Carolina’ and ‘Sucker Punch.’ She is a musician as well as a photographer. Malone, who was born in Sparks, Nevada, was inspired to become an actress after watching her mother work in community theater. She made her television film debut at the age of twelve in ‘Bastard Out of Carolina,’ where she played a girl who was physically abused and molested. Her contribution was recognized, and she was nominated for several awards.

Her other notable roles include her appearance in the comedy drama film ‘Stepmom.’ The film was a huge success, earning Malone two awards. She also played the lead in ‘American Girl,’ portraying a suicidal adolescent girl. Her most recent roles include ‘The Neon Demon,’ a psychological horror film. The movie was a commercial flop. Malone, on the other hand, won the ‘BloodGuts UK Horror Awards’ for her outstanding performance. She was also cast as a scientist in the hit film ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.’ Her scenes were cut from the theatrical release but included on the home video.

1. Malone had two moms

Lesbians with child. Photo by splendens.

Malone grew up with her mother and her mother’s girlfriend. According to Malone, “they were lovers.” “I had two mothers, and it was fantastic.” She was estranged from her father for much of her childhood but reconciled with him as an adult.

2. Malone grew up in poverty

Jena Malone. Photo by Gage Skidmore.

Jena Malone grew up poor, unlike her character Johanna in The Hunger Games, who lives an unsavory lifestyle. Malone grew up without money and had lived in 27 different places by the age of nine. They’d move out of apartments, lose jobs, find a less expensive place, get kicked out, live in cars, and stay in hotels. They would occasionally become homeless.

Malone actually enjoyed it, and it prepared her for the strange, gypsy lifestyle of an actor. She saw it as a unique way to grow up and see life in a different light.

3. Jena Malone unintentionally flashed a hotel employee

Nude elegant lady. Photo by egorr.

Malone was embarrassed after accidentally exposing herself to a hotel employee while filming a nude scene in a hotel elevator. They were filming in a real hotel with a real elevator, so they couldn’t completely shut down the hotel. The hotel has 49 floors and a glass elevator that everyone can see into.

Malone was bare-boned on take two. As she was about to exit the elevator, the doors open, and there’s some guy from the hotel carrying a coffee cup holder, his mouth agape. She stared at him, pretending to be in character, until she burst out laughing.

4. She revealed her gender fluidity through an interpretive dance on Instagram

The days of months-long behind-the-scenes public relations campaigns to prepare the world for a People magazine cover are over. Nowadays, gay actors simply walk the red carpet with their girlfriends or post photos of their proposals on Instagram.

Jena Malone did it in an entirely novel manner: with an interpretive dance! Malone did some stretching, spins, whirls, and jiggles in between promo for her new film, Adopting Audrey, to honor her evolving understanding of her sexuality.

She described herself as a heterosexual man trapped in a woman’s body. She pictured his desires and projected them onto herself.

5. Her first independent film is considered a cult classic

American actress Jena Malone. Photo by Siebbi.

Malone made her film debut as Gretchen Ross, the new girl in town who becomes Jake Gyllenhaal’s title character’s girlfriend, in the 2001 psychological science fiction thriller Donnie Darko. Though the film was not a box-office success, it became known as a cult classic.

6. Malone has dabbled in music

Jena Malone and the Blood Stains released a single as Jena Malone and the Blood Stains in 2007. Several tracks were later posted to her MySpace page.  Her music has been descibed as bedroom electronics.

In 2008, she founded the musical project The Shoe, in which Malone performs with a collection of electronic instruments housed within a steamer trunk. She began performing impromptu live shows on street corners.

7. Malone exhibited 39 photographs she had taken in Myanmar 

At The Holy Other, the redhead actress projected her own sense of grandeur. It took place at MAMA, an art gallery in Downtown Los Angeles owned by Malone’s friend Adarsha Benjamin. The proceeds went to Girl Determined, a non-profit that supports girls’ education in Myanmar. The actress was excited to show off her portraits, proving that she has more talent than most people realize.

Her exhibition opened the same weekend as the long-awaited release of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 in which she plays Johanna Mason.

8. Jena Malone was concived after a one night stand

Silhouette of man and woman standing on roof building. Photo by photo nic.

Jena Malone was born in November 1984, the result of a brief affair between her mother, Debbie Malone, and Edward, her father. Debbie had worked as a cashier at Karl’s Silver Club Hotel and Casino in Sparks, Nevada, owned by Edward’s parents, Karl and Nancy Berge.

Edward, the casino’s general manager at the time of their affair, was married with children. They had hired Jena’s mother as a change girl at the casino. She had worked there for a while and one night they got together with Edward. 

Jena Malone’s parents never dated. It was just one evening of pleasure. Debbie found out she was pregnant almost immediately and informed Edward. It was a bit of a surprise, and it wasn’t good for his marriage.

9. Jena Malone’s father was a ‘dead beat dad’

Edward, was very involved in Jena’s early years, taking her to Disneyland and SeaWorld. However, in 1990, he found himself in a spiraling debt situation, owing money to both his ex-wife and the taxman, and decided to flee. He packed his belongings and left his home in Sparks without saying anything to Debbie, five-year-old Jena, or any of his other four children.

His alias was Jimmy Allen. He worked as a waiter and sold cars at this upscale seafood restaurant on South Padre Island. He also ran a poker game, which he could manipulate and profit from.

10. Jena wanted to see pictures of her father before meeting him

Jena would send her friends into the casino to check on him, unbeknownst to him. ‘Every other month, someone would ask me, “Are you Edward Berge?”‘ he explained.

They’d take pictures and then flee. He had no idea what was happening. Later, he discovered that Jena had sent them to see him. She wanted to see photos of him before they met.