Early Life and Education
Gyllenhaal was born in Los Angeles, the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and film producer and screenwriter Naomi Foner (née Achs). Maggie Gyllenhaal, his older sister and also an actress, appeared with Jake in the movie Donnie Darko. Gyllenhaal's father, who was raised as a Swedenborgian, is of Swedish and English descent, and is a descendant of the Swedish noble Gyllenhaal family. Jake's last native Swedish ancestor was his great-great-grandfather, Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal. Jake Gyllenhaal's mother is from a Jewish family from New York City, and Gyllenhaal has said that he considers himself "more Jewish than anything else." On his 13th birthday, Gyllenhaal performed a "barmitzvah-like act, without the typical trappings", volunteering at a homeless shelter, because his parents wanted to instill in him a sense of gratitude for his privileged lifestyle. His parents insisted that he have summer jobs to support himself, and he thus worked as a lifeguard and as a busboy at a restaurant operated by a family friend.
Read more about this topic: Jake Gyllenhaal
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