Jennifer Jason Leigh was born Jennifer Lee Morrow in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of writer
Barbara Turner and actor
Vic Morrow. Her father was of Russian Jewish descent and her mother was of Austrian Jewish ancestry. She is the sister of
Carrie Ann Morrow and half-sister of actress
Mina Badie.
Jennifer's parents divorced when she was two. Jennifer worked in her first film at the age of nine, in a nonspeaking role for the film Death of a Stranger (1973). At 14 she attended summer acting workshops given by
Lee Strasberg and later landed a role in the Disney TV movie
The Young Runaways (1978). She received her Screen Actors Guild membership for an episode of the TV series
Baretta (1975) when she was 16. Jennifer performed in several TV movies and dropped out of Pacific Palisades High School six weeks short of graduation for her major role in the film
Eyes of a Stranger (1981). Her first major success came as the female lead in
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982).
Jennifer was married to writer/director
Noah Baumbach from 2005 to 2013, and they have one son.
The Anniversary Party(2001)
Greenberg(2010)
Rag Tale(2005)
High Potential(2024)as Willa Quinn
Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen(2026)as Victoria
Crime 101(2026)as Angie
All's Fair(2025)as Cheryl Goodfader
Night Always Comes(2025)as Doreen
Atypical(2017)
Skipped Parts(2000)
Georgia(1995)
The Good Time Girls(2017)
Turn the River(2007)
The Machinist: Breaking the Rules(2005)
The Squid and the Whale(2005)
The Man Who Wasn't There(2001)
The Hateful Eight(2015)
Anomalisa(2015)
Girls of the White Orchid(1983)
Today(1952)as Self - Guest
Celebrity IOU(2020)as Self, Self - Guest
In Creative Company(2020)as Self
Made in Hollywood(2005)as Self
QT8: The First Eight(2019)as Self
In Vogue: The 90s(2024)as Self
Compression(1995)as Self
King on Screen(2022)as Selena St. George
Hollywood Insider(2018)as Self
Entertainment Tonight(1981)as Self
