Jena Malone is an American actress and musician. She made her film debut in Bastard Out of Carolina (1996) and has appeared in films including Ellen Foster (1997), Contact (1997), Stepmom (1998), Donnie Darko (2001), Saved! (2004), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Into the Wild (2007), The Ruins (2008), Sucker Punch (2011), and The Hunger Games film series (2013–15). Her next film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, is scheduled to be released on March 25, 2016.

Malone is also an experimental musician who has released music both under her own name and as The Shoe.

Malone progressed to professional acting with the 1996 film Bastard Out of Carolina. She was nominated at the 1996 Independent Spirit Awards for Best Debut Performance and at the 3rd Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries for her role in the film. From there, her roles have grown to include several Hollywood features. In 1997, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the category Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film, for her role in Hope.

After working on various TV projects, and as a supporting actress in films such as Contact and Stepmom, Malone had her first cinematic leading role in the 2001 cult hit Donnie Darko as Gretchen Ross, the new girl in town who becomes the girlfriend of Jake Gyllenhaal's title character. Malone co-produced the 2002 film American Girl, a drama in which she also acted. In the 2004 film Saved!, she got top billing in her first role as the primary star. In 2005, she played the spoiled fifth Bennet daughter Lydia in the film Pride and Prejudice. In 2006, she made her Broadway stage debut in a production of the Tony Award-winning play Doubt.

In 2007, it was announced that Malone was releasing her first single on The Social Registry, a New York City experimental music label. A number of tracks were posted to her MySpace page.[14] Pitchfork Media has described Malone's music as "pretty out-there – bedroom electronics, spaced-out keyboards, and Malone's spare vocals."[15] Malone's more recent musical work is performed as/with The Shoe.[16] Malone appeared in the horror film, The Ruins, which was released on April 4, 2008, and co-starred Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey, and Jonathan Tucker. She played Lavinia in an off-Broadway revival of Eugene O'Neill's play Mourning Becomes Electra in 2009.

Malone at the 2013 Deauville American Film Festival In 2011, Malone played the role of Rocket in Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch, which flopped at the box office and caused the actress to consider focusing on her photography and band, Shoe. It was after the huge success of her next role in The History Channel's miniseries Hatfields and McCoys that Malone's passion for acting returned. In 2012, Malone also starred in a series on the YouTube channel Wigs entitled Dakota, portraying the title character. She also played the role of Carson McCullers in the film Lonely Hunter, directed by Deborah Kampmeir.Malone played Johanna Mason in three out of four films in The Hunger Games franchise, Catching Fire, Mockingjay – Part 1, and Mockingjay – Part 2.

In November 2014, Malone exhibited 39 photographs that she took in Myanmar in the summer of that year. The exhibition, which ran from November 21 to November 28, 2014, was called "The Holy Other."[20][21] It took place at MAMA, an art gallery owned by her personal friend Adarsha Benjamin in Downtown Los Angeles.[20][21] Proceeds were donated to Girl Determined, a non-profit organization which benefits girls' education in Myanmar.

It has also been announced that she has been cast in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, also directed by Zack Snyder. In February 2015, she was cast alongside Keanu Reeves in Nicolas Winding Refn's thriller film The Neon Demon.

Actress, Television Actress, Movie Actress, Nevada, Musician, Entertainment Industry, Film Industry, Television & Film, Celebrity, Actors, Acting, Music, Entertainment