Zoey Deutch

• 1. Introduction

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  Zoey Deutch is an American actress and producer, and her surname is pronounced DOYTCH. At the 2025 Cannes Film Festival she played the actress Jean Seberg in Nouvelle Vague. Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood called her terrific in the part and wrote, "There wasn’t a moment I thought I was watching anyone else but Seberg."

  That is high praise for an actress who spent years working her way up through supporting parts, young adult adaptations and streaming comedies. How did she get from there to here? What did she choose to produce herself? And what does she do away from the screen? The answers start at home.

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• 2. A Hollywood Household

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  Zoey Francis Chaya Thompson Deutch was born on the 10th of November 1994 in Los Angeles. Her parents are the director Howard Deutch and the actress Lea Thompson, who also directs. Her sister, Madelyn Deutch, is an actress as well.

  Music and film run through the wider family. Her close relatives include the musician Barbara Barry Thompson, her maternal grandmother, and the music executive Murray Deutch, her paternal grandfather. Her grand-uncle is the actor Robert Walden.

  Her parents came from different corners of the country. Her father is from New York and is of Jewish heritage, while her mother is from Minnesota and has partial Irish ancestry. Deutch identifies as Jewish and had a bat mitzvah.

  Training began early. At the age of five she started taking acting classes. She later studied at Oakwood School and the Young Actors Space, and she majored in theater at Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.

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• 3. Early Screen Roles

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  In 2010, at the age of 15, Deutch began her career on the Disney Channel series The Suite Life on Deck. She played Maya, a love interest for Zack Martin during the show's third season, across seven episodes ending in 2011. From 2011 to 2012 she played Juliet Martin in the CW thriller drama Ringer, appearing in eighteen episodes.

  Mayor Cupcake, in 2011, was her first feature, and her mother and sister were in the cast with her. Director Marc Webb cut her small scene from The Amazing Spider-Man, though it survives on the DVD. Guest spots followed on NCIS, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior and Switched at Birth.

  Beautiful Creatures, released in 2013, was her big screen breakthrough. She played Emily Asher in the fantasy-romance-drama, a supporting role alongside Emma Thompson, Thomas Mann and Alden Ehrenreich. The film adapted a young adult novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the first book in the Caster Chronicles series.

  In 2014, Vampire Academy gave her a first lead. She played Rosemarie Hathaway, heroine of the first book in Richelle Mead's best-selling six-book young adult series. Jordan Hoffman of the New York Daily News called it her breakout lead performance. She also starred in the official music video for the song "Opium" by The New Division.

  In January 2014 came word that she would star opposite Tyson Ritter in Midnight Rider, Randall Miller's biopic of Gregg Allman. Then 2016 filled her calendar. In Dirty Grandpa, with Robert De Niro and Zac Efron, she played the love interest of Efron's character.

  Why Him? cast her as a Stanford student who falls in love with a billionaire named Laird, played by James Franco. Her screen parents were played by Bryan Cranston and Megan Mullally. The teen coming-of-age comedy Good Kids reached audiences on the 21st of October 2016 through Vertical Entertainment, and she also landed the lead in the romantic comedy Cover Girl from Julie Plec and Sue Kramer.

  As Samantha Kingston in Before I Fall, Deutch headlined an adaptation of Lauren Oliver's best-selling young adult novel, with Jennifer Beals and Kian Lawley in the cast. Andrea Mandell of USA Today described it as a milestone in her rising career. The scripts of Good Kids, Dirty Grandpa and Before I Fall had all appeared on the 2011 Black List, an industry list of well-regarded scripts.

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• 4. The Indie Circuit

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  At the SXSW Film Festival in 2016, Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some!! premiered with Deutch as Beverly. Her character is paired with Jake Bradford, a freshman ballplayer played by Blake Jenner. That same year the crime drama Vincent-N-Roxxy premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, with Emory Cohen, Emile Hirsch and Zoë Kravitz beside her.

  In 2017, Danny Strong's Rebel in the Rye premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The biopic of the author J.D. Salinger gave Deutch the part of Oona O'Neill, opposite Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Spacey and Laura Dern. She also appeared that year in James Franco's The Disaster Artist, based on the book by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell about the making of the cult film The Room.

  Flower reached the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, directed by Max Winkler from an Alex McAulay script that had been on the 2012 Black List. Deutch played Erica Vandross, and reviewers singled her out. Aubrey Page of Collider called hers an "electric lead performance." David Ehrlich of IndieWire wrote that the film "confirms that Zoey Deutch is a genuine star in the making."

  Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter was tougher on the film itself. He concluded, "Flower is redeemed only by Zoey Deutch's magnetic performance, which would be star-making if in the service of a better vehicle."

  Her mother's directorial debut, The Year Of Spectacular Men, had its world premiere in June 2017 at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Deutch played Sabrina and shares a production credit. Scott Menzel of We Live Entertainment called the role "without question her finest performance to date."

  On the 9th of November 2017, the official music video for Ed Sheeran's song "Perfect" was released, with Deutch opposite him. As of August 2025 it had passed 4 billion views and 22 million likes.

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• 5. Leading Lady

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  Netflix's 2018 romantic comedy Set It Up reunited Deutch with Glen Powell, her Everybody Wants Some!! costar. The story follows two overworked assistants who try to escape their terrible bosses by setting the pair up together. In May 2019, the makers announced another rom-com for the duo, tentatively titled Most Dangerous Game. She also took a role in the drama-comedy The Professor alongside Johnny Depp.

  In July 2018 came the announcement that Deutch would star in Ryan Murphy's new Netflix comedy series The Politician, alongside Ben Platt and Gwyneth Paltrow. It was released on the 27th of September 2019. She played Infinity Jackson in a main role.

  Zombieland: Double Tap reached theaters on the 11th of October 2019, with Deutch as Madison. The comedy horror film was her first major box office success. She received positive reviews and a 2020 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

  In Tanya Wexler's Buffaloed, Deutch played Peg Dahl, a con artist on parole who turns to debt collecting in a desperate bid to escape her hometown of Buffalo, New York. She co-produced the film, and Judy Greer, Jermaine Fowler, Noah Reid and Jai Courtney co-starred. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival to positive reviews and reached a limited theatrical release in February 2020.

  Kimber Myers of The Los Angeles Times wrote that Deutch "immediately takes the audience hostage in the opening moments of Buffaloed." Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com called the film "a showcase for the mega-talented Deutch," saying she "tosses herself into the role like a maniacal fidget-spinner, all flash and charm."

  Elizabeth Weitzman of TheWrap was more critical and called the film "uneven." Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times found it "entirely dependent on Deutch’s moxie and pell-mell performance."

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• 6. Streaming and Producing

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  In 2020, Deutch starred in Home Movie: The Princess Bride, a Quibi series adaptation made to raise money for World Central Kitchen. In the episode titled "Chapter Ten: To the Pain!" she played both Princess Buttercup and Fezzik.

  The year 2021 brought her into Justin Bieber's music video for the song "Anyone." She also voiced Lily in the adult animated comedy series Fairfax, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video in October 2021. In addition she joined Hound as its lead, Callie, and as a producer.

  Graham Moore's directorial debut, The Outfit, premiered at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival in 2022. Deutch starred in it alongside Mark Rylance and Dylan O'Brien.

  The same year she led Quinn Shephard's satire Not Okay, released on Hulu, as Danni Sanders, and she was an executive producer on it. She also starred in Something from Tiffany's as Rachel Meyer, again as executive producer. The Amazon Original film is based on a Melissa Hill novel and was co-produced by Reese Witherspoon and Hello Sunshine.

  Her producer credits continued into 2025. She is listed as an executive producer on The Threesome, in which she plays Olivia.

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• 7. Stage and Late Acclaim

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  Clint Eastwood's Juror #2 arrived in 2024, with Deutch opposite Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette as Allison "Ally" Crewson. The drama thriller was described as Eastwood's purported final effort as a filmmaker. Both the film and her performance drew positive reviews.

  From October 2024 to January 2025, Deutch made her Broadway debut as Emily Webb in a revival of Thornton Wilder's Our Town at the Ethel Barrymore Theater. Kenny Leon directed, and the cast included Jim Parsons and Katie Holmes. Shania Russell of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Deutch making her Broadway debut, is as instantly likable as ever. She balances easy charisma with distinct vulnerability."

  For Nouvelle Vague she reunited with Richard Linklater. Her Seberg is seen in the period leading up to the actress's breakthrough role in the French New Wave film Breathless, made in 1960. Critics described Deutch as "well-cast" and "convincing."

  The performance earned her a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Performance. Several publications, including Variety, believed she deserved a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 98th Academy Awards, though none came. Time placed the performance in its selection of the best of 2025 in film.

  Anniversary, a dystopian thriller, was her third and final film of 2025. Diane Lane, Kyle Chandler, Madeline Brewer, Phoebe Dynevor, Mckenna Grace, Sky Yang and Dylan O'Brien appeared with her. Her filmography also lists a recurring voice role as Zoe Thompson, also known as Tech Jacket, in the series Invincible in 2026.

  It lists a completed voice role in Minions & Monsters as well. Looking further ahead, The 99'ers, in which she plays Marla Messing, is listed as filming for 2027.

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• 8. Covers and Causes

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  Justine magazine's February 2013 issue was the first of many magazine covers for Deutch. Miabella followed in April 2013, Afterglow in December 2013, Bello in March 2014, Flaunt in June 2015 and Cosmopolitan U.S. in February 2016. In September 2016 she appeared on the cover of Harper by Harper's Bazaar and served as a guest editor.

  The year 2017 brought still more. She was on the April cover of C California Style Magazine and in May on The Edit's annual Women Of Hollywood portfolio. Marie Claire named her among its Fresh Faces 2017 and gave her a cover of its May edition. In 2020 she featured in Fendi's first ever worldwide video and image campaign, #MeAndMyPeekaboo.

  Lists tracked her rise. Glamour put her among its "Hollywood's Next Big Things" in 2013, and Yahoo! named her a Breakout Star for 2014. Harper's Bazaar described her as "quickly becoming Young Hollywood's most valuable player." British GQ called her "Hollywood's hottest newcomer" in 2017.

  A 2018 IndieWire critics survey listed her among "The Best American Actors Under 30," and she joined the Forbes 30 under 30 class of 2020 for Hollywood and entertainment. Grazia Italy called her the symbol of a "new generation of actresses-activists."

  In Sacramento, California, Deutch joined a Planned Parenthood rally celebrating the 45th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. She also performed with her mother and sister for the benefit of the Alzheimer's Association and "What a pair!" Org. With her family she has worked for more than a decade with Corazón de Vida, which supports orphanages in Baja California, Mexico.

  She took part in the 2017 Women's March and returned in 2018. She is part of the Tory Burch Foundation's Embrace Ambition campaign and spoke at the first Embrace Ambition Summit at Lincoln Center in New York. She was also a celebrity ambassador for the seventh annual Shop for Success event, which supports Dress For Success, and has backed the Time's Up movement.

  In 2017, she joined Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Rodrigo Santoro and Vince Vaughn for a live reading of scenes from five winning scripts at the Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. In 2018 she presented at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and introduced Hillary Clinton, co-founder of Vital Voices, at its Global Leadership Awards. That year she was also invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in its actors branch.

  In 2023, Deutch signed "No Hostage Left Behind," an open letter from Hollywood actors asking President Joe Biden to ensure the release of hostages kidnapped during the October 7 attacks. She has also made a number of pro-Israel public comments and has questioned the veracity of allegations of genocide in Gaza.

  In 2012, Deutch began dating the Canadian actor Avan Jogia. In January 2017 it was announced that they had ended their relationship after five years. Since 2021 she has been with the actor and comedian Jimmy Tatro, and they announced their engagement in September 2025.

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