Evan Rachel Wood

Background

Evan Rachel Wood was born on September 7, 1987, in Rayleigh, California, to Ira David Wood III and Sarah Lynn Moore. Sarah, Wood’s mother, is an acting coach, actress, and director; her father is also an actor. When Wood’s parents separated in 1997, she moved to Los Angeles with her mom, who converted to Judaism. At 12, Wood quit school because she was being bullied. Her experiences nudged her towards learning taekwondo, which she pursues to this day. Wood received her high school diploma when she was 15.

Being born into a family of actors meant Wood was exposed to acting and stage plays from a young age. Her father even cast her and her mother in a theater production of a Christmas carol titled “The Miracle Worker.” However, Wood’s first screen appearance came in a movie titled “Digging to China” (1998), and her first big break came in “Little Secrets” (2001), where she played the protagonist. Wood received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress for the film “Thirteen” in 2003. Three years later, she was awarded the Spotlight Award for Emerging Talent by “Premiere Magazine.” In 2009, Wood appeared in “Whatever Works.” She also appeared in seasons two and three of H.B.O.’s “True Blood” — a drama series about vampires and other supernatural beings. She has also starred in many other films and series since then, such as “The Conspirator” (2011), “Mildred Pierce” (2011), and “Charlie Countryman” (2013). Recently, she played the voice of Queen Iduna in “Frozen II” (2019).

Wood was raised as a Jew by her mother and once publicly said, “I believe in God and my definition of God is very personal.” In 2007, her relationship with singer Marilyn Manson became public as she appeared in Manson’s ‘Heart-shaped Glasses,’ a song widely believed he wrote for her. However, by 2010, their relationship had hit the rocks with allegations of rape and abuse made by Wood against Manson. She married Jamie Bell in 2012. They had a child before splitting in 2014.