Jennifer Westfeldt

Jennifer Westfeldt is an actress, screenwriter, producer and director best known for writing and starring in the indie films Kissing Jessica Stein and Friends with Kids. Westfeldt was born and raised in Guilford, Connecticut, where she developed an interest in theater at a young age. She attended Guilford High School before enrolling at Yale University, where she studied theater and performed with the a cappella group Redhot & Blue. She graduated from Yale with a bachelor’s degree in theater studies.

After college, Westfeldt moved to New York and worked in regional and Off-Broadway theater, appearing in more than 20 productions, including The Fantasticks. After moving to Los Angeles, she landed a series regular role on Two Guys and A Girl, alongside Ryan Reynolds. During her early theater career, she also collaborated with Heather Juergensen on the stage production Lipschtick, which was later adapted into the film Kissing Jessica Stein (2001).

Westfeldt cowrote, coproduced and starred in the film, earning a Golden Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Screenplay. She made her Broadway debut in Wonderful Town in 2003, receiving a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance. She later wrote and starred in Ira & Abby (2006) and appeared on television in shows like Notes From the Underbelly, Grey’s Anatomy, and made her directorial debut with Friends with Kids in 2011. She also contributed to the screenplay of the 2024 romcom The Idea of You.

Westfeldt was in a relationship with Jon Hamm from 1997 until their 2015 split.