Wonder Woman of the Week: Jessica Chastain

The Wonder Woman for this week is a talented stage and film actress and producer who is never too subtle about her critiques of sexism in show business. But apart from her vocal opposition to dangerous working conditions of women in Hollywood, Jessica Chastain is also one of the most successful actresses of her time.

Chastain acted in several theatre productions during and immediately after her education at Juilliard. Her film career began though with her first major role in cinema with the film Jolene that tells the story of a sexually abused teenager for which she won the Best Actor Award at the Seattle International Film Festival.

Chastain's breakout role came however in 2011 when she appeared in six separate films- including Take Shelter. This film tells the story of a man who believes he has foreseen a terrible storm coming to his town and want to build a shelter in his backyard to protect his family. Other films that year included Coriolanus (based on the Shakespeare play), The Tree of Life, The Help (based on the best-selling novel), Wild Salome, and Texas Killing Fields.

Chastain's greatest role in film- in terms of both the film's awards and the actress'- was Zero Dark Thirty which tells the story of a CIA operative in 21st Century Afghanistan. After receiving praise for the film, Chastain acted in more international indie films before isolating herself to the sci-fi genre with films like Interstellar and The Martian.

Following massive success with her sci-fi films, Chastain moved on to acting in films with strong female crews (such as women script writers, directors, and producers). This included the documentary I Am Jane Doe (about sex trafficking), The Zookeeper's Wife (about zookeepers during World War II sheltering victims of the Holocaust), and Woman Walks Ahead (about the events leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre).

Outside of her film career, Jessica Chastain is an advocate for several group including Suicide Helplines (like "To Write Love on Her Arms) and Planned Parenthood- speaking candidly about supporting women's reproductive health. Other work includes Chastain's support for military veterans, campaigning for more women film critics, helping increase art education in several African nations, and giving voice to child victims of abuse.