Celebrity crush: Zooey Deschanel (revised)

Here's a revised entry from an actress, singer, and all-around fountain of joy who's really too famous for this listing, based on the model I now use, but I revise it as a public service because I don't want to throw anyone out for doing too well. Amazon and iTunes links follow. Any affiliate payments earned from your purchase or rental will help pay the hosting fees for my podcasts, so please consider clicking.

Name: Zooey Deschanel (images | Tumblr | She and Him site | Twitter for Zooey | Twitter for She and Him)
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif., according to her Wikipedia profile; her show business family includes her father, Oscar-nominated director and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel; mother actress Mary Jo Deschanel; and elder sister Emily Deschanel, who stars on the crime drama Bones.
Best Known For: Being everywhere and charming hearts all the way. Zooey racked up nine TV, movie, short film and voiceover roles in 2007 alone, and that wasn't necessarily the busiest year of her career.

With M. Ward as She and Him.

Major films in which she's appeared include Elf, The Bridge to Terabithia, Yes Man, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Happening, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Failure to Launch, Big Trouble, and (500) Days of Summer. She'll be seen with Natalie Portman in this year's raunchy medieval comedy Your Highness. (There are rumors of a future film playing Janis Joplin, but that could be the project under way with fellow celebrity crush Amy Adams.)

On television, she's guest-starred on Weeds, topped the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Tin Man (a reimagining of The Wizard of Oz), and guest-starred on Bones as a cousin to the character played by her sister Emily.

Sweet Christmas.

Humble Beginnings: Her first movie role was a well-regarded indie called Mumford, followed up by Almost Famous -- which was, again, critically acclaimed but not a financial blockbuster. Her star turn in All the Real Girls may have been the turning point.

Among her dues-paying roles along the way to conquering the universe were the thriller Abandon, the comedy The New Guy (which includes a crowd shot in which one of Ye Olde Podcaster's oldest friends was an unpaid extra), and a 2002 piece titled Sweet Friggin' Daisies which Ye Olde Podcaster wants to see based on the title alone.

The Courteney Cox Factor: Zooey appeared in The Offspring's 1999 video for "She's Got Issues" and Jimmy Fallon's 2002 video for "Idiot Boyfriend." (Sadly, neither is for sale at iTunes at this point.)
Not the Courteney Cox Factor: Zooey has shown her vocal talents in several of her movies, and she's recorded two quirky indie-rock albums with M. Ward under the moniker She and Him, She's married to Ben Gibbard of the indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, and she's worked with actor-musician Jason Schwartzman, among others.

Obligatory Edgy Stuff: ... Urm, we'll assume that singing in a jazz cabaret outfit (If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies) entailed something risque at some point. There's also the fact she's a former vegan (though her food allergies -- gluten, eggs and dairy -- made that too difficult in time). Oh, and Katy Perry totally ripped off Zooey's look and slutted it up.
Why Ye Olde Podcaster Likes Her: Cute, sexy, quirky, adorable, funny and melodic ... Zooey Deschanel is like some fairy or Disney cartoon princess come to life.

Would a Zooey Deschanel not named after a character from J.D. Salinger's novella Franny and Zooey seem quite so hippie-chick chic? The world may never know, and fortunately, we'll never have to.

In Elf, obviously.

TV and Web series credits: Funny or Die Presents, season 1, episode 1 (Amazon | iTunes) * Bones, season 5: "The Goop on the Girl" (Amazon | iTunes) * Top Chef Masters, season 1: "Dietary Restrictions" (Amazon | iTunes) * Spectacle: Elvis Costello With... season 1: "She and Him/Jenny Lewis/Jakob Dylan" (Amazon | iTunes) * Tin Man (Amazon | iTunes) * Weeds, season 3 (Amazon | iTunes) * Weeds, season 2 (Amazon | iTunes) * Cracking Up: "Birds Do It" (Amazon | iTunes) * Dinner for Five, episode 21 (Amazon | iTunes) * Frasier, season 10: "Kissing Cousin" (Amazon | iTunes) * Veronica's Closet, season 1: "Veronica's Fun and Pirates are Crazy" (Amazon | iTunes)

With sister Emily Deschanel, star of the
forensic sleuth series Bones.

Music videos (alphabetical by song): Bank Dance (set to "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here" by She and Him) (Amazon | iTunes) * "Don't Look Back" by She and Him (iTunes) * "Idiot Boyfriend" by Jimmy Fallon (iTunes) * "In the Sun" by She and Him (iTunes) * "She's Got Issues" by Offspring (iTunes) * "Thieves" by She and Him (iTunes) * "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here" by She and Him (iTunes)
Voice work: The Simpsons, season 19: "Apocalypse Cow" (Amazon | iTunes) * Surf's Up (2007 video game) (Amazon) * American Dad, season 1: "Stan Knows Best" (Amazon | iTunes)

Musical work (alphabetical -- movie listed if no soundtrack available): (500) Days of Summer soundtrack (Amazon | iTunes) * The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (film) (Amazon | iTunes) * Bridge to Terabithia (film) (Amazon | iTunes) * "Earth" (Hot Fudge cover recorded by She and Him for charity album) * Elf soundtrack (Amazon | iTunes) * "Fools Rush In" (2010 free Levi's promotional download by She and Him) * The Go-Getter (film) (Amazon | iTunes) * The Good Life (film) (Amazon | iTunes) * "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (2009 non-album single by She and Him) (Amazon | iTunes) * Hold Time by M. Ward (Amazon | iTunes) * "I Put a Spell on You/Lingering Still" (2010 non-album single by She and Him) (Amazon | iTunes) * "In the Sun/I Can Hear Music" (single) (Amazon | iTunes) * A Mixtape by Ben Lee (Amazon | iTunes) * The New Guy (film) (Amazon | iTunes) * Nighttiming by Coconut Records (Amazon | iTunes) * Once Upon a Mattress (2005 film) (Amazon | iTunes) * The Place We Ran From by Tired Pony (Amazon | iTunes) * "Shape I'm In" (2010 free Levi's promotional download by She and Him) * She and Him Volume One (Amazon | iTunes) * She and Him Volume Two (Amazon | iTunes) * Winnie the Pooh (2011 film soundtrack) (Amazon | iTunes) * Winter Passing (film) (Amazon | iTunes) * Yes Man soundtrack (Amazon | iTunes)

Film and TV-movie credits: Your Highness (Amazon | iTunes) * My Idiot Brother (Amazon | iTunes) * Havin' a Summah (Web video) * Do It Again (Amazon | iTunes) * (500) Days of Summer (Amazon | iTunes) * Sundance Skippy (Amazon | iTunes) * Yes Man (Amazon | iTunes) * Gigantic (Amazon | iTunes) * The Happening (Amazon | iTunes) * The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Amazon | iTunes) * Raving (Web video) * Flakes (Amazon | iTunes) * Bridge to Terabithia (Amazon | iTunes) * The Go-Getter (Amazon | iTunes) * The Good Life (Amazon | iTunes) * Live Free or Die (Amazon | iTunes) * Failure to Launch (Amazon | iTunes) * Once Upon a Mattress (2005 TV-movie) (Amazon | iTunes) * Winter Passing (Amazon | iTunes) * The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Amazon | iTunes) * Eulogy (Amazon | iTunes) * Elf (Amazon | iTunes) * House Hunting (Amazon | iTunes) * It's Better to Be Wanted for Murder Than Not to Be Wanted at All (Amazon | iTunes) * All the Real Girls (Amazon | iTunes) * Whatever We Do (Amazon | iTunes) * Sweet Friggin' Daisies (Amazon | iTunes) * The New Guy (Amazon | iTunes) * Big Trouble (Amazon | iTunes) * Abandon (Amazon | iTunes) * The Good Girl (Amazon | iTunes) * Manic (Amazon | iTunes) * Almost Famous (Amazon | iTunes) * Mumford (Amazon | iTunes)