Zooey Deschanel is a person.
Zooey Claire Deschanel ( [ ˈzoʊi_ˌdeɪʃəˈnɛl ] born January 17 , 1980 ) is an American actress and singer-songwriter . She made her film debut in Mumford ( 1999 ) , followed by her supporting role in Cameron Crowe 's semi-autobiographical picture Almost Famous ( 2000 ) . Since 2011 , she has played Jessica Day on the Fox sitcom New Girl , for which she has received an Emmy Award nomination and three Golden Globe Award nominations . Besides singing , she plays keyboards , percussion , banjo , and ukulele . She also received Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media nomination for her song `` So Long '' , which featured in the Winnie the Pooh soundtrack .