his mother is screenwriter naomi foner. his father is director stephen gyllenhaal, who was raised as a swedenborgian, is of swedish and english descent, and is a descendant of the swedish noble gyllenhaal family. jake's last ancestor to be born in sweden was his great-great-grandfather, anders leonard gyllenhaal. jake's mother is jewish; she was born in new york city, to a family from russia and poland. gyllenhaal has said that he considers himself jewish. gyllenhaal began acting at 11 years old.