Emily Erin Deschanel is an American actress. She portrayed Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan in the Fox crime procedural series Bones (2005–2017). Deschanel was born in Los Angeles, California, to cinematographer and director Caleb Deschanel and actress Mary Jo Deschanel (née Weir). Her younger sister is actress and singer-songwriter Zooey Deschanel. Her paternal grandfather was French, from Oullins, Rhône; her roots also include Swiss, Dutch, English, Irish, and other French ancestry. Deschanel attended Harvard-Westlake School and Crossroads School in Los Angeles before graduating from Boston University's Professional Actors Training Program with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater.
