Maggie was born in New York City to Stephen and Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal. Her parents, who married in 1977, filed for divorce in October 2008. Her father is director Stephen Gyllenhaal, who was raised as a Swedenborgian, is of Swedish, French, German, Swiss, Welsh 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. Her mother is Jewish; she was born in New York City, to a family from Russia, Latvia and Poland.