Jake Gyllenhaal has both literal godparents and what he describes as "celebrity godparents". The late actor and director Paul Newman was his celebrity godfather, and actress Jamie Lee Curtis was both his literal and celebrity godmother. Other godparents of unknown status include a gay couple and cinematographer Robert Elswit. Gyllenhaal himself is the godfather of Matilda Rose Ledger (born October 28, 2005), daughter of Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams, both of whom co-starred with him in "Brokeback Mountain". Gyllenhaal dated actress Kirsten Dunst for nearly two years, starting in 2002. He later dated his "Rendition" co-star Reese Witherspoon from about 2007 to
Gyllenhaal family with his coat of arms now hanging in the House of Nobility ("Riddarhuset") in Stockholm, it is spelled "Gyllenhahl". Such ambiguities are typical of the time; it would be several generations before Swedish spelling was more strictly regulated. The prefix "Gyllen" ("Golden") was the one most used when ennobling someone since the 16th century. Actor Jake Gyllenhaal, great-great grandson of the below-mentioned Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal, quipped during an interview prior to the British premiere of "" that his last name was pronounced "Yil-en-hoo-luh-hay", parodying Americans' difficulties with Swedish pronunciation. Nils Gunnarsson Gyllenhaal's descendants today stem from two of his sons: