November 26, 2011: Single White Female, again

Jennifer Jason Leigh files for divorce from director.

by Jeffrey Cottrill

Not even co-writing a movie project together, or having a child, was enough to keep Jennifer Jason Leigh's marriage intact. The 48-year-old actor submitted a divorce filing from her husband of five years, screenwriter-director Noah Baumbach, in Los Angeles on November 15.

According to People, Leigh intends to seek spousal support from Baumbach, as well as primary child custody of their eight-month-old son, Rohmer. She cited irreconcilable differences in her divorce papers.

Baumbach, 41, met Leigh in 2001 while she was starring in the Broadway play Proof. They married in September 2005 and recently co-wrote the Ben Stiller movie Greenberg.

This was the first marriage for both spouses, although Leigh has had previous long-term relationships with Eric Stoltz and director Steven Shainberg and has also been linked to Kevin Spacey and Robert Downey, Jr.

Noah Baumbach won critical acclaim in 2005 for his semi-autobiographical family drama The Squid and the Whale, co-starring Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney. He has also co-written two of Wes Anderson's films, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Jennifer Jason Leigh's real name is Jennifer Morrow. Her breakthrough role was in the hit 1982 comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High. She later received critic's awards and much acclaim for her role as Dorothy Parker in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle and for Last Exit to Brooklyn. More recent credits include Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York and two episodes of TV's Weeds.

• How to Prepare for a Custody Trial
• Making Your Case for Spousal Support
• Are You Really Ready for Divorce?

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