Jena Malone made her debut in the 1996 drama film ‘Bastard Out of Carolina,’ directed by Anjelica Huston. The film was based on the 1992 novel by Dorothy Allison of the same name. Malone’s performance as Ruth Anne "Bone" Boatwright in the film earned her the ‘Young Artist Award.’ That same year, she also made her first television appearance in the television film ‘Hidden in America.’ In 1997, she won the ‘Saturn Award’ for her performance as ‘Young Ellie Arroway’ in the science fiction drama film ‘Contract.’ The film received mostly positive reviews and was a box office success.
She next acted in ‘Stepmom’ (1998), ‘The Book of Stars’ (1999), ‘Cheaters’ (2000), ‘Life as a House’ (2001), ‘The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys’ (2002), ‘The United States of Leland’ (2003), ‘Howl's Moving Castle’ (2004), and ‘Pride & Prejudice’ (2005). In 2007, she starred in the biographical adventure drama film ‘Into the Wild,’ directed by Sean Penn. The film opened to critical acclaim and was a commercial success. The following year, she was seen playing the role of ‘Amy’ in the natural horror film ‘The Ruins,’ directed by Carter Smith. The film saw mixed reviews upon release. She next starred in ‘The Messenger’ (2009), ‘The Soloist’ (2009), ‘Sucker Punch’ (2011), ‘For Ellen’ (2012), and ‘In Our Nature’ (2012).
In the 2013 dystopian science fiction adventure film ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,’ Malone played the role of ‘Johanna Mason.’ The film opened to wide critical acclaim and was a massive box office success, grossing over $865 million against a budget of $140 million. She reprised her role as ‘Johanna Mason’ in ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1’ (2014) and ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2’ which were also major box office hits. In 2016, she starred as ‘Sage Ross’ in the neo-noir psychological thriller ‘Nocturnal Animals,’ directed by Tom Ford. The film saw positive reviews upon release.
Apart from films, Malone has also appeared in television series, ‘Ellen Foster’ (1997), ‘Touched by an Angel’ (1999), ‘Hitler: The Rise of Evil’ (2003), ‘Doubt’ (2006), ‘Mourning Becomes Electra’ (2009) and ‘Hatfields and McCoys’ (2012). In the 2021 legal drama streaming series ‘Goliath,’ she portrayed ‘Samantha Margolis.’ She will be next seen in the upcoming anime-style series ‘Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas.’