Jenn Gotzon Chandler is an American film actress. She portrayed U.S. President Richard Nixon's daughter Tricia Nixon in the 2009 film Frost/Nixon. Gotzon portrayed the female protagonist[1] in The Farmer and The Belle: Saving Santaland opposite her actor-husband Jim E. Chandler,[2] and appeared in the mystery-drama Doonby.[3]
Jennifer Lee Gotzon was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and raised in neighboring Northampton, Pennsylvania.[4] She attended Northampton Area High School and graduated in 1997.[1] She competed in the Miss America pageant.[5]
Gotzon studied at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts for two years and did a two year conservatory at Joanne Baron/DW Baron Studio in Los Angeles. Gotzon also worked for Google in various positions, including HR Coordinator.[6]
Gotzon's first lead role was in 2002 in low budget independent film Julie and Jack, for which she won Best Actress at the Global Arts Film in Sacramento.[7]
Gotzon had a number of "bit roles" in TV series including House, Pushing Daisies, and .[7] In 2009, she had a cameo role in Frost/Nixon as First Daughter Tricia Nixon Cox,[7] after casting director Jane Jenkins was struck by her physical resemblance to Nixon's daughter.
In 2008, Gotzon won Best Actress for short-film Stained at 168 Film Festival, a contest that gives filmmakers 168 hours to shoot, edit and score a film based on a Bible verse.[8] Gotzon received the 2008 Rising Star Award at the Wildwood By the Sea Film Festival.[9] [10]
In 2012, Gotzon had a leading role in psychological thriller Doonby. She was cast by producer Mark Joseph after he followed her on social media, making it the "first official Facebook casting of a lead role in a theatrically released film."[7] [11] Writer-director Peter Mackenzie had a scene digitally altered to make it more "Christian-friendly", reducing the amount of cleavage shown by Gotzon in response to comments from religious leaders.[12]
The Film Advisory Board granted Gotzon an "Award of Excellence for 'Doonby' and Outstanding Contribution to the Entertainment World [Inspiring Audiences motivational program]".[13] Gotzon also starred in Christian film God's Country, directed by her then husband Armstrong, in 2012, for which she received "Best Actor" at the Pocono Mountain Film Festival.[13]
Since 2017, Gotzon has worked on faith-based film projects with her husband Jim Chandler including My Daddy's in Heaven, Sunrise in Heaven[14] and the 2020 releaseThe Farmer and the Belle: Saving Santaland, a Christmas movie loosely based on their real life romance.[15] [16]
Gotzon was previously married to director Chris Armstrong,[1] who she met in 2004 after he cast her in his senior thesis film.[8] They divorced in 2014. She married Jim Chandler, whom she met while working on a movie together in 2014, on March 17, 2017; footage from their wedding was used in The Farmer and The Belle.[17] [18]
Gotzon has a mentor-outreach program called Inspiring Audiences in which she speaks at high schools about the moral lessons of her movies.[19] [20]
