Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks (born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell;[1] February 10, 1974)[2] is an American actress, producer and director. She is known for playing chaperone Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games film series (2012–2015) and an ICCA commentator in the Pitch Perfect film series (2012–2017). She made her directorial film debut with Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), whose $69 million opening-weekend gross set a record for a first-time director.[3][4] She has since directed the action comedy Charlie's Angels (2019) and the horror comedy film Cocaine Bear (2023). Banks founded the film and television production company Brownstone Productions in 2002 with her husband, Max Handelman.
For other people named Elizabeth Banks, see Elizabeth Banks (disambiguation).
Elizabeth Banks
- Actress
- producer
- director
1998–present
2
Banks made her film debut in the low-budget independent film Surrender Dorothy (1998). She has appeared in films such as Wet Hot American Summer (2001), Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007), Seabiscuit (2003), The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Slither (2006), Invincible (2006), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), Role Models (2008), The Next Three Days (2010), Man on a Ledge (2012), What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012), Movie 43 (2013), The Lego Movie (2014) and its sequel The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019), Love & Mercy (2014), Walk of Shame (2014), Magic Mike XXL (2015), Power Rangers (2017), Brightburn (2019), and Call Jane (2022).
On television, Banks had a recurring role as Avery Jessup on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock (2010–2012), which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She also had recurring roles on the comedy series Scrubs (2006–2009) and Modern Family (2009–2020), the latter of which earned her a third Primetime Emmy Award nomination. She starred in the Netflix miniseries Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015) and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017). Since 2019, Banks has hosted the ABC revival of the game show Press Your Luck.[5]
Early life[edit]
Banks was born and raised in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the eldest of four children of Ann (née Wallace) and Mark P. Mitchell.[6] Her father, a Vietnam War veteran, was a factory worker for General Electric, and her mother worked in a bank.[7] She described her family as "very meat-and-potatoes, old-school Irish Catholic."[8] Growing up, she played baseball and rode horses. She was in Little League when she broke her leg sliding into third base. She then tried out for the school play, which was her start in acting.[9]
She graduated from Pittsfield High School in 1992 and is a member of the Massachusetts Junior Classical League.[10] She attended the University of Pennsylvania,[11] where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta Sorority and was elected to the Friars Senior Society. She graduated magna cum laude in 1996 with a major in communications and a minor in theater arts.[12] In 1998, she completed schooling at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California, where she earned an MFA degree.[13][14]
Politics[edit]
Banks supports gun control[60] and abortion rights.[61]
Banks was a vocal supporter of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and was involved in a rendition of Rachel Platten's single "Fight Song" with other celebrities at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.[62][63] She has stated she is a feminist.[64] In September 2020, Banks urged her Instagram followers to contact VoteRiders to get information and assistance with voter ID.[65] That same month, she used her social media presence to participate in the VoteRiders #IDCheck Challenge to help spread the word about voter ID requirements for the presidential election.[66]