Keri Russell
Keri Lynn Russell (born March 23, 1976)[1] is an American actress. She played the title role in the drama series Felicity (1998–2002), which won her a Golden Globe Award, and later portrayed Elizabeth Jennings in the spy thriller series The Americans (2013–2018), which earned her nominations for several Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe Awards. For playing the lead role in the political drama series The Diplomat (2023), she received further Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
Keri Russell
Actress
1991–present
3
Russell has appeared in the films Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992), We Were Soldiers (2002), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Waitress (2007), August Rush (2007), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Antlers (2021), and Cocaine Bear (2023).
Early life[edit]
Russell was born on March 23, 1976, in Fountain Valley, California, to Stephanie Stephens, a housewife, and David Russell, a Nissan Motors executive.[2] She has an older brother and a younger sister. The family lived in Coppell, Texas; Mesa, Arizona; and Highlands Ranch, Colorado, moving frequently due to her father's work.
Career[edit]
1990s[edit]
Russell's dancing earned her a spot on television at age 15 as a cast member of the All-New Mickey Mouse Club variety show on the Disney Channel.[3][4] She was on the show from 1991 to 1994, encompassing seasons four to six.
In 1992, she appeared in Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and in 1993, had a role on the sitcom Boy Meets World as Mr. Feeny's niece. She appeared on Married... with Children in a 1995 episode ("Radio Free Trumaine", production 9.24). She subsequently starred in several film and television roles, including the 1996 made-for-television film The Babysitter's Seduction.[3] That year she also had a role on the short-lived soap opera series Malibu Shores.[3]
In 1994, Russell appeared as the "other woman" in Bon Jovi's music video "Always".[5] In 1997, she appeared in two episodes of Roar.[3]
From 1998 to 2002, Russell starred as the title character on the successful WB Network series Felicity, and in 1999 won a Golden Globe for the role.
During the show's run, Russell appeared in the films Eight Days a Week, The Curve and Mad About Mambo, all of which received only limited releases in North America. Her next role was in the film We Were Soldiers (2002),[3] playing the wife of a United States serviceman during the Vietnam War. The film was released two months before the end of Felicity's run.
Personal life[edit]
In 2006, Russell became engaged to Shane Deary, a Brooklyn-based contractor she met through mutual friends.[10] They married in New York on February 14, 2007.[25] They have two children: a son born in 2007 and a daughter born in 2011.[26][27] Russell and Deary separated in early 2013 and divorced in mid-2014.[28][29] Since 2014, she has been in a relationship with Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, her co-star in The Americans.[30] They have a son, born in 2016.[31][32] In interviews conducted in 2021, Russell and Rhys referred to each other as husband and wife.[33][34]