Who is Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell?

Who is Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell? The entertainment and acting world knows her professionally as Elizabeth Banks she is an American actress. Banks had her film debut in the low-budget independent filmSurrender Dorothy. Since then, she has been well-known for her roles in Definitely, Maybe, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, W., Role Models, Wet Hot American Summer, The Uninvited and theSpider-Man franchise. Banks has also portrayed roles as guest star in television shows through her career, including the role of Dr. Kim Briggs, Zach Braff's love interest in the television sitcomScrubs, and her role as Avery Jessup, Jack Donaghy's wife in 30 Rock.

  Early life and education

Banks was born February 10, 1974 , in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the eldest of four children of Ann and Mark Mitchell.[2] Her father was a factory worker for General Electric and her mother worked in a bank.[3] As a young child, she was a contestant on the

Nickelodeon game show Finders Keepers. She graduated from Pittsfield High School in 1992 and is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania in 1996, where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta Sorority. In 1998, she completed schooling at the American Conservatory Theater and earned an MFA.

Career

Elizabeth Mitchell

Banks changed her name to avoid confusion with actress Elizabeth Mitchell.[4] She debuted in the independent film Surrender Dorothy, as Elizabeth Casey, and quickly gained widespread exposure through the comedy film The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

In August 2005, at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Banks starred in William Inge's Bus Stopas Cherie, the sexy, blond, aspiring nightclub singer.[5] Jeffrey Borak wrote that Banks' portrayal was acted "with poise, clarity and a shrewd feel for Cherie's complexities. Her performance is all of a piece and in harmony, stylistically, with the performances around her...."[6] In 2005, she appeared on the show Stella, and in May 2006, she had a role in the season five finale of theNBC comedy Scrubs as Dr. Kim Briggs, the love interest of J.D. (Zach Braff). The character has appeared throughout seasons six, seven and eight as a recurring guest star.

In 2006, Banks appeared in the American football drama film Invincible, in which she played Mark Wahlberg's love interest. The film is based on the true story of bartender Vince Papale. Later, she and co-star Walhberg were

nominated for the "Best Kiss" award at the MTV Movie Award. Also that year, she landed the starring role in the comedy-horror Slither. Despite mildly positive reviews from critics, it grossed only $12 million worldwide, less than half the budget of the film.

In 2007, she played the female lead in the comedy Meet Bill, alongside Aaron Eckhart and Jessica Alba. Also that year, Banks had a small role in the

Christmas comedy film Fred Claus, co-starring Vince Vaughnand Paul Giamatti. In 2008, she played a love interest in the comedy Definitely, Maybe, alongside Isla Fisher and Ryan Reynolds, starred with Seth Rogen as the eponymous female lead in the Kevin Smithcomedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and played United States First Lady Laura Bush in W, Oliver Stone'sbiopic of George W. Bush.[7]

In 2009, Banks appeared in the thriller The Uninvited, a remake of the Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters.[8] The film was about an intrusive stepmother who makes life miserable for the teen daughters of her new husband. Banks based her character, Rachel, on Rebecca De Mornay's character in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle".[9] "It was very important to me that every line reading I gave could be interpreted two ways," says Banks of her role, "So that when you go back through the movie you can see that".[9]

Banks is a frequent co-star of actor Paul Rudd, the two having appeared in four films together to date (Wet Hot American Summer, The Baxter, The 40 Year Old Virgin, and Role Models).[10] "There was a David O. Russell movie that I really wanted to make with Vince Vaughn that ended up falling apart",[9] said Banks, referring to the film H-Man Cometh, in a January 2009 interview.

On December 8, 2009, it was announced that Banks would appear in at least four episodes of the Emmy-winning sitcom 30 Rock as a love interest for Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin).[11] She went on to appear in nine episodes of the fourth season. Banks is set to star alongside Leslie Mann in What Was I Thinking?, based upon the book by Barbara Davilman and Liz Dubelman.[12]

Personal life

On July 5, 2003, Banks married sportswriter and producer Max Handelman,[13] who had been her boyfriend since she met him on her first day at college, September 6, 1992.[14] She converted to Judaism upon marrying him.[15][16] She and her husband welcomed their first child, a boy named Felix via gestational host in March 2011.[17]

 

 

Filmography

Film
Year↓Title↓Role↓Notes
1998Surrender DorothyVickiCredited as "Elizabeth Casey"
2000ShaftTrey's friendCredited as "Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell"
2001Wet Hot American SummerLindsay
2001Ordinary SinnerRachel
2002Spider-ManBetty Brant
2002Swept AwayDebi
2002Catch Me If You CanLucy Forrest
2002Stella Shorts 1998-2002Woman at yoga classShort films; direct-to-DVD release
2003The TradeSioux Sever
2003SeabiscuitMarcela HowardNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2004Spider-Man 2Betty Brant
2005HeightsIsabel
2005Sexual LifeSarah
2005The SistersNancy Pecket
2005The BaxterCaroline Swann
2005The 40-Year-Old VirginBeth
2005Daltry CalhounMay
2006SlitherStarla Grant
2006InvincibleJanet CantrellNominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (with Mark Wahlberg)
2007Spider-Man 3Betty Brant
2007Meet BillJess
2007Fred ClausCharlene
2008Definitely, MaybeEmily Jones
2008Meet DaveGina Morrison
2008Lovely, StillAlex
2008Zack and Miri Make a PornoMiriam "Miri" Linky
2008W.Laura BushNominated — Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
2008Role ModelsBeth Jones
2009Big BreaksStarletShort
2009The UninvitedRachel Summers
2009SurrogatesExecutive Producer
2010The DetailsNealy Lang
2010The Next Three DaysLara
2011Movie 43Filming
2011My Idiot BrotherMirandaPost-production
Television
Year↓Title↓Role↓Notes
1999Third WatchElaine Elchisak"Patterns" (season 1, episode 3)
Credited as "Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell"
2000Sex and the CityCatherine"Politically Erect" (season 3, episode 2)
2001Law & Order: Special Victims UnitJaina Tobias Jansen"Sacrifice" (season 3, episode 7)
2002Without a TraceClarissa"Snatch Back" (season 1, episode 7)
2005StellaTamara"Meeting Girls" (season 1, episode 6)
2006–2007, 2009ScrubsDr. Kim BriggsRecurring role
2007–2008Wainy DaysShelly"Shelly" (season 1, episode 1)
"The Date" (season 1, episode 2)
"Shelly 2" (season 3, episode 6)
2007–2008American Dad!Becky Arangino
Lisa Silver
"The Vacation Goo" (season 3, episode 1)
"1600 Candles" (season 4, episode 1)
"Escape from Pearl Bailey" (season 4, episode 5)
2008Comanche MoonMaggie TiltonTV mini-series
2009Modern FamilySal"Great Expectations" (season 1, episode 8)
201030 RockAvery Jessup"Anna Howard Shaw Day" (season 4, episode 13)
"Future Husband" (season 4, episode 14)
"Don Geiss, America and Hope" (season 4, episode 15)
"Floyd" (season 4, episode 16)
"Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter" (season 4, episode 17)
"Khonani" (season 4, episode 18)
"The Moms" (season 4, episode 20)
"Emanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land" (season 4, episode 21)
"I Do Do" (season 4, episode 22)
"When It Rains, It Pours" (season 5, episode 2)
























 

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