| Elizabeth McGovern | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 18, 1961 Evanston, Illinois, United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse | Simon Curtis (1992–present) |
Elizabeth McGovern (born July 18, 1961) is an American film, television, and theater actor.
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McGovern was born in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of Katharine Wolcott (née Watts), a high school teacher, and William Montgomery McGovern, Jr., a university professor.[1][2] Her paternal grandfather was adventurer William Montgomery McGovern and her maternal great-grandfather was U.S. diplomat Ethelbert Watts.[3][4] The McGovern family moved to Los Angeles where her father accepted a position with UCLA. Her younger sister is novelist Cammie McGovern.
McGovern started acting in plays while attending The Oakwood School in North Hollywood. Agent Joan Scott saw her performance in The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder, was impressed by her talent, and recommended she take acting lessons. McGovern studied at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, then at The Juilliard School in New York City.[5]
In 1980, while studying at Juilliard, McGovern was offered a part in her first film, Ordinary People, in which she played the girlfriend of troubled teenager, Conrad (Timothy Hutton).
The following year she completed her education as an actress at the American Conservatory Theatre and at The Juilliard School, and began to appear in plays, first Off-Broadway and later in famous theaters.
In 1981, she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Evelyn Nesbit in the film Ragtime.[6]
In 1984, she starred in Sergio Leone's gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America as Robert De Niro's romantic interest, Deborah Gelly. In 1989, she played Mickey Rourke's girlfriend in Johnny Handsome, directed by Walter Hill, and the same year she appeared as a rebellious lesbian in Volker Schlöndorff's thriller The Handmaid's Tale.
McGovern has also appeared in several television productions, her most recent American TV role being the 2006 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Harm," in which her character of Dr. Faith Sutton was a psychiatrist accused of complicity in detainee abuse. Her other television work includes Broken Glass (Arthur Miller, 1996); Tales from the Crypt; The Changeling; Tales from Hollywood; the HBO series Men and Women; The Man in the Brooks Brothers Shirt; Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre ("Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"); and If Not For You (CBS 1995, own series). In 1999 and 2000, McGovern played Marguerite St. Just in a BBC television series loosely based on the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel.
In May 2007, McGovern played Ellen Doubleday, Daphne du Maurier's paramour, in Daphne, a BBC2 television drama by Amy Jenkins, based on Margaret Forster's biography of the author.[7]
In the same year, she appeared in the three-part BBC comedy series Freezing, written by James Wood and directed and co-produced by her husband Simon Curtis. First broadcast on BBC Four, it received a further three consecutive evening transmissions on BBC2 in February 2008. In it she played an American expatriate actress named Elizabeth, living in Chiswick with her publisher husband, played by Hugh Bonneville, and co-starring Tom Hollander as her theatrical agent.
In December 2008, she appeared in an episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot in the episode "Appointment with Death" and played Dame Celia Westholme.
In 2010, she played a leading role as Cora, Countess of Grantham in the British TV series Downton Abbey,[8] with Hugh Bonneville for a second time playing her character's husband. A second series aired in 2011, and a third is planned for 2012.
McGovern is also a singer-songwriter. In 2008, she began fronting the band Sadie and the Hotheads at The Castle pub venue in Portobello Road, London. The band released an album of songs she had developed with The Nelson Brothers, who are now part of the band. The album also includes Ron Knights on bass and Rowan Oliver, borrowed from Goldfrapp, as drummer for the recording sessions.[6] Michelle Dockery, who played McGovern's eldest daughter in Downton Abbey, has occasionally sung with the band.[9]
Roles in New York include:
In her theatre programme CVs (below), McGovern lists her other theatre work in the US as including:
Since moving to London, McGovern's stage work has included:
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | California Fever | Lisa Bannister | TV series (1 episode: "The Girl from Somewhere") |
| 1980 | Ordinary People | Jeannine Pratt | |
| Last Year's Model | short | ||
| 1981 | Ragtime | Evelyn Nesbit | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture |
| 1983 | Lovesick | Chloe Allen | |
| 1984 | Once Upon a Time in America | Deborah Gelly | |
| Racing with the Moon | Caddie Winger | ||
| Faerie Tale Theatre | Snow White | TV series (1 episode: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs") | |
| 1986 | Native Son | Mary Dalton | |
| 1987 | The Bedroom Window | Denise | |
| 1988 | She's Having a Baby | Kristy Briggs | |
| 1989 | Johnny Handsome | Donna McCarty | |
| 1990 | Women and Men: Stories of Seduction | Vicki | TV movie |
| The Handmaid's Tale | Moira | ||
| A Shock to the System | Stella Anderson | ||
| Tune in Tomorrow... | Elena Quince | ||
| 1991 | Ashenden | Aileen Somerville | TV mini-series |
| 1992 | Tales from Hollywood | Helen Schwartz | TV movie |
| 1993 | King of the Hill | Lydia | |
| Me and Veronica | Fanny | ||
| Performance | Beatrice-Joanna | TV series (1 episode: "The Changeling") | |
| 1994 | The Favour | Emily | |
| 1995 | Wings of Courage | Noelle Guillaumet | short |
| Broken Trust | Janice Dillon | TV movie | |
| If Not for You | Jessie Kent | TV series (8 episodes) | |
| 1996 | Tracey Takes On... | Judge Loring | TV series (1 episode: "Vanity") - uncredited |
| Tales from the Crypt | Laura Kendall | TV series (1 episode: "Horror in the Night") | |
| Broken Glass | Margaret Hymen | TV movie | |
| The Summer of Ben Tyler | Celia Rayburn | TV movie | |
| 1997 | The Wings of the Dove | Susie "Sue" Stringham | |
| Clover | Sara Kate | TV movie | |
| 1998 | If Only... | Diane | |
| The Misadventures of Margaret | Till Turner | ||
| 1999 | The Scarlet Pimpernel | Lady Margaret Blakeney | TV series (3 episodes) |
| 2000 | Thursday the 12th | Candice Hopper | TV movie |
| Manila | Elizabeth | ||
| The House of Mirth | Mrs. Carry Fisher | ||
| 2001 | The Flamingo Rising | Edna Lee | TV movie |
| Hawk | Susie Hawkins | TV movie | |
| Table 12 | Mel | TV series (1 episodes: "Preserves") | |
| Buffalo Soldiers | Mrs. Berman | ||
| 2003 | The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire | Helen Shaw | TV series (7 episodes) |
| 2006 | The Truth | Donna | |
| Three Moons over Milford | Laura Davis | TV series (8 episodes) | |
| 2007 | Daphne | Ellen Doubleday | TV movie |
| Law and Order: Special Victim's Unit | Dr. Faith Sutton | TV series (1 episode: "Harm") | |
| A Room with a View | Mrs. Honeychurch | TV movie | |
| Freezing | Elizabeth | TV series (3 episodes: 2007-2008) | |
| 2008 | Inconceivable | Tallulah "Tutu" Williams | |
| Agatha Christie: Poirot | Dame Celia Westholme | TV series (1 episode: "Appointment with Death") | |
| 2009 | 10 Minute Tales | The Ex-Wife | TV series short (1 episode: "The Running of the Deer") |
| 2010 | Kick-Ass | Mrs. Lizewski | |
| Clash of the Titans | Marmara | ||
| Downton Abbey | Cora, Countess of Grantham | TV series (15 episodes: 2010-2011) Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film |
|
| 2011 | Angel's Crest | Jane |