Elizabeth Banks, C'96
Elizabeth Banks’s career as an actress, producer, writer, and director continues to flourish with another prolific year ahead. She is known for roles in both comedy and drama as well as film and television. With stand-out performances in projects including The Hunger Games franchise, Love & Mercy, and The LEGO Movie. She is also a three-time Emmy nominee for her recurring roles in 30 Rock and Modern Family.
Banks recently production on the feature drama Call Jane, alongside Sigourney Weaver and directed by Phyllis Nagy. The film follows ‘Joy,’ (Banks) a 1960s housewife dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. She meets ‘The Janes,’ an underground abortion movement led by Virginia (Weaver) who saves her life and gives her a newfound sense of purpose. She will next travel to Ireland to direct Universal Pictures’ Cocaine Bear, which she is also producing. She was recently seen starring in the Emmy-nominated Limited Series Mrs. America as ‘Jill Ruckelshaus,’ streaming on FX/Hulu. Also streaming on Hulu is the critically-acclaimed comedy Shrill, starring SNL’s Aidy Bryant and produced by Banks’s company Brownstone Productions, which she co-founded with husband Max Handelman. Banks can also be seen hosting season three of the hit ABC reboot of Press Your Luck.
In 2019, Banks wrote, directed, appeared in, and produced Charlie’s Angels, also under the Brownstone banner. She lent her voice again to ‘Wyldstyle’ in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, the sequel to the 2014 box-office hit The Lego Movie opposite Chris Pratt. The first film grossed more than $469 million world-wide.
In 2015, Banks returned to her popular role as ‘Effie Trinket’ in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. She also appeared in a cameo role in Magic Mike XXL, in the Netflix reprisal of Wet Hot American Summer, and hosted NBC’s Saturday Night Live. In 2014, she received critical acclaim in Love & Mercy for her role as Melinda Wilson opposite Paul Dano and John Cusack, who both portrayed Brian Wilson. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was directed by Bill Pohlad. She also starred opposite Chris Pine in the drama People Like Us, in the independent drama Every Secret Thing written by Nicole Holofcener, in the drama Little Accidents, and in the comedy Walk of Shame.
Banks’s feature credits include W, in which Banks garnered critical-acclaim for her role as ‘First Lady Laura Bush;’ her breakthrough role in the Academy Award winning film Seabiscuit, in which she starred as ‘Marcela Howard’ opposite Tobey Maguire and Jeff Bridges; Haim Seban’s Power Rangers, Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can, Magic Mike XXL, Our Idiot Brother, The Details, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Man on a Ledge, The Next Three Days, Role Models, Meet Dave, Invincible, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Fred Claus, Sisters, Slither, Walk of Shame, Heights, The Baxter, The Trade, Ordinary Sinner, The Uninvited, Daltry Calhoun, Sexual Life, John Singleton’s Shaft, Columbia Pictures’ three blockbuster hit franchise Spider-Man as journalist ‘Betty Brant,’ and the cult hit Wet Hot American Summer. On the small screen, Banks earned three Emmy Award nominations for ‘Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series’ for her performances as ‘Avery Jessup’ on 30 Rock and her guest appearances as ‘Sal’ on ABC’s Modern Family. She also appeared in a recurring role as ‘Dr. Kim Porter’ on NBC’s Scrubs. Banks reprised her role as ‘Lindsay’ in Netflix’s Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp and Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later. Her theater credits include many roles in American Conservatory Theatre productions, as well as the Guthrie Theater’s production of Summer & Smoke directed by David Esbjornson. In 2006 Banks played ‘Cherie,’ the female lead in William Inge’s comedy as part of the Williamstown Theater Festival.
On the production side, Banks made her directorial debut in 2015 with Pitch Perfect 2 which was the highest opening weekend for a musical in history, the biggest opener for a first-time feature film director, and the second-largest opening for a female director. It also garnered her the ‘Breakthrough Filmmaker of the year’ award at the 2015 CinemaCon Awards. In 2017, Banks starred in and produced Pitch Perfect 3. She produced the Pitch Perfect franchise through her production company Brownstone Productions, along with her husband Max Handelman. She made her commercial debut directing a 2017 Superbowl television ad for detergent brand Persil. With an exclusive television deal at Warner Bros. Television and first-look film deal at Universal, Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman’s Brownstone Productions’ slate currently includes multiple film, television and digital collaborations across various networks and studios, including Universal, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, FOX, Freeform, HBO Max, Netflix, Hulu, and Peacock. Their current film slate includes INVISIBLE WOMAN, THE GRACE YEAR, SCIENCE FAIR, THE PAPERPAG PRINCESS, UNCANNY VALLEY, THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS®, and COCAINE BEAR at Universal Pictures; MISS CONCEPTION at Sony Screen Gems; and BOTTOMS at MGM’s Orion Pictures. On the television side, Brownstone’s slate includes Season 3 of the critically acclaimed series SHRILL at Hulu; RED QUEEN at Peacock; OVER MY DEAD BODY at HBO Max; and the adult comedy animated series BEDROCK at FOX, with Banks voicing the role of ‘Pebbles’ in the latter. In 2009, Brownstone produced the sci-fi thriller The Surrogates, which starred Bruce Willis.
Originally from Massachusetts, Banks received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her Graduate Degree at the American Conservatory Theater. She is involved with many charities including the Center for Reproductive Rights (where she leads the Center’s Creative Council), LA’s Best, Temple Israel of Hollywood, Planned Parenthood, The First Lady’s Reach Higher Initiative, Heifer International, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, and Turnaround Arts. She currently resides in Los Angeles.