# Jodi Balfour

Jodi Balfour (born 29 October 1986) is a South African actress. She won a Canadian Screen Award for her performance as Gladys Witham in the series Bomb Girls (2012–2013). She has since starred as Ellen Waverly Wilson in the Apple TV+ series For All Mankind (2019–2023).

## Early life and education

Balfour grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. She was the co-host of the South African youth television series Bling in the early 2000s. She later studied drama at the University of Cape Town and competed in the Miss South Africa 2008 pageant.

## Career

Since her graduation in 2009, she has worked as an actor primarily in British and Canadian film and television productions.
She was cast as Gladys Witham in the Canadian television drama series Bomb Girls in 2013. She won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Actress in a Television Film or Miniseries at the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards in 2015 for her performance in the series' follow-up television film Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy.
In February 2015, she was cast in the Cinemax series Quarry. From 2019 to 2023, she starred in the Apple TV+ space drama series For All Mankind.
In 2017, Balfour portrayed Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in episode eight of The Crown’s second season.
In April 2022, she was cast in the Apple TV+ football sitcom Ted Lasso.
In the 2023 film Freud's Last Session, she portrayed the American psychoanalyst Dorothy Burlingham, the colleague and companion of Anna Freud.

## Personal life

Balfour was based in Vancouver, British Columbia, where in addition to her acting she is co-owner of Nelson the Seagull, a coffeehouse and bake shop in the city's Gastown neighborhood.
On 30 June 2021, she announced on Instagram that she identifies as queer, stating that she found it freeing to "finally embrace and explore [her] queerness." On 24 October 2021, Balfour announced on Instagram that she and Abbi Jacobson had been romantically involved for a year. As of June 2024, Jacobson and Balfour are married.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2011 | Vampire | Michaela | |
| 2011 | Final Destination 5 | Woman | |
| 2013 | A Ghost Within | Hanna / Abby | Short |
| 2013 | The Husband | Claire | |
| 2013 | Afterparty | Karen | Also producer |
| 2013 | Waterloo | Molly Mckenzie | Short |
| 2014 | Valentines Day | Molly | Short |
| 2015 | Unearthing | Fisher Hart | |
| 2015 | Eadweard | Mary | |
| 2015 | Almost Anything | Beans | Also executive producer |
| 2019 | The Rest of Us | Rachel | |
| 2023 | Freud's Last Session | Dorothy Burlingham | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2009 | The Philanthropist | Concierge | Episode: "San Diego" |
| 2010 | Congo [de] | Johanna Wenz | TV film |
| 2010 | Tower Prep | Emily Wright | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | The Sinking of the Laconia | Sarah Fullwood | TV miniseries |
| 2011 | R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series | Priscilla | Episode: "Nightmare Inn" |
| 2011 | Supernatural | Melissa | Episode: "Like a Virgin" |
| 2011 | V | V Greeter | Episode: "Uneasy Lies the Head" |
| 2011 | Sanctuary | Terry | Episode: "Icebreaker" |
| 2012–2013 | Primeval: New World | Samantha Sedaris | 3 episodes |
| 2012–2013 | Bomb Girls | Gladys Witham | Main role |
| 2014 | The Best Laid Plans | Lindsay Dewar | TV miniseries |
| 2014 | Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy | Gladys Witham | TV film |
| 2016 | Quarry | Joni Conway | Main role |
| 2017 | Rellik | DI Elaine Shepard | Main role |
| 2017 | The Crown | Jackie Kennedy | Episode: "Dear Mrs. Kennedy" |
| 2019 | True Detective | Lori | 3 episodes |
| 2019–2023 | For All Mankind | Ellen Waverly / Wilson | Main role (seasons 1–3), guest (season 4) |
| 2023 | Ted Lasso | Jack Danvers | 4 episodes |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2013 | Leo Awards | Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series | Bomb Girls | Nominated |
| 2014 | Canadian Filmmakers' Festival | Best Ensemble (shared with Graham Coffeng, Ali Liebert, Nicholas Carella, Peter Benson, David Milchard, Erica Carroll, Christina Sicoli, and Emma Lahana) | Afterparty | Won |
| 2015 | Canadian Screen Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy | Won |