# Carrie Preston

Carrie Preston (born June 21, 1967) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is best known for her roles as Arlene Fowler in the HBO fantasy drama series True Blood (2008–2014) and as Elsbeth Tascioni in the CBS legal drama series The Good Wife (2010–2016) and the two spinoffs The Good Fight (2017–2022) and Elsbeth (2024–present). For her work on The Good Wife, Preston received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
Preston also appeared in the CBS crime drama series Person of Interest (2012–2016), the NBC comedy series Crowded (2016), and the TNT crime drama series Claws (2017–2022). She has starred in films such as the romantic comedy My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), the comedy-drama Transamerica (2005), the romantic comedy Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), the drama Doubt (2008), the drama To the Bone (2017), the slasher horror They/Them (2022), and the comedy-drama The Holdovers (2023).

## Early life and education

Preston was born in Macon, Georgia, the daughter of Pam and Ray Preston. Her brother is actor John G. Preston.
She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Evansville (1990), followed by an acting diploma from the Juilliard School's Drama Division (Group 23: 1990–1994).

## Career

Preston has worked on numerous projects with her husband, actor Michael Emerson, whom she married in 1998. Emerson played Ben Linus on television's Lost, and Preston was a guest star in episode 20 of season 3, "The Man Behind the Curtain" as Ben's mother Emily in flashback scenes, though she and Emerson never shared scenes together. The couple were featured in the 2004 comedy film Straight-Jacket and the 2008 feature film, Ready? OK!. She appeared in several episodes of Person of Interest as Grace Hendricks, the former fiancée of Emerson's character, Harold Finch.
Preston is co-owner of the production company Daisy 3 Pictures with James Vasquez and Mark Holmes. For seven seasons she played Arlene Fowler on True Blood. On July 31, 2010, Preston and Emerson read A. R. Gurney's play Love Letters at the Charleston Stage; they performed it as a fundraiser for the venue.
Preston had a recurring role playing Elsbeth Tascioni, an eccentric but extremely effective trial lawyer on CBS's The Good Wife. First introduced in season one and recurring on seasons three through seven, the character was a fan favorite, and Preston won the 2013 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her work on the show.
Preston later had a recurring character in the 2014 second season of the Kevin Bacon-led thriller, The Following. She portrayed Judy, a prostitute and ill-fated groupie of Joe Carroll. Preston has appeared in a number of films as a supporting character. Including several critically acclaimed films such as Doubt and Duplicity, where she starred alongside stars such as Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Clive Owen, and Julia Roberts.
In 2015, she landed a leading role on the short-lived NBC comedy series Crowded where she starred opposite Patrick Warburton. In the 2015 final season of The Good Wife, she earned her second Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series nomination. Preston was originally slated for a four-episode arc, but due to commitments on her new show, she was able to appear only in one episode.
Preston was then cast in the drama-comedy Claws playing Polly Marks (Polly-Pol), a mild-mannered preppy with an "ankle bracelet" who recently served time in prison for identity theft. The series was greenlit for a 10-episode first season.
In 2016, Preston reprised her role as Elsbeth Tascioni on The Good Wife spin-off The Good Fight.
In 2023, CBS announced a spin-off series, Elsbeth, in which Preston would reprise her role, though as the central character. It was ordered to series on May 9, 2023, and premiered on February 29, 2024. On April 18, 2024, CBS renewed the series for a second season.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1985 | Just a Friend | Mint Jennifer |
| 1997 | My Best Friend's Wedding | Amanda Newhouse |
| 1997 | The Journey | Laura Singh |
| 1997 | For Richer or Poorer | Rebecca Yoder |
| 1997 | Norville and Trudy | Sam |
| 1998 | Mercury Rising | Emily Lang |
| 1999 | Guinevere | Patty |
| 1999 | Woman Wanted | Monica |
| 2000 | The Legend of Bagger Vance | Idalyn Greaves |
| 2004 | Straight-Jacket | Sally Stone |
| 2004 | The Stepford Wives | Barbara |
| 2005 | Transamerica | Sydney Schupak |
| 2007 | Lovely by Surprise | Marian |
| 2007 | Towelhead | Evelyn Vuoso |
| 2008 | Ready? OK! | Andrea Dowd |
| 2008 | Vicky Cristina Barcelona | Sally |
| 2008 | Doubt | Christine Hurley |
| 2009 | Duplicity | Barbara Bofferd |
| 2009 | That Evening Sun | Ludie Choat |
| 2010 | Virginia | Betty |
| 2010 | A Bag of Hammers | Lynette Patterson |
| 2011 | Sironia | Grace |
| 2013 | Who's Afraid of Vagina Wolf? | Chloe / Angel Tits |
| 2013 | Vino Veritas | Claire |
| 2013 | Beneath the Harvest Sky | Kim |
| 2014 | 5 Flights Up | Miriam Carswell |
| 2016 | Equity | Abby |
| 2016 | Six LA Love Stories | Diane Mackey |
| 2017 | To the Bone | Susan |
| 2017 | And Then I Go | Ms. Arnold |
| 2017 | Daisy Winters | Aunt Margaret |
| 2018 | 30 Miles from Nowhere | Sylvia |
| 2022 | Space Oddity | Jane McAllister |
| 2022 | They/Them | Dr. Cora Whistler |
| 2023 | The Holdovers | Lydia Crane |

### Television
#### Actress

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1998 | Significant Others | Patti Pasternak | Episode: "My Left Kidney" |
| 1998 | Grace and Glorie | Charlene Stiles | TV film |
| 1999 | Spin City | Gayle | Episode: "Carter & Stuart & Bennett & Deirdre" |
| 1999 | Sex and the City | Madeline Dunn | Episode: "The Chicken Dance" |
| 2001 | Emeril | B.D. Benson | Main role |
| 2003 | Good Morning, Miami | Kiera | Episode: "The Slow and the Furious" |
| 2003–04, 2006 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Megan Colby / Doreen Whitlock / Lena Copeland | Episodes: "Zoonotic", "Magnificat", "Bedfellows" |
| 2004 | Wonderfalls | Sister Katrina | Episode: "Wound-up Penguin" |
| 2004 | Hope & Faith | Sally Jones | Episode: "Queer as Hope" |
| 2005 | Numbers | Vicky Sites | Episode: "Dirty Bomb" |
| 2005 | The Inside | Kelly Comack | Episode: "Pre-Filer" |
| 2006 | Arrested Development | Jan Eagleman | Episode: "Fakin' It" |
| 2007 | Lost | Emily Linus | Episode: "The Man Behind the Curtain" |
| 2007 | Desperate Housewives | Lucy | Episode: "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover" |
| 2008–2014 | True Blood | Arlene Fowler | Main role |
| 2009 | Private Practice | Yvonne Pierce | Episode: "Do the Right Thing" |
| 2010–2016 | The Good Wife | Elsbeth Tascioni | Recurring role (seasons 1, 3–7) |
| 2011 | True Blood: Jessica's Blog | Arlene Fowler | Episode: "The Ethics of Glamouring" |
| 2011 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Bella Zane | Episode: "Educated Guess" |
| 2012 | Royal Pains | Jackie Van Ark | Episode: "Hurts Like a Mother" |
| 2012–2016 | Person of Interest | Grace Hendricks | Recurring role (seasons 1–3, 5) |
| 2014 | The Following | Judy | Episodes: "Resurrection", "For Joe", "Trust Me" |
| 2014 | Getting On | Denya Thorp | Episode: "The 7th Annual Christmas Card Competition" |
| 2014 | Recorded Lives | Risa | TV series |
| 2015 | Happyish | Debbie | Main role |
| 2016 | Crowded | Martina Moore | Main role |
| 2016 | Grace and Frankie | Krystle | Episode: "The Goodbyes" |
| 2017 | When We Rise | Sally Miller Gearhart | TV miniseries |
| 2017 | The Celebrity Perspective | Guest | TV series |
| 2017 | Dating Game Killer | Carol Jensen | TV film |
| 2017–2022 | The Good Fight | Elsbeth Tascioni | Recurring role and director (5 episodes) |
| 2017–2022 | Claws | Polly Marks | Main role |
| 2018 | Brockmire | Elle | Recurring role (season 2) |
| 2018 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Herself | Guest judge, episode: "The Bossy Rossy Show" |
| 2021 | Dr. Death | Robbie McClung | Episodes: "Feet of Clay", "Hardwood Floors" |
| 2024–present | Elsbeth | Elsbeth Tascioni | Main role; also producer |

#### Director

| Year | Title | Episodes |
| 2019–21 | Claws | "What is Happening in America" "Chapter Three: Ambition" |
| 2021–22 | The Good Fight | "And the Fight Had Détente" "The End of Democracy" |
| 2023 | Your Honor | "Part Seventeen" "Part Eighteen" |

## Stage

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1995 | Indiscretions | Madeleine (Standby) | Ethel Barrymore Theatre |
| 1995 | The Tempest | Miranda | Broadhurst Theatre |
| 1997 | Antony and Cleopatra | Octavia the Younger | The Public Theater |
| 1998 | Freedomland | Polly Underfinger | Playwrights Horizons |
| 2000 | Straight-Jacket | Sally Stone | Playhouse 91 |
| 2000 | She Stoops to Conquer | Kate Hardcastle | Center Stage |
| 2001 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Honey | Guthrie Theater |
| 2001 | Chaucer in Rome | Sarah | Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater |
| 2002 | Boys and Girls | Shelly | Duke on 42nd Street |
| 2002 | No Foreigners Beyond This Point | Paula Wheaton | Center Stage |
| 2004–05 | The Rivals | Julia Melville | Vivian Beaumont Theater |
| 2005 | Cycling Past the Matterhorn | Amy | Harold Clurman Theater |
| 2005 | Hamlet | Ophelia | McCarter Theatre Center |
| 2006 | Festen | Mette | Music Box Theatre |
| 2010 | Love Letters | Melissa Gardner | Charleston Stage |

## Other works

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2005 | 29th & Gay | Producer, director, editor |
| 2007 | Feet of Clay | Producer, director |
| 2008 | Ready? OK! | Producer |
| 2012 | That's What She Said | Producer, director |
| 2013 | Roger, the Chicken | Producer, "Roger, the Chicken: Dinner" |
| 2014 | Darwin: The Series | Director |
| 2014 | Recorded Lives | Producer |
| 2016 | Happy Lucky Golden Tofu Panda Dragon Good Time Fun Fun Show | Producer, director |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2008 | FilmOut San Diego | Best Narrative Feature | Ready? OK! | Won |
| 2008 | FilmOut San Diego | Best Actress | Ready? OK! | Won |
| 2009 | SXSW Film Festival | Best Ensemble | That Evening Sun | Won |
| 2009 | Satellite Awards | Best Ensemble | True Blood | Won |
| 2010 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | True Blood | Nominated |
| 2012 | SoHo International Film Festival | Best Showcase Feature Film | That's What She Said | Nominated |
| 2012 | Golden Derby TV Awards | Drama Guest Actress | The Good Wife | Nominated |
| 2012 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series | The Good Wife | Nominated |
| 2013 | Golden Derby TV Awards | Drama Guest Actress | The Good Wife | Nominated |
| 2013 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series | The Good Wife | Nominated |
| 2013 | Primetime Emmy Award | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | The Good Wife | Won |
| 2014 | Golden Derby TV Awards | Drama Guest Actress | The Good Wife | Nominated |
| 2014 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series | The Good Wife | Nominated |
| 2016 | Primetime Emmy Award | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | The Good Wife | Nominated |