# Allison Tolman

Allison Tolman is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Molly Solverson in the first season of the FX television series Fargo, earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, and Alma Fillcot in the second season of the Paramount+ anthology series Why Women Kill.

## Early life and education

Allison Tolman was born to Valerie (née Clohecy) and Davis Nichols Tolman, a petroleum geologist. Tolman has two older brothers and a younger sister. Her family moved to England when she was a few months old and stayed until she was four years old. She spent the next five years in Oklahoma and West Texas, before moving to Sugar Land, Texas. She started taking acting classes when she was 10 years old at the Fort Bend Community Theatre. She attended Clements High School, graduating in 2000.
She graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatrical performance. After college, she moved to Dallas, where she was one of the founding members of Second Thought Theatre.
In 2009, she moved to Chicago, Illinois, to study performance at The Second City Training Center.

## Career

In 2014, Tolman starred in the first season of the FX black comedy crime series Fargo. Inspired by the 1996 Coen brothers film of the same name, Fargo starred veteran actors Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman and Bob Odenkirk. Tolman received accolades for her performance as Minnesota police officer Molly Solverson, with Vanity Fair writing that she "calmly and assuredly stole the entire show". For her role, she won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries and received Best Actress nominations at the Emmy Awards and for the Golden Globes.
The same year, it was also announced Tolman would have a two-episode guest role on The Mindy Project as Abby Berman, a romance novelist. In 2015, she had a supporting role in Michael Dougherty's comedy horror film Krampus.
Following her breakout role on Fargo, Tolman declined several supporting parts as mothers, wives and best friends, looking for a more unusual role. In 2017, Tolman starred in ABC's Downward Dog, based on the Animal Media Group web series, which was canceled after one season.
She starred in the ABC drama series Emergence, which premiered on September 24, 2019, and was cancelled after one season on May 21, 2020. She also guest starred in NBC's Good Girls.
In 2021, she starred as Alma Filcott in the second season of the drama series Why Women Kill, and played Natalie Green in The Facts of Life portion of the third edition of Live in Front of a Studio Audience.
In the fall of 2024, Tolman joined the NBC sitcom St. Denis Medical as a leading actress, portraying the character Alex in a main role.

## Personal life

In 2022, when Tolman spent months helping her mother care for her ill father, she watched sitcoms with her mother to cheer her up. Afterward, Tolman commented that getting the St. Denis Medical role “just seemed like kismet”.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2009 | A Thousand Cocktails Later | Mandy | Short film |
| 2015 | Addicted to Fresno | Ruby | |
| 2015 | The Gift | Lucy | |
| 2015 | Krampus | Linda | |
| 2017 | Barracuda | Merle | |
| 2017 | The House | Dawn Mayweather | |
| 2017 | Killing Gunther | Mia | |
| 2018 | Family | Cheryl Stone | |
| 2018 | The Sisters Brothers | Girl Mayfield Saloon | |
| 2020 | The Last Shift | Mrs. Kelly | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Prison Break | Nurse | Episode: "Scan" |
| 2008 | Sordid Lives: The Series | Tink | 4 episodes |
| 2014–15 | Fargo | Molly Solverson | Main role (season 1), episode: "Palindrome" (season 2) |
| 2014 | The Mindy Project | Abby Berman | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Hello Ladies: The Movie | Kate | TV movie |
| 2015 | Archer | Edie Poovey | Episode: "Edie's Wedding" (voice role) |
| 2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Ellen | Episode: "Joseph Gordon-Levitt Wears a Heart T-Shirt and Blue Jeans" |
| 2015 | Review | Marissa | Episode: "Brawl; Blackmail; Glory Hole" |
| 2016 | Mad Dogs | Rochelle | Recurring role |
| 2016, 2018 | Drunk History | Various | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Downward Dog | Nan | Main role |
| 2017 | Mosaic | Amy Lambson | Recurring role |
| 2017–18 | Me, Myself & I | Sarah | 2 episodes |
| 2017–19 | I'm Sorry | Jennifer | 4 episodes |
| 2018 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Captain Olivia Crawford | 2 episodes |
| 2018–19 | Good Girls | Mary Pat | Recurring role (seasons 1–2) |
| 2018 | Castle Rock | Bridget Strand | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | The Twilight Zone | Maura McGowan | Episode: "The Wunderkind" |
| 2019–20 | Emergence | Jo Evans | Main role |
| 2021 | Why Women Kill | Alma Fillcot | Lead role (season 2) |
| 2021 | Live in Front of a Studio Audience | Natalie Green | Episode: "The Facts of Life" |
| 2022 | Minx | Wanda | Episode: "You Happened to Me" |
| 2022 | Gaslit | Winnie McLendon | Recurring role |
| 2023 | American Dad! | Jessica | Episode: "Don't You Be My Neighbor" (voice role) |
| 2024–present | St. Denis Medical | Alex | Main role |