# Yvonne Strahovski

Yvonne Jaqueline Strzechowski (born 30 July 1982), known professionally as Yvonne Strahovski (/strəˈhɒvski/), is an Australian actress. She is known for roles as Sarah Walker in the spy comedy drama series Chuck (2007–2012), Hannah McKay in the drama series Dexter (2012–2013) and Kate Morgan in the event series 24: Live Another Day (2014). Strahovski stars as Serena Joy Waterford in the drama series The Handmaid's Tale (2017–present), for which she has received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Golden Globe Award.
Her other notable works include Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers (2010), The Guilt Trip (2012), Killer Elite (2011), I, Frankenstein (2014), The Astronaut Wives Club (2015), Manhattan Night (2016), All I See Is You (2016), He's Out There (2018), The Predator (2018) and The Tomorrow War (2021). She voiced Miranda Lawson in the Mass Effect video game series and Batwoman in the animated superhero film Batman: Bad Blood (2016).

## Early life and education

Strahovski was born Yvonne Jaqueline Strzechowski on 30 July 1982 in Werrington Downs, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. She is the only child of Bożena, a lab technician, and Peter Strzechowski, an electronic engineer. Her parents are Polish emigrants from Warsaw.
The family moved to Bass Hill when Strahovski was five years old; later, the family moved to the coastal suburb of Maroubra. She began acting lessons at the age of 12. Straight after high school, Strahovski went to the University of Western Sydney's Theatre Nepean, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in performance in 2003. She then worked professionally in theatre in Australia for three years before landing a role in the American TV series Chuck.

## Career

Strahovski started acting at school when she played Viola in the school production of Twelfth Night. She appeared in film and television roles in Australia, including a turn on satirical show Double the Fist and as Freya Lewis in the Australian drama series headLand. She has also appeared in Channel Nine's Sea Patrol.
Strahovski sent in her audition tape for the TV series Chuck while in the United States auditioning for roles in other shows, namely NBC's 2007 series Bionic Woman. She was cast as Sarah Walker after running lines with Zachary Levi. She relocated to the United States six months later. Strahovski adopted the more phonetic spelling of Strahovski as her stage name in place of Strzechowski at this time.
In addition to English, Strahovski is fluent in Polish, and employed it in a brief exchange with a colleague in the Chuck episode "Chuck Versus the Wookiee" and again in the episodes "Chuck Versus the Three Words" and "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners". Although she portrays an American in the series, she briefly spoke in a "Hollywood" Australian accent in the episode "Chuck Versus the Ex".
Strahovski appears in Mass Effect Galaxy, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 as the voice of Miranda Lawson. She had her face scanned and animated so she could portray Lawson in Mass Effect 2.
Strahovski voices Aya Brea in the English version of the Parasite Eve spinoff, The 3rd Birthday. She appeared in a CollegeHumor sketch in April 2011, parodying the music styles of Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, and Justin Bieber.
Strahovski appeared in the 2011 film Killer Elite, alongside Jason Statham, Clive Owen, and Robert De Niro. She appeared in the 2012 comedy The Guilt Trip, opposite Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand.
In 2010, Strahovski received the Teen Choice Award for Choice Action TV Actress for Chuck, as well as a nomination for Spike Video Game Awards for Best Performance by a Human Female for Mass Effect 2. In 2011, Strahovski was nominated again for the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Action TV Actress. In 2011, Cosmopolitan Magazine (Australia) named Strahovski the Fun Fearless Female of the Year, along with Favorite TV Actress.
In November 2011, Strahovski was cast as the female lead in I, Frankenstein (2014). In March 2012, she featured in a new SoBe Life commercial. In May 2012, Strahovski ranked No. 35 in Maxim Hot 100. In June 2012, Showtime announced Strahovski had joined the cast for the seventh season of Dexter portraying Hannah McKay, a woman involved with an investigation following the death of her former lover, a spree killer whom she accompanied when she was a teenager. She reprised the role in the eighth season of Dexter.
In December 2012, she made her Broadway debut in a revival of Clifford Odets' Golden Boy, for which she won a Theatre World Award. Strahovski was honored along with Liam Hemsworth for their work in international roles with the 2012 Australians in Film Breakthrough Award.
In 2014, Strahovski joined Fox's TV series 24: Live Another Day cast as Kate Morgan, CIA agent. Later that year, she was cast as Rene Carpenter on the ABC limited series The Astronaut Wives Club. In 2016, she starred, along with Adrien Brody, as Caroline Crowley in the film noir Manhattan Night. She was featured in Maxim Hot 100 from 2009 to 2013.
Since 2017, she has starred as Serena Joy Waterford in the acclaimed Hulu drama series The Handmaid's Tale. For her performance, Strahovski earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2018. She also starred as Sofie Werner in the limited series Stateless (2020).

## Personal life

At the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2017, Strahovski revealed that she had married Tim Loden, her partner of six years. The couple have three sons, born in 2018, 2021 and 2023.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007 | Gone | Sondra | |
| 2008 | The Plex | Sarah | |
| 2009 | Persons of Interest | Lara | Short film |
| 2009 | The Canyon | Lori Conway | |
| 2010 | I Love You Too | Alice | |
| 2010 | Matching Jack | Veronica | |
| 2010 | Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers | Peg Mooring | Voice |
| 2011 | Killer Elite | Anne Frazier | |
| 2012 | Koala Kid | Miranda | Voice |
| 2012 | The Guilt Trip | Jessica | |
| 2014 | I, Frankenstein | Dr. Terra Wade | |
| 2016 | Batman: Bad Blood | Kate Kane/Batwoman | Voice |
| 2016 | Manhattan Night | Caroline Crowley | |
| 2016 | All I See Is You | Karen | |
| 2018 | He's Out There | Laura | |
| 2018 | The Predator | Emily McKenna | |
| 2019 | Angel of Mine | Claire | |
| 2021 | The Tomorrow War | Colonel Muri Forester | |
| 2023 | Scrambled | Sara | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | Double the Fist | Suzie | Episode: "Fear Factory" |
| 2005–06 | headLand | Freya Lewis | 33 episodes |
| 2006 | BlackJack: Dead Memory | Belinda | Television movie |
| 2007 | Sea Patrol | Martina Royce | Episode: "Cometh the Hour" |
| 2007–12 | Chuck | CIA Agent Sarah Walker | Main role (91 episodes) |
| 2012–13 | Dexter | Hannah McKay | Recurring role (17 episodes) |
| 2014 | Louie | Blake | Episode: "Model" |
| 2014 | 24: Live Another Day | CIA Agent Kate Morgan | Main role (12 episodes) |
| 2015 | The Astronaut Wives Club | Rene Carpenter | Main role (10 episodes) |
| 2015 | Edge | Beth | Pilot |
| 2017–2025 | The Handmaid's Tale | Serena Joy Waterford | Main role (56 episodes) |
| 2018 | Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure | Stalyan (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Stateless | Sofie Werner | 6 episodes |
| 2024 | Teacup | Maggie Chenoweth | Main role (8 episodes) |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Voice role | Notes |
| 2009 | Mass Effect Galaxy | Miranda Lawson | |
| 2010 | Mass Effect 2 | Miranda Lawson | Also likeness |
| 2011 | The 3rd Birthday | Aya Brea | English dub |
| 2012–2013 | Mass Effect 3 | Miranda Lawson | Also likeness |

### Web

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2011 | Three Pop Stars, One Song | Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha and Justin Bieber | CollegeHumor YouTube video |
| 2015 | Princess Rap Battle | Daenerys Targaryen | YouTube video series; 1 episode |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2010 | Teen Choice Awards | Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress – Action | Chuck | Won |
| 2011 | TV Guide Awards | TV Guide Award for Favorite Actress | Chuck | Won |
| 2011 | TV Guide Awards | TV Guide Award for Favorite Couple Who Have (Shared with Zachary Levi) | Chuck | Won |
| 2011 | Teen Choice Awards | Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress – Action | Chuck | Nominated |
| 2012 | Teen Choice Awards | Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress – Action | Chuck | Nominated |
| 2013 | Saturn Award | Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television | Dexter | Won |
| 2018 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Handmaid's Tale | Nominated |
| 2018 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | The Handmaid's Tale | Nominated |
| 2019 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | The Handmaid's Tale | Nominated |
| 2019 | Critics' Choice Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | The Handmaid's Tale | Nominated |
| 2019 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Handmaid's Tale | Nominated |
| 2020 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Handmaid's Tale | Nominated |
| 2020 | AACTA Awards | Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama | Stateless | Won |
| 2021 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | The Handmaid's Tale | Nominated |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Polish pronunciation:; Polish: Strzechowska