Rachel Brosnahan

Rachel Elizabeth Brosnahan (born December 15,[2] 1990) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the supernatural horror film The Unborn(2009). She subsequently appeared in the films Beautiful Creatures (2013), Louder Than Bombs (2015), The Finest Hours (2016), and Patriots Day (2016). Brosnahan had a starring role on the Netflix series House of Cards, for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.[3]
In 2017, she received wider recognition and acclaim for playing the title role of an aspiring stand-up comedian in the Amazon comedy-drama series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The following year she was awarded both the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work in the series.[4]
== Early life ==
Brosnahan was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the daughter of Carol and Earl Brosnahan.[5][6] Her father worked in children's publishing. Her mother is British.[7] From the age of four, Brosnahan was raised in Highland Park, Illinois.[5][8] She has a younger brother and sister.[9] She is the niece of the late handbag designer Kate Spade.[10] Her father is of Irish descent.[11]
Brosnahan has said she grew up in a non-religious household but was "happily immersed" in the Jewish culture because of Highland Park's Jewish community; she attended many Passover Seders, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and Hanukkahobservances in Chicago's North Shore.[12]
Brosnahan attended Wayne Thomas Elementary School, and then Northwood Junior High School.[9][5] She performed in musical theater during junior high school and high school.[9][5] At Highland Park High School, she was on the wrestling team for two years and was a snowboarding instructor.[9][7] When Brosnahan was 16, she took a class with Carole Dibo,[13] director of Wilmette's Actors Training Center and now Brosnahan's manager. She graduated from there in 2008, and graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts in 2012.[9][14]
== Career ==
Brosnahan was cast in her first movie role as Lisa in the Michael Bay-produced horror movie The Unborn while she was still in high school. During college, she performed in single episodes of television series such as Gossip Girl, The Good Wife, Grey's Anatomy,[9] and In Treatment.
After college, she began landing recurring roles in series such as The Blacklist(2014), the short-lived Black Box (2014), and House of Cards (2013–15) which brought her career prominence, including a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2015. Initially booked for two episodes and five lines, she caught the eye of showrunner Beau Willimon,[15]and was soon developed into a major character. Brosnahan also played Abby Isaacs for two seasons on the television drama Manhattan.[10]
She first appeared on stage in 2009 in Up at Steppenwolf Theatre[5] followed by her Broadway debut in The Big Knife with Roundabout Theatre Company in 2013.[16] In 2016 she played Desdemona in Othello at New York Theatre Workshop opposite David Oyelowo and Daniel Craig.[17]
She was cast as the lead role and title character of the Amazon series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which debuted in 2017. Brosnahan said her exposure to Jewish culture growing up helped prepare her for the role of Midge Maisel, a 1950s Jewish housewife who pursues a career in stand-up comedy after her marriage falls apart.[12] Her performance earned her a Critics' Choice Television Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.[18][19][20][21]
After her Emmy win, Brosnahan stated that Maisel resonated with viewers because "the show is equal parts fantasy and reality. It has beautiful clothes, beautiful sets. I think in some ways it's aspirational too. It's about a woman who's reinventing herself after completing the dream she had laid out for herself. Everything falls apart; she finds herself anew. It's never too late to do that. And it's funny and, I think, filled with joy at its core, and that's something we need a lot more of in the world right now."[22]
== Activism ==
Brosnahan has twice completed the "Live Below the Line" challenge.[23]
== Filmography ==
=== Feature Films ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2009	The Unborn 	Lisa 	
2009	The Truth About Average Guys 	Molly 	
2011	Coming Up Roses 	Alice 	
2012	Nor'easter 	Abby Green 	
2013	Beautiful Creatures 	Genevieve Duchannes	
2013	A New York Heartbeat 	Tamara 	
2014	I'm Obsessed with You (But You've Got to Leave Me Alone)	Nell Fitzpatrick 	
2015	James White 	Woman (Ellen) 	
2015	Louder Than Bombs 	Erin 	
2016	The Finest Hours 	Bea Hansen 	
2016	Burn Country 	Sandra 	
2016	Patriots Day 	Jessica Kensky 	
2017	Boomtown 	Jamie 	
2018	Change in the Air 	Wren 	
=== Television ===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
2010 	Mercy 	Samantha 	Episode: "We're All Adults"
2010 	Gossip Girl 	Girl 	Episode: It's a Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad World
2010 	The Good Wife 	Caitlin Fenton 	Episode: "Poisoned Pill"
2010 	In Treatment 	Eating Disorder Girl 	Episode: "Jesse Week Six"
2011 	CSI: Miami 	Melanie Garland 	Episode: "Countermeasures"
2013–15 	House of Cards 	Rachel Posner 	19 episodes
2013 	Grey's Anatomy 	Brian Weston 	Episode: "The Face of Change"
2013 	Orange Is the New Black 	Little Allie 	Episode: "Bora Bora Bora"
2014 	Olive Kitteridge 	Patty Howe 	Episode: "Incoming Tide"
2014 	The Blacklist 	Jolene Parker/Lucy Brooks	6 episodes
2014 	Black Box 	Delilah 	5 episodes
2014–15 	Manhattan 	Abby Isaacs 	23 episodes
2015 	The Dovekeepers 	Yael 	Mini-series, 2 episodes
2016 	Crisis in Six Scenes 	Ellie 	4 episodes
2017–present	The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel	Miriam "Midge" Maisel 	Lead role; 18 episodes
== Stage ==
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2009	Up 	Maria 	Steppenwolf
2013	The Big Knife	Dixie Evans	Roundabout Theater Company
2016	Othello 	Desdemona 	New York Theatre Workshop
== Awards and nominations ==
Year	Work(s) 	Organization 	Category 	Result
2014	House of Cards 	Screen Actors Guild Awards 	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Nominated
2015	House of Cards 	Online Film & Television Association Awards	Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series 	Nominated
2015	House of Cards 	Primetime Emmy Awards 	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series 	Nominated
2017	The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel	TVLine Awards 	Performer of the Week 	Won
2018	The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel	Golden Globe Awards 	Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy 	Won
2018	The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel	Critics' Choice Television Awards 	Best Actress in a Comedy Series 	Won
2018	The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel	Television Critics Association Awards 	Individual Achievement in Comedy 	Won
2018	The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel	Primetime Emmy Awards 	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series 	Won