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This article is about the actress. For the other person named Elizabeth Banks, see Elizabeth Banks (journalist).

Elizabeth Banks
Banks at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell February 10, 1974 (1974-02-10) (age 34) Pittsfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Film actress
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	Max Handelman (2003 – present)

Elizabeth Banks (born February 10, 1974) is an American actress.

Early life and education

Banks was born Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell¹ in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, as the oldest of four children of Ann and Mark Mitchell.² Her father was a factory worker for General Electric and her mother, until recently, worked in a bank.³ As a young child, she was a contestant on the Nickelodeon game show Finders Keepers. She graduated from Pittsfield High School in 1992 and is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania in 1996, where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta Sorority. She was the first in her family to graduate from college. In 1998, she completed schooling at the American Conservatory Theater.

Career

Banks changed her name to avoid confusion with actress Elizabeth Mitchell.⁴ She debuted in the independent film Surrender Dorothy as "Elizabeth Casey." Banks is known for her roles in Seabiscuit, Heights, the Spider-Man films (playing the part of Betty Brant), and the cult comedy Wet Hot American Summer. She quickly gained widespread exposure through movies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Slither. She also plays Mark Wahlberg's love interest in the movie Invincible.

In May 2006, she appeared in the season five finale of the NBC comedy-drama Scrubs as Dr. Kim Briggs, the love interest of J.D. (Zach Braff). The character has appeared throughout season six and seven as a recurring guest star.

In 2005, she also appeared on the show Stella, as she is a long time friend of its creators/stars, the Stella comedy troupe.^{citation needed} In 2007, Banks played the female lead in the comedy Meet Bill, alongside Aaron Eckhart and Jessica Alba. Banks also has a small role in the 2007 Christmas comedy film Fred Claus, co-starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti, and played a love interest in the 2008 comedy Definitely, Maybe alongside Isla Fisher and Ryan Reynolds.

Banks starred with Seth Rogen as the eponymous female lead in the Kevin Smith comedy, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, which was released on Halloween 2008. She has filmed the thriller The Uninvited, and also appeared as United States First Lady Laura Bush in Oliver Stone's biopic on the life of President George W. Bush, W.⁵

Banks is a frequent co-star of actor Paul Rudd, the two having appeared in four films together to date (Wet Hot American Summer, The Baxter, The 40 Year Old Virgin, and Role Models).

Personal life

On July 5, 2003, Banks married Max Handelman, who had been her boyfriend since college. She converted to Judaism upon marrying him.⁶ Banks is a Democrat.⁷

Filmography

Elizabeth Banks at the Spider-Man 3 premiere in 2007

• Surrender Dorothy (1998) as Vicki
• Third Watch (1999) TV-Series as Elaine Elchisak (1 episode 1999)
• Sex & the City (2000) TV-Series as Catherine (1 episode 2000)
• Shaft (2000) as Trey's Friend
• Wet Hot American Summer (2001) as Lindsay
• Ordinary Sinner (2001) as Rachel
• Law & Order: SVU (2001)TV-Series as Jaina Jenson (1 episode 2001)
• Spider-Man (2002) as Betty Brant
• Swept Away (2002) as Debi
• Without a Trace (2002) TV-Series as Clarissa (1 episode 2002)
• Catch Me if You Can (2002) as Lucy Forrest
• The Trade (2003) as Sioux Sever
• Seabiscuit (2003) as Marcela Howard
• Spider-Man 2 (2004) as Betty Brant
• Heights (2005) as Isabel
• Sexual Life (2005) as Sarah
• Stella (2005) TV-Series as Tamara (1 episode 2005)
• The Baxter (2005) as Caroline Swan
• The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) as Beth
• Daltry Calhoun (2005) as May
• Slither (2006) as Starla Grant
• The Sisters (2006) as Nancy Pecket
• Scrubs (2006) TV-Series as Dr. Kim Briggs (13 episodes 2006-2007)
• Invincible (2006) as Janet Cantrell
• Spider-Man 3 (2007) as Betty Brant
• Wainy Days (2007)TV-Series as Shelly (2 episodes 2007)
• Fred Claus (2007) as Charlene
• Comanche Moon (2008) TV-mini-series as Maggie
• Definitely, Maybe (2008) as Emily (Sarah)
• Meet Bill (2008) as Jess
• Meet Dave (2008) as Gina Morrison
• W. (2008) as Laura Bush
• Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) as Miri
• Role Models (2008) as Beth

Upcoming

• Lovely, Still (2008) as Alex (awaiting release)
• The Uninvited (2009) as Rachael (awaiting release)⁸

Television

• Sex and the City
• Third Watch
• All My Children
• Scrubs (13 episodes over 3 seasons)
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
• Stella
• American Dad

References

External links

• Elizabeth Banks at the Internet Movie Database
• Elizabeth Banks at Allmovie
• Elizabeth Banks at Yahoo! Movies
• AskMen feature on Banks
• Interview on Canada.Com by Maurie Sherman

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Elizabeth Banks