Elizabeth Chomko (born 1981) is an American filmmaker, actress, and playwright. She is best known for directing and writing the drama film '' What They Had'' (2018), which premiered at the

2018 Sundance Film Festival The 2018 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 18 to January 28, 2018. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 29, 2017. Awards The following awards were presented: * U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award: '' T ...

Early life

Chomko grew up in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. Her family moved to Belgium when she was a freshman in high school. They later moved to California and she attended Los Altos High School in Los Altos, acting in the Broken Box Theatre Company and graduating in 1999. She attended

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

, earning degrees in theater and philosophy with a specialty in

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field n ...

Career

After graduating, Chomko performed at theatres in Washington D.C. and was a resident company member at Rorschach Theatre Company. Her play ''Yield!'' was produced in the Page To Stage Festival at The Kennedy Center. She made her first screen appearance in 2008, and has appeared in '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' and ''

The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, t ...

'', and had recurring roles on USA's ''

Common Law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

'' and FX's '' Terriers.'' She was invited to the

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by actor Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and compo ...

in 2016 and came to prominence in 2018 after writing and directing the drama film '' What They Had''; this screenplay had earned her the Nicholl Fellowship in 2015.

Personal life

Chomko married TV personality and wood artist Jay Montepare in 2011; the couple live in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chomko, Elizabeth American film actresses 1981 births American women film directors American television actresses Actresses from Chicago Living people 21st-century American women