Merritt Wever

Merritt Carmen Wever (born August 11, 1980) is an American actress. She had roles in the Showtime television series '' Nurse Jackie'' (2009–2015), ''The Walking Dead'' (2015–2016), '' Godless'' (2017), '' Welcome to Marwen'' (2018), '' Unbelievable'' (2019), and ''Severance'' (2025).

Wever won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for ''Nurse Jackie'' and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for ''Godless''. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for ''Unbelievable''.

Wever starred in other television series, including ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' (2006–2007), ''New Girl'' (2013), '' The Walking Dead'' (2015–2016), and '' Severance'' (2025). She had supporting roles in films, such as ''Michael Clayton'' (2007), '' Birdman'' (2014), '' Welcome to Marwen'' (2018) and '' Marriage Story'' (2019).

Early life and education

Merritt Carmen Wever was born on August 11, 1980 in Manhattan, New York City. She was conceived using a sperm donor and raised by her mother, Georgia. Her mother is from Texas, and is a feminist and political activist.

Wever graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and Sarah Lawrence College.

Career

Wever began her career starring in low budget, independent short and feature films. She has performed in theater productions, including Brooke Berman's play ''Smashing'' and '' Cavedweller'' with Deidre O'Connell, both off-Broadway. Wever appeared in numerous films, including '' Into the Wild'', ''Michael Clayton'', '' Series 7: The Contenders'', '' Signs'', '' The Adventures of Sebastian Cole'', '' Bringing Rain'', '' Tiny Furniture'', and '' All I Wanna Do''.

She has guest-starred on a number of television series, including ''New Girl'', ''The Good Wife'', ''Conviction'', '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' and ''The Wire''. She also starred in Ed Zwick's ill-fated pilot ''Quarterlife'', with Rachel Blanchard, Austin Nichols and Shiri Appleby. She also had a recurring role on ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'' as Suzanne.

Wever is perhaps best known for her role as Zoey Barkow in the television series '' Nurse Jackie'', which premiered on Showtime in June 2009. Zoey is described on the official ''Nurse Jackie'' website as "an irrepressibly bubbly trauma nurse, who serves as a comic foil to Edie Falco's hard-bitten (and prescription drug-addicted) titular character". Wever received widespread critical acclaim for her role on the show.

Wever was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2012 and 2013 for her role in ''Nurse Jackie'', winning the award in 2013 and delivering a memorable speech that consisted only of her stunned reaction: "Thanks so much. Thank you so much. I gotta go. Bye."

In 2016, Wever had a recurring role on AMC's '' The Walking Dead'' as Denise Cloyd. Her character's death toward the end of the sixth season of the series was controversial and sparked outrage on social media with many fans, most notably members of the LGBT community.

Wever played a lead role in the miniseries '' Godless'' (2017) as Mary Agnes McNue, a tough leader of a female-dominated town. She said in interviews that she had been intimidated by the role: "I spent so much of this shoot thinking I would come off as a fool, that nobody would buy me as this and it wouldn't be believable." Many critics nonetheless noted her character as a highlight of the show. ''Entertainment Weekly'' titled its review of ''Godless'' "Merritt Wever rides tall in Netflix's ''Godless''" and wrote that "no one is more electric than the always extraordinary Merritt Wever". In 2018, she won an Emmy for the role.

In 2019, Wever starred in another Netflix miniseries, '' Unbelievable'', which was released on September 13, 2019. The series received critical acclaim, with Wever receiving her first Golden Globe Awards nomination for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film.

In 2020, Wever starred opposite Domhnall Gleeson in the HBO comedy thriller series '' Run''. It was cancelled after one season.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wever, Merritt
1980 births
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
American child actresses
American film actresses
American television actresses
American stage actresses
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni
Living people
Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners
Sarah Lawrence College alumni
Actresses from Manhattan