Elizabeth Frances Henstridge (born 11 September 1987) is an English actress, model and director. She starred as Jemma Simmons in the ABC superhero action drama series '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2013–2020), set within the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

Early life

Henstridge was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, England, attending

Meadowhead School Meadowhead School is a mixed secondary school and Language College with academy status in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. There are currently around 1,841 students on roll, about 120 teaching staff and approximately 50 non-teaching staff. ...

and King Edward VII School. Henstridge has two sisters. She is of English and Irish descent. She graduated from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

in 2009. She studied at East 15 Acting School and later moved to

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, ...

Career

Henstridge made her professional acting debut in the 2010 short film ''Easy Under the Apple Bough'' and the 2011 short film ''And the Kid''. She made her television debut in 2011, appearing as Emily Alexander in the long-running British soap opera ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...

''. Henstridge was cast in the lead role of the 2012

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

pilot ''Shelter'', which was not picked up to series. She went on to co-star in the horror film '' The Thompsons'' (2012), the crime drama film '' Gangs of Tooting Broadway'' (2013), and the ensemble drama film '' Reach Me'' (2014). In November 2012, Henstridge was cast as Agent Jemma Simmons, a series regular character in the ABC superhero action drama series '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', which was set within the

. The series was ordered on 10 May 2013, and premiered on ABC on 24 September 2013. Elizabeth Henstridge Wondercon 2016

For her role in ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', she gained further recognition and acclaim from critics. In 2015, Henstridge received positive reviews for her performance in " 4,722 Hours", the fifth episode of the third season of ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' In contrast to the ensemble nature of the series, the episode contained none of the main cast (except Iain De Caestecker) and was centered around Henstridge's character. The episode's positive critical response focused praise on the bottle episode nature and Henstridge's performance. It was later named one of the best television episodes of 2015 by ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

''. In 2016, Henstridge reprised the role of Jemma Simmons in animated form in an episode of the

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old ...

superhero series ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Ma ...

''. That same year, she was cast as Abigail Folger in the horror film '' Wolves at the Door'', loosely based on the infamous

Manson Family The Manson Family (known among its members as the Family) was a Intentional community, commune, gang, and cult led by criminal Charles Manson that was active in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The group at its peak consisted of a ...

murders Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

. The film was released Direct-to-DVD in the United States on 18 April 2017. In 2019, Henstridge starred as Jessica Cooper in the

Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...

Christmas romantic comedy film ''Christmas at the Plaza''. In March 2020, it was announced that she was cast in a leading role in the

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

drama thriller series '' Suspicion'', alongside

Uma Thurman Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 and May 1986 cover ...

. Henstridge plays Tara, a junior research fellow at Oxford and one of the suspects in the Leo Newman case. As well as this, Henstridge has also starred in the short film ''The Imperfect Picture'' as Anna, and has done more directing. A short film she directed, ''Air'', is now debuting in the festival circuit. In 2019, it was revealed that she was involved in an untitled superhero film that she starred, directed, wrote and produced. In October 2024 ahead of its final season, it was announced that she is set to play a recurring role in '' Superman and Lois'' as

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

's daughter Elizabeth Luthor who is loosely based on the second Lena Luthor. She is also credited with directing many episodes from the series since 2022.

Personal life

Henstridge had been in a relationship with actor and online influencer Zachary Abel since 2012. They met on the set of ''Shelter''. On 22 April 2019, she announced their engagement with an Instagram post. The two were married in England in August 2021. Henstridge has a dog named Maggie, and she supports Smile Train, a charity organization.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henstridge, Elizabeth 1987 births Living people English film actresses English television actresses English soap opera actresses English female models English YouTubers English podcasters English directors English people of Irish descent English expatriate actresses in the United States People educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield Actresses from Sheffield Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of East 15 Acting School 21st-century English actresses Models from Sheffield YouTubers from Sheffield