Jennifer Anne Ehle (; born December 29, 1969) is an American actress. She received the

British Academy Television Award for Best Actress This is a list of the British Academy Television Awards for Best Actress. The British Academy Television Awards began in 1955. The Best Actress award was initially given as an "individual honour", without credit to a particular performance, until ...

for her role as

Elizabeth Bennet Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist in the 1813 novel '' Pride and Prejudice'' by Jane Austen. She is often referred to as Eliza or Lizzy by her friends and family. Elizabeth is the second child in a family of five daughters. Though the circ ...

in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

miniseries ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is the second published novel (but third to be written) by English author Jane Austen, written when she was age 20-21, and later published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabe ...

'' (1995). Ehle started her career acting on stage with the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

, the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

, and the National Theatre. She earned a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play and a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's '' The Real Thing''. She reunited with Stoppard acting in his play ''

The Coast of Utopia ''The Coast of Utopia'' is a 2002 trilogy of plays: ''Voyage'', ''Shipwreck'', and ''Salvage'', written by Tom Stoppard with focus on the philosophical debates in pre-revolution Russia between 1833 and 1866. It was the recipient of the 2007 T ...

'' (2007), earning a

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play The Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality supporting roles in a Broadway theatre, ...

. She appeared on Broadway in the J.T. Rogers play ''

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

'', earning a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress. Ehle is also known for her film performances, including ''

The King's Speech ''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ther ...

'' (2010), '' Contagion'' (2011), ''

Zero Dark Thirty ''Zero Dark Thirty'' is a 2012 American political action thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal. Produced by Boal, Bigelow, and Megan Ellison, and independently financed by Ellison's Annapurna Pictures, the film ...

'' (2012), '' A Little Chaos'' (2014), '' Fifty Shades of Grey'' (2015), '' Little Men'' (2016), '' Fifty Shades Darker'' (2017), '' Fifty Shades Freed'' (2018) and '' She Said'' (2022). She has also appeared in various television programs, including

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series created by Jon Bokenkamp and developed by John Eisendrath. It stars James Spader as Raymond Reddington, an international criminal and one of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives ...

'' (2014–2015), the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

limited series '' The Looming Tower'' (2016), the Showtime miniseries '' The Comey Rule'' (2020), and the CBS legal drama ''

The Good Fight ''The Good Fight'' is an American legal drama television series produced for CBS's streaming service CBS All Access (later Paramount+). It was the platform's first original scripted series. The series, created by Robert King, Michelle King ...

'' (2022). She starred in the 2023

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

-winning miniseries '' Dead Ringers''.

Early life and education

Ehle was born in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

, to English actress Rosemary Harris and American author John Ehle. Her ancestry includes Romanian (from a maternal great-grandmother) and, paternally, German and English.Rosemary Harris and the Picture: Madonna of the Slaughtered Jews
Nmia.com. Retrieved on February 8, 2013. Ehle appeared as a toddler in a 1973 Broadway revival of ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

'', in which her mother played

Blanche DuBois Blanche DuBois (married name Grey) is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning play ''A Streetcar Named Desire''. The character was written for Tallulah Bankhead and made popular to later audiences with Elia Kaza ...

. She spent her childhood in the UK and the US, attending several schools, including Interlochen Arts Academy. She was mainly raised in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

. Her drama training was split between the North Carolina School of the Arts and the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

in London.

Career

1990s

Ehle made her professional debut as Calypso in '' The Camomile Lawn'' (released in 1992), a television adaptation of Mary Wesley's book of the same name, in which she and her mother played the same character at different ages. The director, Peter Hall, then cast her as Elmire in his 1991 production of ''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; , ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy (or more specifically, a farce) by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical theat ...

'', for which she won second prize at the Ian Charleson Awards. One of Ehle's first notable roles was as

in the

1995 television adaptation of

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

's ''

'' co-starring

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Colin Firth, several accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Aw ...

, for which she won the

. The same year, she joined the

, and gained her first major feature film role in '' Paradise Road'' (1997). She also appeared in supporting roles in Brian Gilbert's ''

Wilde Wilde is a surname. Notable people with the name include: In arts and entertainment In film, television, and theatre * Andrew Wilde (actor), English actor * Barbie Wilde (born 1960), Canadian actress * Brian Wilde (1927–2008), British actor * ...

'' (1997) and

István Szabó István Szabó (; born 18 February 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director. Szabó is one of the most notable Hungary, Hungarian filmmakers and one who has been best known outside the Hungarian language, Hungarian- ...

's '' Sunshine'' (1999).

2000s

In 2000, Ehle made her Broadway debut as Annie in

's '' The Real Thing'', winning the

Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality leading roles in a Broa ...

. That following year, Ehle appeared again on Broadway in the revival of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's '' Design for Living'' co-starring with Dominic West and

Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a Scottish actor, writer and presenter. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and an Olivier Award. He re ...

. After a hiatus, Ehle returned to the London stage in 2005 in '' The Philadelphia Story'' at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

opposite

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. Known for Kevin Spacey on screen and stage, his work on stage and screen, he List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Spacey, has received numerous accolades, including two ...

. The following year, she played Lady Macbeth in ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' with Liev Schreiber, as part of the Shakespeare in the Park. Ehle returned to Broadway portraying three characters in Stoppard's ''

'' triptych, which ran from October 2006 until May 2007. Ehle starred alongside Billy Crudup, Martha Plimpton, and

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor, author, and film director. He made his film debut in ''Explorers (film), Explorers'' (1985), before making a breakthrough performance in ''Dead Poets Society'' (1989). Hawke starr ...

. Theatre critic

Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher, and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 t ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' praised her performance as "memorable". For her performance ,she received her second

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Featured Actress in a Play. In August 2009, it was announced that Ehle would play the character of Catelyn Stark in the pilot of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

'', an adaptation of George R.R. Martin's ''

A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of high fantasy novels by the American author George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the first volume, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and published it in 1996. Martin, who originally envisioned the ser ...

'' fantasy book series. Ehle filmed the pilot episode, but decided it was too soon to return to work after the birth of her daughter and she did not return to the production when HBO commissioned a full season. Northern Irish actress Michelle Fairley replaced her.

2010s

In 2010, Ehle starred alongside

John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. He studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his John Lithgow filmography, diverse work on stage and screen. He has rece ...

in the production of ''Mr. & Mrs. Fitch'' presented by

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a non-profit theater company that presents work by living American writers both on and off Broadway. It is based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and is affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1979 ...

in New York City. Since 2010, Ehle has appeared in the films ''

'' (where she reunited with her ''

'' co-star

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...

's '' Contagion'' (2011),

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...

's '' The Ides of March'' (2011),

Kathryn Bigelow Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 most i ...

's ''

'' (2012),

Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his distinctive deep, wikt:languid#Etymology 1, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and b ...

's '' A Little Chaos'' (2015), Terence Davies's '' A Quiet Passion'' (2016), and

Ira Sachs Ira Sachs (born November 21, 1965) is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker. Sachs started his career directing short films such as ''Vaudeville'' (1991) and ''Lady'' (1993) before making his feature film debut with ''The Delta (film), The Delta'' (19 ...

's '' Little Men'' (2016). She also appeared in the television series '' A Gifted Man'' (2011–2012). In 2017, Ehle appeared on stage in ''

'', which won the

for Best Play. She was nominated for Best Actress in a Play for her work. In 2018, she appeared in the

limited series '' The Looming Tower'' as Ambassador Barbara Bodine. The series also starred

Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accolades, including two Primetime ...

, Bill Camp, Peter Sarsgaard, and Michael Stuhlbarg.

2020s

In 2020, Ehle reunited with

in the limited series '' The Comey Rule'' which premiered on Showtime. Daniels and Ehle portrayed former

FBI Director The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a United States federal law enforcement agency, and is responsible for its day-to-day operations. The FBI director is appointed for a ...

James Comey James Brien Comey Jr. (; born December 14, 1960) is an American lawyer who was the seventh director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2013 until Dismissal of James Comey, his termination in May 2017. Comey was a registered Repub ...

and his wife Patrice, respectively. In 2022 she also appeared in a variety of television projects including 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 ...

series '' Suspicion'' as Amy, the Showtime legal drama ''

'' as Judge Ashley Burnett, and the

Paramount+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

western series ''

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

'' as Sister Mary. Also in 2022, Ehle received positive

review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

s for her supporting role in the MeToo investigative drama '' She Said,'' portraying Laura Madden. ''

TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' film critic Stephanie Zacharek described her as "superb" and Justin Chang writing for NPR declared her performance "quietly heartbreaking". She also returned to the stage as Gertrude in the Park Avenue Armory production of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' in New York. Ehle received positive reviews as a last minute replacement for Lia Williams. Ehle starred as Rebecca Parker in the 2023 thriller miniseries ''Dead Ringers''. The series won a

"for aptly packaging a bold adaptation of this twinned-body horror classic within the continued nightmarish world of women’s reproductive health care in the United States." In 2024, Ehle appeared in four episodes of '' Law & Order: Organized Crime'' as Meredith Bonner, the Police Chief of Westbrook, Pennsylvania, who assists Elliot Stabler ( Christopher Meloni) with the search for a serial killer.

Personal life

Ehle married writer Michael Ryan on November 29, 2001, and they have two children.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

Outer Critics Circle Award Other award wins: * 1991: Ian Charleson Award, Second Prize – as Orgon's wife in ''

'' with the Peter Hall CompanyLees, Caroline. "Classic recipes for success". ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''. 9 February 1992 * 1992:

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

Award Best Newcomer – '' The Camomile Lawn'' (TV) * 2000: Variety Club Award – ''The Real Thing'' (play) Other award nominations: * 2000:

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

nomination – '' Sunshine''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehle, Jennifer 1969 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama American film actresses American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Romanian descent American stage actresses American television actresses Best Actress BAFTA Award (television) winners Living people Actresses from Winston-Salem, North Carolina Theatre World Award winners Tony Award winners Actresses from North Carolina People from Asheville, North Carolina American expatriate actresses American expatriates in England American Shakespearean actresses Alumni of the British American Drama Academy Royal Shakespeare Company members Audiobook narrators