Lisa Emery is an American stage, film, and television actress. Emery is best known for playing Darlene Snell on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

Ozark The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cov ...

''.

Early life

Emery was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, the daughter of an aspiring actress from

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

and an advertising executive who worked in

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania The village of Valley Forge is an unincorporated settlement. It is located on the west side of Valley Forge National Historical Park at the confluence of Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania. The remaining village is in Schu ...

. She attended Hollins College, where she planned to study painting, but became interested in drama classes instead because "they were having way more fun." After graduation she studied at the Circle in the Square Theatre School for a year, then began to audition. Emery moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

with her then-longtime boyfriend. They eventually broke up and she enrolled in the Circle in the Square two-year program. She moved to the East Village in 1982.

Career

Emery's theatre credits include '' The Matchmaker'', '' Dinner with Friends'' (1999), '' What the Butler Saw'' (2000), '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' (2006), '' Talley & Son'', ''

Burn This ''Burn This'' (stylized as ''Burn/This'' for the 2019 revival) is a play by Lanford Wilson. Like much of Wilson's work, the play includes themes of gay identity and relationships. Plot summary The play begins shortly after the funeral of Robb ...

'' (1987), ''

Rumors A rumor (American English), or rumour (British English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences; derived from Latin 'noise'), is an unverified piece of information circulating among people, especial ...

'', ''

Present Laughter ''Present Laughter'' is a comic play written by Noël Coward in 1939 but not produced until 1942 because the Second World War began while it was in rehearsal, and the British theatres closed. The title is drawn from a song in Shakespeare's ''Tw ...

'', '' The Women'' (2001), '' Marvin's Room'' (1991), ''

Abigail's Party ''Abigail's Party'' is a play for stage and television, devised and directed in 1977 by Mike Leigh. It is a suburban situation comedy of manners, and a satire on the aspirations and tastes of the new middle class that emerged in Britain in the ...

'' (2005), and '' Relatively Speaking'' (2011). She has been nominated for the

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play was an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. ...

three times. Emery's film credits include '' A Map of the World'', '' Unfaithful'', and '' The Night Listener''. On television she had a reoccurring role on '' Ed'' and has made guest appearances on ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...

'', ''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts and music * "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * Purple fri ...

'', ''

Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognized at ...

'' and ''

Jessica Jones Jessica Campbell Jones-Cage, professionally known as Jessica Jones, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos and first appea ...

''. She also had a main cast role on ''

''.

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 ...

, chief theatre critic at ''

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 ...

'', wrote of Emery's performance in

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

’s ''A Kind of Alaska'', “Lisa Emery gives one of the most affectingly detailed performances now on a New York stage.”

Charles Isherwood Charles Splaine Isherwood Jr. (born October 1964) is an American theater critic. Career A graduate of Stanford University, Isherwood wrote for '' Backstage West'' in Los Angeles. In 1993, he joined the staff of '' Variety'', where he was promote ...

, in his review of ''Relatively Speaking'' (the one-act "George Is Dead" by

Elaine May Elaine Iva May (née Berlin; born April 21, 1932) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and director. She first gained fame in the 1950s for her improvisational comedy routines with Mike Nichols before transitioning her career, regularly b ...

) for ''

'', wrote of Emery: "Carla, a thankless straight-woman role played with skill by the fine Lisa Emery..." In a July 2020 interview for ''The Natural Aristocrat'', Emery spoke about enjoying the unpredictable nature of her

character Darlene Snell. "Every time I get a script, I'm surprised, which is great. It's not like, 'Oh, there she goes again!' I think it's unpredictable what a great mother she is in her own way."

Personal life

Emery was married to actor Josh Pais; their son, Zane, appeared with his mother in '' Margot at the Wedding''. Emery did not seek a film or television career and did not think of career strategies. "I take it as it comes... Perhaps I'd regret it if I were less happy now. I live perfectly well and love what I do."

Awards and nominations

* Drama Desk Award 2011, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play - ''The Collection'' & '' A Kind of Alaska'' (nominee) * Drama Desk Award 2006, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play - ''

'' (nominee) * Drama Desk Award 1992, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play - '' Marvin's Room'' (nominee) * Lucille Lortel Award 2009, Outstanding Featured Actress - ''Distracted'' (nominee) * Lucille Lortel Award 2006, Outstanding Featured Actress - ''Abigail's Party'' (nominee) * Lucille Lortel Award 2004, Outstanding Lead Actress - ''Iron'' (nominee) * Obie Awards 2003–2004, Outstanding Performance - ''Iron'' (winner)Zinoman, Jason
"Theater: OBIE Awards"
''New York Times'', May 19, 2004

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * *
''Vanity Fair'', “An Ode to Ozark’s Unpredictable Villain Darlene”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emery, Lisa American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Living people Actresses from Pittsburgh Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)