Jennifer Anne Ehle(/ˈiːli/;born December 29, 1969)[3]is an American actress. She gained recognition and acclaim for her role asElizabeth Bennetin theBBCminiseriesPride and Prejudice(1995), for which she received theBritish Academy Television Award for Best Actress.Known for her roles onBroadwayand in theWest End,she has won twoTony Awardsas well as a nomination for aLaurence Olivier Award.
Jennifer Ehle | |
|---|---|
 Ehle in 2016 | |
| Born | December 29, 1969 |
| Alma mater | Central School of Speech and Drama |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Known for | Pride and Prejudice |
| Spouse |
Michael Ryan (m.2001) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
|
Ehle started her career acting on stage with theEdinburgh Festival,Royal Shakespeare Company,and theNational Theatre.She gained fame for her role inTom Stoppard'sThe Real Thing,earning aTony Award for Best Actress in a Playand a nomination for theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actress.She reunited with Stoppard acting in his playThe Coast of Utopia(2007), earning aTony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.She returned to Broadway in theJ. T. RogersplayOslo,earning a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress.
Ehle is also known for her film performances, includingThe King's Speech(2010),Contagion(2011),Zero Dark Thirty(2012),A Little Chaos(2014),Fifty Shades of Grey(2015),Little Men(2016),Fifty Shades Darker(2017),Fifty Shades Freed(2018) andShe Said(2022). She has also appeared in various television programs, includingNBC'sThe Blacklist(2014–2015), theHululimited seriesThe Looming Tower(2016), theShowtimeminiseriesThe Comey Rule(2020), and theCBSlegal dramaThe Good Fight(2022). She starred in the 2023 Amazon Prime Video miniseriesDead Ringers,which won aPeabody Awardat the 84th ceremony.[4]
Early life and education
editEhle was born inWinston-Salem, North Carolina,to English actressRosemary Harrisand American authorJohn Ehle.Her ancestry includes Romanian (from a maternal great-grandmother) and, paternally, German and English.[5][6]
Ehle appeared as a toddler in a 1973 Broadway revival ofA Streetcar Named Desire,in which her mother playedBlanche DuBois.[7]She spent her childhood in the UK and the US, attending several schools, includingInterlochen Arts Academy.She was mainly raised inAsheville, North Carolina.Her drama training was split between theNorth Carolina School of the Arts[8]and theCentral School of Speech and Dramain London.[9]
Career
edit1990s
editEhle made her West End debut as Elmire in the 1991Peter Hall Companyproduction ofTartuffe,for which she won second prize at theIan Charleson Awards.[10][11]Hall then cast her as Calypso inThe Camomile Lawn(1992), a television adaptation ofMary Wesley'sbook of the same name,in which she and her mother played the same character at different ages.[12]
One of Ehle's first notable roles was asElizabeth Bennetin theBBC1995 television adaptationofJane Austen'sPride and Prejudiceco-starringColin Firth,for which she won theBritish Academy Television Award for Best Actress.The same year, she joined theRoyal Shakespeare Company,and gained her first major feature film role inParadise Road(1997).[13]She also appeared in supporting roles inBrian Gilbert'sWilde(1997) andIstván Szabó'sSunshine(1999).
2000s
editIn 2000, Ehle made her Broadway debut to great critical acclaim as Annie inTom Stoppard'sThe Real Thing,winning theTony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play.Her mother,Rosemary Harris,was also nominated for the same award that year forWaiting in the Wings.[14]That following year, Ehle appeared again on Broadway in the revival ofNoël Coward'sDesign for Livingco-starring withDominic WestandAlan Cumming.[15]
After a hiatus, Ehle returned to the London stage in 2005 inThe Philadelphia Storyat theOld VicoppositeKevin Spacey.The following year, she played Lady Macbeth inMacbethwithLiev Schreiber,as part of the Shakespeare in the Park.[15]
Ehle returned to Broadway portraying three characters in Stoppard'sThe Coast of Utopiatriptych, which ran from October 2006 until May 2007.[16]Ehle starred alongsideBilly Crudup,Martha Plimpton,andEthan Hawke.Theatre criticBen BrantleyofThe New York Timespraised her performance as "memorable".[17]For her performance she received her secondTony AwardforBest Featured Actress in a Play.
In August 2009, it was announced that Ehle would play the character ofCatelyn Starkin the pilot ofHBO'sGame of Thrones,an adaptation ofGeorge R.R. Martin'sA Song of Ice and Firefantasy book series. Ehle filmed the pilot episode, but decided it was too soon to return to work after the birth of her daughter. She was replaced by Northern Irish actressMichelle Fairley.[18][19]
2010s
editIn 2010, Ehle starred alongsideJohn Lithgowin the production ofMr. & Mrs. Fitchpresented bySecond Stage Theatrein New York City.[20]Since 2010, Ehle has appeared in the critically acclaimed filmsThe King's Speech(where she reunited with herPride and Prejudiceco-starColin Firth),Steven Soderbergh'sContagion(2011),George Clooney'sThe Ides of March(2011),Kathryn Bigelow'sZero Dark Thirty(2012),Alan Rickman'sA Little Chaos(2015),Terence Davies'sA Quiet Passion(2016), andIra Sachs'sLittle Men(2016). She also appeared in the television seriesA Gifted Man(2011–2012).
In 2017, Ehle appeared on stage in the critically acclaimedOslo,which won theTony AwardforBest Play.She herself was nominated for Best Actress in a Play for her work.[21]In 2018, she appeared in theHululimited series,The Looming Toweras AmbassadorBarbara Bodine.The series also starredJeff Daniels,Bill Camp,Peter Sarsgaard,andMichael Stuhlbarg.
2020s
editIn 2020, Ehle reunited withJeff Danielsin the limited seriesThe Comey Rulewhich premiered onShowtime.Daniels and Ehle portrayed FormerFBI DirectorJames Comeyand his wife Patrice, respectively. In 2022 she also appeared in a variety of television projects including theApple TV+seriesSuspicionas Amy, theShowtimelegal dramaThe Good Fightas Judge Ashley Burnett and theParamount+western series1923as Sister Mary..
Also in 2022, Ehle received positive reviews for her supporting role in theMeTooinvestigative dramaShe Saidportraying Laura Madden.TIMEfilm critic Stephanie Zacharek described her as "superb" andJustin Changwriting forNPRdeclared her performance "quietly heartbreaking".[22][23]She also returned to the stage asGertrudein thePark Avenue Armoryproduction ofHamletin New York. Ehle received positive reviews as a last minute replacement forLia Williams.[24]
Ehle starred as Rebecca Parker in the 2023 thriller miniseriesDead Ringers.The series won aPeabody Award"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."[25]
In 2024, Ehle appeared in four episodes ofLaw & Order:Organized Crimeas Meredith Bonner, the Police Chief of Westbrook, Pa., who assistsElliot Stabler(Christopher Meloni) with the search for a serial killer.
Personal life
editEhle married writer Michael Ryan on November 29, 2001,[26]and they have two children.[27]
Acting credits
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Backbeat | Cynthia Powell | |
| 1997 | Paradise Road | Rosemary Leighton-Jones | |
| 1997 | Wilde | Constance Lloyd Wilde | |
| 1998 | Bedrooms and Hallways | Sally | |
| 1999 | Sunshine | Valerie Sonnenschein | |
| 1999 | This Year's Love | Sophie | |
| 2002 | Possession | Christabel LaMotte | |
| 2005 | The River King | Betsy Chase | |
| 2006 | Alpha Male | Alice Ferris | |
| 2008 | Pride and Glory | Abby Tierney | |
| 2008 | Before the Rains | Laura Moores | Malayalam-language film |
| 2009 | The Greatest | Joan | |
| 2010 | The King's Speech | Myrtle Logue | |
| 2011 | The Ides of March | Cindy Morris | |
| 2011 | Contagion | Ally Hextall | |
| 2011 | The Adjustment Bureau | Brooklyn Ice House Bartender | |
| 2012 | Zero Dark Thirty | Jessica Karley | |
| 2014 | RoboCop | Liz Kline | |
| 2014 | Black or White | Carol Anderson | |
| 2014 | The Forger | Kim Cutter | |
| 2014 | A Little Chaos | Madame De Montespan | |
| 2015 | Advantageous | Isa Cryer | |
| 2015 | Fifty Shades of Grey | Carla Wilks | |
| 2015 | Spooks: The Greater Good | Geraldine Maltby | |
| 2016 | Little Men | Kathy Jardine | |
| 2016 | The Fundamentals of Caring | Elsa | |
| 2016 | A Quiet Passion | Vinnie Dickinson | |
| 2017 | Fifty Shades Darker | Carla Wilks | Unrated edition |
| 2017 | Detroit | Morgue Doctor | Uncredited |
| 2017 | I Kill Giants | Mrs. Thorson | |
| 2017 | Wetlands | Kate Sheehan | |
| 2018 | The Miseducation of Cameron Post | Dr. Lydia Marsh | |
| 2018 | Monster | Maureen O'Brien | |
| 2018 | Fifty Shades Freed | Carla Wilks | |
| 2018 | Vox Lux | Josie the Publicist | |
| 2018 | Take Point | Agent Mackenzie | Korean film |
| 2019 | The Wolf Hour | Margot | |
| 2019 | Run This Town | Judith | |
| 2019 | The Professor and the Madman | Ada Murray | |
| 2019 | Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies | Tina | |
| 2019 | Saint Maud | Amanda Kohl | |
| 2021 | John and the Hole | Anna Shay | |
| 2022 | She Said | Laura Madden | |
| 2025 | East of Wall | Tracey |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Camomile Lawn | Calypso | Miniseries, 5 episodes |
| 1992 | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | Empress Zita of Austria | Episode: "Austria, March 1917" |
| 1993 | The Maitlands | Phyllis | BBC TV production |
| 1993 | Self Catering | 'Meryl' | TV movie |
| 1993 | Rik Mayall Presents: Micky Love | Tamsin | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
| 1995 | Pride and Prejudice | Elizabeth Bennet | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
| 1996 | Beyond Reason | Penny McAllister | TV movie |
| 1997 | Melissa | Melissa | Miniseries, 5 episodes |
| 2008 | The Russell Girl | Lorraine Morrissey | TV movie |
| 2011–12 | A Gifted Man | Anna Paul | 16 episodes |
| 2013 | Low Winter Sun | Susan | Episode: "Ann Arbor" |
| 2014–15 | The Blacklist | Madeline Pratt | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | The Looming Tower | AmbassadorBarbara Bodine | 3 episodes |
| 2020 | The Comey Rule | Patrice Comey | Miniseries |
| 2022 | Suspicion | Amy | Episode: "Be the Gray Man" |
| 2022 | The Good Fight | Judge Ashley Burnett | Episode: "The End of Ginni" |
| 2022–23 | 1923 | Sister Mary | 4 episodes |
| 2023 | Dead Ringers | Rebecca Parker | 5 episodes |
| 2023 | Special Ops: Lioness | Mason | Episode: "The Lie Is the Truth" |
| 2024 | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Chief Meredith Bonner | Episode: "Missing Persons", "Beyond the Sea", "Original Sin" & "Sins of Our Fathers" |
Theatre
edit| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 Pink Thunderbird | Edinburgh Festival | ||
| Laundry and Bourbon | |||
| 1991 | Tartuffe | Elmire | Peter Hall Company |
| 1992 | Breaking the Code | Pat Green | Triumph Productions Tour |
| 1995–96 | Richard III | Lady Anne | Royal Shakespeare Company |
| 1995–96 | Painter of Dishonour | Serafina | |
| 1995–96 | The Relapse | Amanda | |
| 1999 | The Real Thing | Annie | Donmar Warehouse |
| 1999 | Summerfolk | Varvara Mikhailovna | National Theatre |
| 2000 | The Real Thing | Annie | Albery Theatre Barrymore Theatre |
| 2001 | Design for Living | Gilda | Roundabout Theatre Company's American Airlines Theater |
| 2005 | The Philadelphia Story | Tracy Lord | The Old Vic |
| 2006 | Macbeth | Lady Macbeth | Shakespeare in the Park's Delacorte Theater |
| 2006 | The Coast of Utopia:Voyage | Liubov Bakunin | Vivian Beaumont Theater |
| 2006 | The Coast of Utopia:Shipwrecked | Natalie Herzen | Vivian Beaumont Theater |
| 2007 | The Coast of Utopia:Salvage | Malwida von Meysenbug | |
| 2010 | Mr. and Mrs. Fitch | Mrs. Fitch | Second Stage Theatre |
| 2017 | Oslo | Mona Juul | Vivian Beaumont Theater |
| 2022 | Hamlet | Gertrude | Park Avenue Armory |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Best Actress in a Play | The Real Thing | Won |
| 2007 | Best Featured Actress in a Play | The Coast of Utopia | Won |
| 2017 | Best Actress in a Play | Oslo | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Best Actress (TV) | Pride & Prejudice | Won |
| 1998 | Best Supporting Actress (Film) | Wilde | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Best Cast in a Motion Picture | The King's Speech | Won |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Best Actress | The Real Thing | Nominated |
Outer Critics Circle Award
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Best Actress – Play | The Real Thing | Nominated |
| 2007 | Best Featured Actress – Play | The Coast of Utopia | Nominated |
Other award wins:
- 1991:Ian Charleson Award,Second Prize – as Orgon's wife inTartuffewith thePeter Hall Company[11]
- 1992:Radio TimesAward Best Newcomer –The Camomile Lawn(TV)
- 2000: Variety Club Award –The Real Thing(play)
Other award nominations:
- 2000:Genie Awardnomination –Sunshine
References
edit- ^Colby, Vineta; Wilson, H. W. (1991).World Authors, 1980–1985.H.W. Wilson Company.ISBN9780824207977.Archivedfrom the original on February 8, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 1,2017– via google.ca.
- ^"Performing Arts".google.ca.1970.Archivedfrom the original on February 8, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 1,2017.
- ^"Jennifer Ehle".The Guardian.RetrievedJanuary 25,2024.
- ^https://peabodyawards /award-profile/dead-ringers/
- ^"Ehle family".freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.2013. Archived fromthe originalon September 5, 2012.RetrievedNovember 4,2013.
- ^Rosemary Harris and the Picture: Madonna of the Slaughtered Jews.Nmia. Retrieved on February 8, 2013.ArchivedJuly 6, 2012, at theWayback Machine
- ^"Jennifer Ehle".TVGuide.Archivedfrom the original on July 2, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 20,2020.
- ^"Drama – Home Page".uncsa.edu.Archivedfrom the original on January 6, 2014.RetrievedDecember 31,2013.
- ^"High Profile Alumni".cssd.ac.uk.Archivedfrom the original on October 15, 2013.RetrievedDecember 31,2013.
- ^http:// geocities.ws.dwan_y/tartuffe.html[permanent dead link]
- ^abLees, Caroline. "Classic recipes for success".Sunday Times.9 February 1992
- ^Dave Kehr (June 16, 2000)."AT THE MOVIES; A Resemblance? It's Only Natural".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on January 9, 2011.RetrievedFebruary 7,2010.
- ^"What Lizzie did next".The Age.Melbourne. April 23, 2005.Archivedfrom the original on March 4, 2010.RetrievedFebruary 7,2010.
- ^Doug Feiden (June 5, 2000)."'Kiss Me Kate' is big Tony winner 'Copenhagen' and 'Contact' also honored ".Daily News.New York.Archivedfrom the original on March 6, 2016.RetrievedFebruary 7,2009.
- ^ab"Design for Living – Broadway Play – 2001 Revival | IBDB".Archivedfrom the original on September 22, 2020.RetrievedMarch 7,2019.
- ^"Coast of Utopia".Playbill.Archivedfrom the original on December 4, 2020.RetrievedDecember 27,2020.
- ^Brantley, Ben (February 19, 2007)."Those Storm-Tossed Revolutionaries Reach Port".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on November 23, 2020.RetrievedDecember 27,2020.
- ^"Fairley to replace Ehle in HBO's 'Thrones'".The Hollywood Reporter.October 14, 2010.Archivedfrom the original on April 1, 2011.RetrievedFebruary 26,2011.
- ^Jace Lacob (September 22, 2011)."A Gifted Man's Leading Lady".The Daily Beast.Archivedfrom the original on March 17, 2012.RetrievedMarch 20,2012.
- ^"Tony Winners Lithgow and Ehle Are 'MR. & MRS. FITCH' For Second Stage Theatre"ArchivedFebruary 8, 2021, at theWayback MachineAugust 19, 2009, Broadway World
- ^"Oslo, Starring Tony Winners Jefferson Mays and Jennifer Ehle, Begins Broadway Run".Archivedfrom the original on March 8, 2019.RetrievedMarch 7,2019.
- ^"She Said Is a Satisfying Journalism Movie About Tireless Reporters Who Are Also Tired Moms".Time Magazine.November 18, 2022.RetrievedNovember 27,2022.
- ^"'She Said' follows the journalists who set the #MeToo movement in motion ".NPR.RetrievedNovember 27,2022.
- ^Isherwood, Charles (July 7, 2022)."'Hamlet' Review: 21st-Century Danish Modern Shakespeare ".Wall Street Journal.RetrievedNovember 27,2022.
- ^https://peabodyawards /award-profile/dead-ringers/
- ^"Jennifer Ehle – Biography".Yahoo! Movies.January 15, 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ^Moore, Suzanne (December 20, 2011)."Celebrities' Christmas memories".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on September 24, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 15,2014.