Elizabeth Marvel

Elizabeth Marvel (born November 27, 1969) is an American actress. Her more prominent roles include Det. Nancy Parras on The District, Solicitor General Heather Dunbar on House of Cards, and President Elizabeth Keane on Homeland. Film roles include Burn After Reading, Synecdoche, New York, True Grit, Lincoln (alongside husband Bill Camp), The Meyerowitz Stories, and Disclosure Day. She also had a recurring role in season 2 of the FX series Fargo and the Netflix miniseries Unbelievable. She also played "The Major" in the series Manifest, and has recurred as defense attorney Rita Calhoun on multiple episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit between 2012 and 2025.

Early life and education

Marvel was born in Los Angeles, California, and was raised in Mohnton, Pennsylvania. She trained at the Interlochen Arts Academy, and then the Juilliard School.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Since the early 1990s she has appeared in off-Broadway plays.

Marvel appeared in many stage productions throughout her career. Her first professional role was as Isabella in Measure for Measure at Canada's Stratford Festival in 1992. She has won Obie Awards for her work in Thérèse Raquin and Misalliance (1998), A Streetcar Named Desire (2000) and Hedda Gabler (2005).

She returned to the role she originated Off-Broadway of Brooke Wyeth in Other Desert Cities, which was played by Rachel Griffiths in its Broadway premiere. In 2009, for her performance in Fifty Words, she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play.

Marvel first gained widespread attention on television, with her four seasons playing the regular role of Nancy Parras in the CBS series The District (2000–04). She played a variety of guest and recurring roles on Lights Out, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Nurse Jackie, Person of Interest, 30 Rock, The Good Wife, and The Newsroom.^{[citation needed]}

In film, Marvel has appeared in Burn After Reading (2008), directed by the Coen brothers, and in True Grit (2010), as the adult Mattie Ross. She appeared in The Bourne Legacy (2012), Lincoln (2012), and Hyde Park on Hudson (2012).^{[citation needed]}

In 2009 she played Louisa May Alcott in scenes from the writer's life in the documentary profile "Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women'" that aired on the PBS series American Masters.

In 2013, she was cast as lead in the CW family drama pilot Blink, opposite John Benjamin Hickey. She was noted for portraying Heather Dunbar in Netflix's political drama House of Cards. In 2016, she was cast as President-elect Elizabeth Keane for the sixth and seventh seasons of Showtime drama series Homeland.

Personal life

Marvel married actor Bill Camp on September 4, 2004. The couple have one child, a son born in 2007. Marvel revealed on Live with Kelly and Ryan on October 16, 2020, that she has been living with her family on a farm in Vermont.

Theatre

• 1992 — The Seagull — Understudy - Masha — Broadway - Lyceum
• 1993 — Saint Joan — Duchesse de la Tremoulle, Understudy - Joan — Broadway - Lyceum
• 1996 — Taking Sides — Emmi Straube — Broadway - Brooks Atkinson
• 1997 — An American Daughter — Quincy Quince — Broadway - Cort
• 2000 — Lydie Breeze — Lydie Breeze — Broadway - New York Theatre Workshop
• 2005 — Seascape — Sarah — Broadway - Booth
• 2008 — Top Girls — Marlene — Broadway - Biltmore
• 2012 — Other Desert Cities — Brooke Wyeth — Broadway - Booth — Replacement
• 2013 — Picnic — Rosemary Sydney — Broadway - American Airlines
• 2019 — King Lear — Goneril — Broadway - Cort
• 2022 — Long Day's Journey into Night — Mary Tyrone — Off-Broadway - Minetta Lane Theatre
• 2023 — Sabbath's Theater — Drenka, and others — Off-Broadway - The Pershing Square Signature Center
• 2025 — Five Models in Ruins, 1981 — Roberta — Off-Broadway - Lincoln Center
• 2026 — The Dinosaurs — Joan — Off-Broadway - Playwrights Horizons

Filmography

Film

• 2000 — Ten Hundred Kings — Caroline Shepard
• 2005 — The Dying Gaul — Kelli Cartonis
• 2008 — The Guitar — Ma Wilder
• 2008 — Pretty Bird — Tonya Honeycutt
• 2008 — Synecdoche, New York — Warehouse Realtor
• 2008 — Burn After Reading — Sandy Pfarrer
• 2009 — A Dog Year — Margo
• 2009 — The Other Woman — Pia — aka Love and Other Impossible Pursuits (UK title)
• 2010 — Holy Rollers — Elka Gold
• 2010 — Goldstar, Ohio — Edie Deyarmin — Short film
• 2010 — True Grit — 40-year-old Mattie Ross — Narrator
• 2011 — Somewhere Tonight — Martha
• 2012 — The Bourne Legacy — Dr. Connie Dowd
• 2012 — Hyde Park on Hudson — Missy
• 2012 — Living in the Age of Surveillance — Alicia Corwin
• 2012 — Lincoln — Mrs. Jolly
• 2014 — A Most Violent Year — Mrs. Rose
• 2015 — Aloha — Natalie
• 2015 — Consumed — Connie Conway
• 2015 — Peacock Killer — Sheriff — Short film
• 2016 — Happy Baby — Theo's Mom
• 2016 — The Congressman — Rae Blanchard
• 2016 — The Phenom — June Epland
• 2017 — Easy Living — Abby
• 2017 — Gifted — Gloria Davis
• 2017 — The Meyerowitz Stories — Jean
• 2018 — The Land of Steady Habits — Sophie Ashford
• 2019 — Native Son — Mrs. Dalton
• 2019 — Swallow — Katherine Conrad
• 2019 — Dark Waters — Dr. Karen Frank (voice)
• 2019 — All the Little Things We Kill — Deb Anderson
• 2020 — News of the World — Ella Gannett
• 2020 — Being Dead — Celice Adkins
• 2021 — With/In: Volume 2 — Segment: "In the Air"; also director and writer
• 2023 — The Color Purple — Miss Millie
• 2025 — G20 — Joanna Worth
• 2026 — Run Amok — Nancy
• 2026 — Disclosure Day — Sister Maura
• TBA — Devoted — TBA — Post-production
• TBA — The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd — TBA — Post-production

Television

• 1997 — As the World Turns — Photographer — Episode: "#1.10590"
• 1998 — Homicide: Life on the Street — Amy Marshall — Episode: "Abduction"
• 1998 — A Will of Their Own — Diana — Episode: "#1.1"
• 1999 — New York Undercover — Eve Flemming — Episode: "Catharsis"
• 2000–2004 — The District — Officer / Det. Nancy Parras — 88 episodes
• 2001 — Law & Order: Criminal Intent — Sylvia Moon — Episode: "Art"
• 2005 — Law & Order: Criminal Intent — Jenny Hendry — Episode: "Prisoner"
• 2007 — Kidnapped — Madeleine — 2 episodes
• 2008–2009 — Law & Order — Defense Attorney Grubman — 2 episodes
• 2009 — 30 Rock — Emily — Episode: "Jackie Jormp-Jomp"
• 2009 — The Good Wife — Lauren Chatham — Episode: "Home"
• 2009 — American Masters — Louisa May Alcott — Episode: "Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women'"
• 2009–2010 — Nurse Jackie — Ginny Flynn — 3 episodes
• 2010 — Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Dr. Frantz — Episode: "Savior"
• 2010 — Past Life — Lynn Sampels — 2 episodes
• 2011 — Lights Out — Margaret Leary — 9 episodes
• 2012 — The Newsroom — Sharon — Episode: "We Just Decided To"
• 2012–2015 — Person of Interest — Alicia Corwin — 7 episodes
• 2012–2025 — Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Defense Attorney Rita Calhoun — 15 episodes
• 2013 — King & Maxwell — Kelly Nelson — Episode: "Pilot"
• 2013 — Betrayal — Janet — Episode: "...Nice Photos"
• 2013 — Blink — Helen Trask — Unsold TV pilot
• 2013 — White Collar — Dr. Mara Summers — Episode: "Controlling Interest"
• 2013 — Elementary — Cassandra Walker — Episode: "Tremors"
• 2014–2016 — House of Cards — Heather Dunbar — 23 episodes
• 2015 — Fargo — Constance Heck — 5 episodes
• 2017–2018 — Homeland — President Elizabeth Keane — 24 episodes
• 2019 — Unbelievable — Judith — 4 episodes
• 2019–2020 — Manifest — Kathryn Fitz / The Major — 8 episodes
• 2020 — Helstrom — Victoria Helstrom / Kthara — 10 episodes
• 2022 — The Dropout — Noel Holmes — 6 episodes
• 2023 — Mrs. Davis — Celeste Abbot — 5 episodes
• 2023 — Love & Death — Jackie Ponder — 4 episodes
• 2024 — Presumed Innocent — Lorraine Horgan — 6 episodes
• 2024–2026 — Law & Order — Defense Attorney Rita Calhoun — 2 episodes

Awards and nominations

• 2009 — Drama Desk Awards — Outstanding Actress in a Play — Fifty Words — Nominated
• 2016 — Screen Actors Guild Awards — Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series — House of Cards — Nominated
• 2018 — Gracie Awards — Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series — Homeland — Won
• 2021 — Critics' Choice Super Awards — Best Actress in a Superhero Series — Helstrom — Nominated