Betty Gilpin

Elizabeth "Betty" Gilpin is an American actress known for her portrayals across television, film, and theater. She gained widespread recognition for her main role in the Netflix series GLOW, as well as her performances in the medical comedy-drama Nurse Jackie and the science-fiction series Mrs. Davis. Over the course of her career, she has received multiple Primetime Emmy Award nominations and Critics' Choice nominations for her work in both main and guest television roles.

Born on July 21, 1986, Gilpin is the daughter of actors Jack Gilpin and Ann McDonough. Her father also serves as an Episcopal priest and is a first cousin of former Harvard University president Drew Gilpin Faust. She spent her childhood in the South Street Seaport neighborhood of Manhattan, living near a local fish market. Gilpin attended the Loomis Chaffee School, graduating in 2004, before completing her college education at Fordham University in 2008.

Gilpin began her acting career with guest appearances on television series such as Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Fringe, Medium, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Elementary. She also performed off-Broadway in stage plays including Heartless, We Live Here, and I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard. In addition to film roles in Ghost Town, Take Care, True Story, and Future '38, she secured a major television role playing Dr. Carrie Roman in Nurse Jackie from 2013 until 2015.

Her major career breakthrough occurred when she played Debbie "Liberty Belle" Eagan on GLOW from 2017 to 2019. Her performance as a professional wrestler in the series earned her three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and three Critics' Choice Television Award nominations for supporting actress in a comedy. During this period and shortly after, she appeared in feature films such as Isn't It Romantic, A Dog's Journey, Stuber, The Grudge, Coffee & Kareem, and The Tomorrow War. Her lead role in the 2020 satirical action-horror film The Hunt earned her a Critics' Choice Super Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie.

In 2022, Gilpin portrayed Mo Dean in the political thriller series Gaslit, earning a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination, and appeared in an episode of the anthology series Roar. That same year, she published an essay collection titled All the Women in My Brain: And Other Concerns. In 2023, she starred as Sister Simone, a nun battling artificial intelligence in the series Mrs. Davis, receiving a TCA Award nomination for Individual Achievement in Drama. She also provided the voice for the character Irene in the animated series Skull Island.

Gilpin continued her screen and stage work in 2025, starring in the Western miniseries American Primeval, portraying Lucretia Garfield in the historical drama miniseries Death by Lightning, and making her Broadway debut playing Mary Todd Lincoln in Oh, Mary! for an eight-week run. In 2026, she guest-starred in the comedy-horror series Widow's Bay as Sarah Westcott Warren, securing her fourth Primetime Emmy nomination.

In her personal life, Gilpin dated actor and musician Damon Daunno during high school. She married actor Cosmo Pfeil in 2016. The couple has two daughters, born in November 2020 and May 2024.