Krysten Ritter

Krysten Alyce Ritter is an American actress, musician, author, and former model. Born in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, on December 16, 1981, she was raised in rural Shickshinny, Pennsylvania. At age 15, she was scouted by a modeling agent at a local mall. After signing with Elite Model Management and Wilhelmina Models, she built an international modeling career performing runway, magazine, catalog, and print work across Tokyo, New York City, Paris, and Milan. She later moved to New York and transitioned into acting after appearing in a Wendy's television commercial.

Ritter began securing film roles in 2001, including a bit part in 2003's Mona Lisa Smile, alongside theater appearances such as the 2006 Off-Broadway play All This Intimacy. Her early television career featured recurring roles as Gia Goodman on Veronica Mars, Lucy on Gilmore Girls, and Allison Stark on 'Til Death. Following supporting appearances in romantic comedy films including 27 Dresses, What Happens in Vegas, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and She's Out of My League, she achieved her breakthrough playing Jane Margolis on the AMC drama Breaking Bad from 2009 to 2010.

Throughout the 2010s, Ritter took on diverse television and film projects. She starred in the series Gravity, the sitcom Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, and independent films such as Life Happens, which she co-wrote and co-produced. Her screen credits from this period also include the horror comedy Vamps, Listen Up Philip, Big Eyes, The Hero, and a reprisal of her Breaking Bad role in the 2019 film El Camino. Between 2015 and 2019, she headlined the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Jessica Jones in the title role—later making her directorial debut on a season three episode—and co-starred in the miniseries crossover The Defenders.

In the 2020s, Ritter appeared in the dark fantasy film Nightbooks (2021), the Max miniseries Love & Death (2023), the series Orphan Black: Echoes (2024), and the feature Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024). She joined the cast of Dexter: Resurrection as a recurring character, and returned to her role as Jessica Jones for the Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again.

Beyond acting, Ritter forms half of the indie rock duo Ex Vivian as a singer and guitarist, releasing a self-titled debut album in 2012. She is also a published author, having written the psychological thriller novel Bonfire in 2017 and co-written the novel Retreat in 2025. Outside her artistic endeavors, she advocates for animal rights through PETA campaigns and is an avid knitter.