Acclaimed actress starring in the "The Hunger Games" film series: Who is Elizabeth Banks?

Her real name is Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell, she was born on February 10, 1974, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She was born the daughter of Ann Wallace, whose mother was a bank employee, and Mark P. Mitchell, whose father was a factory worker. Banks, who describes her family as "old-fashioned Irish Catholic", has a brother named Geoff. Playing baseball and horseback riding while growing up, Banks was playing Little League baseball when she broke her leg while skiing.

Graduating from Pittsfield High School in 1992, Banks is a member of the Massachusetts Junior Classical League youth organization. Banks later attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1996 with great success in communications and a minor in theater arts. Two years later she completed her studies at the American Conservatory Theater in California, where she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. Banks had to change her name after joining the Screen Actors Guild. The reason was that actress Elizabeth Mitchell was already registered with the union under that name.

She made her acting debut as Elizabeth Casey in the independent film "Surrender Dorothy" (1998). Reviews for the movie were mixed. During the following years, she took part in various films in many roles. The first was with the teen comedy parody movie "Wet Hot American Summer"(2001) directed by David Wain. The film, despite being a critical and commercial failure, has since become a cult hit. She then starred in the adventure comedy romantic film "Swept Away" (2002), opposite Madonna, Adriano Giannini, Bruce Greenwood and Jeanne Tripplehorn, written and directed by Guy Ritchie. In 2002, Banks started her own production company, "Brownstone Productions," with her future husband, Max Handelman.

The following year, she starred in the sports movie "Seabiscuit" (2003), opposite Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, and Chris Cooper, directed by Gary Ross. The film earned seven nominations, including Best Picture, at the 76th Academy Awards. It was also a success both critically and at the box office, and was received positively.

Her most notable role up to that point came as Betty Brant in the superhero movie "Spider-Man" (2002), directed by Sam Raimi. She starred in the film alongside Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, and Rosemary Harris. The movie, which was released on May 3, 2002, garnered positive reviews from both the audience and critics. Additionally, the production was the first movie to reach $100 million in a single weekend, and the most successful movie adapted from a comic book. It became the third highest-grossing film of 2002 and the highest-grossing superhero film with its total gross. It has also been nominated for many awards and nominations in various categories.

The following year, she reprized the role with the same cast in the sequel, Sam Raimi's superhero movie "Spider-Man 2" (2004). The film, which was released on 30 June 2004, garnered great praise from both critics and the audience. In addition, it achieved a great commercial gain with the revenue it obtained in return for its production budget. It also achieved another success as the highest-grossing film of that year. Considered as one of the greatest superhero films ever made, the film also earned many awards and nominations in various categories.

Banks became more widely known for her role in the romantic comedy movie "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" (2005). The movie, which was successful at the box office, also managed to get approval from the critics. Later that year, she played Cherie, a sexy blonde and up-and-coming nightclub singer, in William Inge's play "Bus Stop" at the Williamstown Theater Festival. Also that year, she appeared as Dr. Kim Briggs in the TV series "Stella" and in the fifth season finale of the NBC sitcom "Scrubs" in May 2006. Banks also guest-starred in the sitcom's sixth, seventh, and eighth seasons.

In 2006, Banks appeared as Mark Wahlberg's crush in the American sports football drama film "Invincible" directed by Ericson Core. The film was well received both critically and at the box office. Later, Banks and her co-star Wahlberg were nominated for the "Best Kiss" Award at the MTV Movie Awards. That same year, she played the lead role in the science fiction comedy-horror movie "Slither," written and directed by James Gunn. The film, which received generally positive reviews from critics, has since become a cult film. However, it failed to meet the production budget and was a box office failure.

The following year, she appeared as the female lead in the comedy "Meet Bill", written and directed by Bernie Goldmann and Melisa Wallack, with Aaron Eckhart and Jessica Alba. The film received generally negative reviews. That same year, she appeared as Santa's little helper Charlyne in the Christmas comedy "Fred Claus" starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti. Later that year, she reprized the character of Betty Brant in the sequel "Spider-Man 3". Upon its release, it became the highest-grossing film in the trilogy and the third-highest-grossing film of 2007. Unlike previous films, it also garnered negative reviews.

In 2008, she played the ex-wife and mother of the lead role of Ryan Reynolds' daughter in the romantic comedy movie "Definitely, Maybe" alongside Isla Fisher and Ryan Reynolds. Contrary to its box office success, it was met with mixed and average reviews. That same year, she appeared in the sex comedy "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" directed by Kevin Smith and the biographical comedy-drama film "W." She also starred as Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States. The first film received negative reviews from both the box office and critics. The latter garnered mixed reviews and a par with the production budget.

That same year, she starred in the comedy movie "Role Models" directed by David Wain, with Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bobb'e J.Thompson and Jane Lynch. It received positive reviews both at the box office and in reviews. The following year, she appeared as Rachel Summers in the psychological horror film "The Uninvited" (2009), a remake of the South Korean film. While the film suffered mixed reviews, it performed reasonably well at the box office.

Banks appeared as the love interest of Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) in the fourth season of the Emmy Award-winning sitcom TV series "30 Rock." Scheduled to appear in four episodes in 2010, Banks went on to become a recurring role 13 times in total, including her marriage in the episode "Mrs. Donaghy" at the end of season five. She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards for her performance in the fifth season.

A year later, she co-starred with Paul Rudd, Zooey Deschanel, and Emily Mortimer in the comedy-drama film "Our Idiot Brother" directed by Jesse Peretz. The film was generally reviewed positively, with mixed reviews. That same year, she starred in the independent black comedy "The Details", written and directed by Jacob Aaron Estes, with Tobey Maguire, Kerry Washington, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta, and Jonah Hill.

In 2012, Banks starred in the romantic comedy "What to Expect When You're Expecting" directed by Kirk Jones and the action thriller "Man on a Ledge" directed by Asger Leth. The first film was a box office success alongside mixed reviews. The second film, on the other hand, was met with negative reviews and broke the production budget. She also appeared as Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the musical comedy "Pitch Perfect", which became a critical and commercial success. The film, which received mostly positive reviews from critics, was a healthy box office success. Additionally, the sleeper became a hit.

The following year, she directed and appeared in separate episodes of "Movie 43", a comedy anthology film with a critical perspective and as part of a large cast. The movie was labeled one of the worst movies of all time and won three awards, including Worst Picture, at the 34th Golden Raspberry Awards.

Banks played the character of Effie Trinket in the science fiction adventure movie "The Hunger Games" (2012). The film received positive reviews from critics, making it the ninth highest-grossing film of 2012. In addition, she has received many awards and nominations in various categories. She continued to reprise her role in the sequels "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"(2013), "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1"(2014) and "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2"(2015). All the films in the series entered the list of the highest-grossing films of the year they were released and achieved success.

Banks starred as Detective Nancy Porter, who investigates the disappearance of a young boy with similarities to a case she was involved in, in the 2014 film "Every Secret Thing," a crime movie directed by Amy J. Berg and based on the novel of the same name. shared. That same year, she voiced the character of Master Builder Wyldstyle in the Warner Bros animated adventure comedy movie "The Lego Movie."  

After producing and starring in the first movie in the series, Banks directed and starred in its sequel, "Pitch Perfect 2" (2015). Thus, she made her feature directorial debut. She also co-produced and starred in "Pitch Perfect 2" and its subsequent sequel, "Pitch Perfect 3" (2017).

Banks is a founding member of John Cusack's The Beach Boys and played Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, Brian Wilson's wife, in the biographical drama film "Love & Mercy" (2015) based on the musician's life. The film garnered critical acclaim and earned two Golden Globe Award nominations. Alfonso Cuarón presided over the festival that same year, where Banks was selected as a member of the Main Competition Jury at the 2015 Venice Film Festival. Also that year, she became the spokesperson of the real estate website Realtor.com in the TV commercials. Beginning in mid-February 2016, Banks became the commercial face of the clothing and accessories retail chain, Old Navy. She also played the alien Rita Repulsa in the 2017 reboot of the superhero movie "Power Rangers" she.

In 2018, she appeared as Jenny in the adult puppet crime comedy movie "The Happytime Murders" alongside Melissa McCarthy and Maya Rudolph. The following year, she reprized her role in the sequel, "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part," the animated science-fiction adventure comedy. She later got the lead role as Tori Breyer in the superhero horror movie "Brightburn." While praising Banks' performance, the film received generally mixed reviews. In addition, it was also able to do well at the box office.

In May 2019, the ABC network reported that Banks would host a summer 2019 revival of the TV game show "Press Your Luck", for which Banks also executive produced. Banks directed, produced, written and starred as Bosley in the sequel action comedy "Charlie's Angels", which was released in November 2019. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was poor at the box office.

In November 2019, it was rumored that Banks would star, direct and produce a new adaptation of "The Invisible Woman" (1940), based on her own original story presentation. In 2020, she was cast as feminist Jill Ruckelshaus in the FX tv mini-series "Mrs.America". The series received great acclaim after its release. In June of the same year, it was reported that Banks will star as Miss Frizzle in the live-action/animated adaptation of "The Magic School Bus", which she will produce through her company Brownstone Productions.

In March 2021, it was rumored that Banks will direct the new thriller "Cocaine Bear", which she will produce for Brownstone Productions with Max Handelman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The film, which was released on February 24, 2023, received generally positive reviews and was successful with its production budget.

That same year, it reported that she would direct and star in the upcoming television series "Red Queen," based on the novel of the same name. Next year, she starred in the comedy-drama film "The Beanie Bubble", directed by Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash.

In March 2023, it was announced that she would voice the character of Pebbles Flintstone and serve as executive producer on the Fox animated prime-time series "Bedrock," which will be a remake of the series "The Flintstones".

Private life

On September, 1992 Banks met Max Handelman, a sportswriter and producer. The couple married in 2003 and have two sons born by surrogacy. Stating that she was a feminist, Banks tried to help by not staying silent on political issues.

In 2014, "The Women in Hollywood Awards" honoring women for their outstanding achievements in film, covering all aspects of the film industry including acting, directing and producing, was also crowned with an award by Elle Magazine.