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Lizzy Caplan

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Lizzy Caplan
Caplan at PaleyFest 2014 for Masters of Sex
Born
Elizabeth Anne Caplan

(1982-06-30) June 30, 1982 (age 42)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1999–present
RelativesHoward Bragman (uncle)

Elizabeth Anne "Lizzy" Caplan (born June 30, 1982) is an American actress. After starting her career in the critically acclaimed television series Freaks and Geeks in 1999, Caplan started to get wider attention for her roles in films Mean Girls (2004) and Cloverfield (2008), the latter earning her a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. Caplan also starred in television shows The Class, True Blood, and Party Down. She starred as Virginia Johnson in the Showtime series Masters of Sex, for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award, Satellite Award and Critics’ Choice Television Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

Her other film appearances include Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), 127 Hours (2010), Save the Date (2012), Bachelorette (2012), The Interview (2014), Now You See Me 2 (2016) and Allied (2016). She also appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe short film Item 47.

Early life

Elizabeth Anne Caplan was born on June 30, 1982 in Los Angeles, California,[1] and grew up in its Miracle Mile district.[2] Her family are Reform Jews.[3][4] Her father, Richard Caplan, was a lawyer and her mother, Barbara (née Bragman) was a political aide.[5] She is the youngest of three children with a brother, Benjamin and a sister, Julie.[6] Her mother died of illness when she was 13 years old.[2][7][8] Her uncle is publicist Howard Bragman.[9] Caplan attended Alexander Hamilton High School,[10] and was a student at the school's Academy of Music. She first focused on playing the piano, then later decided to pursue drama.[11] She was also on her school's soccer team.[12] She graduated in 2000, but did not attend college because it was time consuming and she wanted to focus on acting.[12]

Career

Caplan began her acting career in 1999, first playing a girl named Sara in the critically acclaimed series Freaks and Geeks.[13] Due to her performance, her character became the girlfriend of Jason Segel's character.[14] She then had a series of guest appearances on numerous shows, and appeared in Jason Mraz's music video "You and I Both". In 2000 she appeared in her first film From Where I Sit which was released straight to television.[15] In 2001, she played Tina Greer in an episode of Smallville, and reprised her role on the show in 2003. She appeared in two episodes of the ABC series Once and Again. In 2003, she starred in the television series The Pitts, playing Faith Pitt. She gained wider notice for playing Janis Ian in the 2004 film Mean Girls. She played Avery Bishop in the second season of Tru Calling.

In 2005, Caplan played troubled sister Marjee Sorelli in Related, a one-hour comedy-drama on The WB that was canceled after one season. In 2006, she starred as Sara Weller in the thriller film Love is the Drug and was named one of "10 Actors to Watch" by Variety.[16] After Related ended, Caplan was cast in the CBS sitcom The Class, which premiered in September 2006 and lasted for one season. She played Kat Warbler, one of several elementary school friends that reunite after 20 years.[16]

In 2008, Caplan played Marlena Diamond in the film Cloverfield and was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also appeared as Ami in the romantic comedy My Best Friend's Girl. Later that year, she guest starred as Amy Burley on the HBO vampire show True Blood. She is the voice of Faith Pitt in the animated version of The Pitts, which premiered in 2009. She also appeared in the critically acclaimed Starz ensemble comedy Party Down, playing a struggling comedian who is part of a catering crew. In 2010, she appeared in 127 Hours.[17]

In early 2012, Caplan premiered two films at the Sundance Film Festival: Save the Date and Bachelorette. Also in 2012, she appeared as Julia in several episodes of the Fox sitcom New Girl.

She played Agent Lacey in the 2014 film The Interview.

Masters of Sex (2013–2016)

In 2013, she began playing 1960s human sexuality pioneer Virginia Johnson on the Showtime series Masters of Sex.[18] Caplan also provided her own vocals for a cover version of the song "You Don't Know Me" in the Masters of Sex episode "Phallic Victories".[19] Her performance on the show was well-reviewed, and on July 10, 2014, she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.[20]

Caplan was cast in her role as Virginia Johnson before they signed her co-star Michael Sheen as William H. Masters because he was busy working on another production. Producer Sarah Timberman said of Caplan, "the minute we met Lizzie we thought that she just embodied so much of the spirit of Virginia Johnson."[21] Caplan also stated herself that as a single woman pursuing her career above a family, she identified with many of Johnson's characteristics.[2] Once she met the producers, it took several months before Caplan was officially signed, and she turned down several other roles in the meantime.[22]

Virginia Johnson worked alongside William H. Masters as they completed research of human sexual response and sexual dysfunction beginning in the late 1950s. To learn about the characters they were portraying Caplan along with her other co-stars read Thomas Maier's 2009 biography Masters of Sex.[23] The author also allowed Caplan to listen to some of his interview tapes with Johnson. Caplan also attempted to spend some time with Johnson before she died in 2013, but Johnson was ambivalent about the development of the show.[2] It was the first time she portrayed a real person and Caplan mentioned in an interview that she felt a "deep responsibility" to Johnson, but that she had some wiggle room because most people have no idea what Johnson looked or sounded like.[24] Maier stated that the developers of the show have remained mostly accurate to his book and have included other events that are historically relevant to St. Louis, where the series takes place and where Masters and Johnson lived.[25]

Her portrayal of American sexologist Virginia Johnson was her first serious dramatic role, resulting in nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award, Satellite Award and Critics’ Choice Television Award, all for Outstanding Lead Actress.[26]

Due to the large number of sex scenes in Masters of Sex, she has become well known for being portrayed in this way.[14][22][27] In many interviews Caplan has stated that although the amount of nude scenes in the show were uncomfortable at first, she is now "as comfortable as possible" and enjoys shooting the scenes.[27]

Personal life

Caplan dated actor Matthew Perry from 2006 to 2012.[28][29][30][31] She began dating actor Tom Riley in 2015. They got engaged in May 2016.[32] She is the godmother of the daughter of actress Busy Philipps and screenwriter Marc Silverstein.[33]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2002 Orange County Party Girl
2003 Hardcore Action News Lizzy Lyons Short film
2004 Mean Girls Janis Ian
2006 Love Is the Drug Sara Weller
2007 Crashing Jacqueline
2008 Cloverfield Marlena Diamond
2008 My Best Friend's Girl Ami
2009 Crossing Over Marla
2010 Successful Alcoholics Lindsay Short film
2010 Hot Tub Time Machine April Drennan
2010 The Last Rites of Ransom Pride Juliette Flowers
2010 127 Hours Sonja Ralston
2011 High Road Sheila
2012 Save the Date Sarah
2012 Bachelorette Gena Myers
2012 3,2,1... Frankie Go Boom Lassie
2012 Queens of Country Jolene Gillis
2012 Item 47 Claire Weiss Short film
2014 The Interview Agent Lacey
2015 The Night Before Diana
2016 Now You See Me 2 Lula May
2016 Allied Bridget Vatan

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1999–2000 Freaks and Geeks Sara 4 episodes
2000 From Where I Sit Lily Television film
2001 Undeclared Beautiful girl Episode: "Prototype"
2001–2003 Smallville Tina Greer 2 episodes
2001 Once and Again Sarah Episode: "Tough Love"
2002 Everybody's Doing It Angela Television film
2003 The Pitts Faith Pitt 7 episodes
2005 Tru Calling Avery Bishop 4 episodes
2005–2006 Related Marjee Sorelli 18 episodes
2006 Family Guy Woman Arguing With Quagmire (voice) 1 episode
2006–2009 American Dad! Debbie (voice) 4 episodes
2006–2007 The Class Kat Warbler 19 episodes
2008 True Blood Amy Burley 6 episodes
2008 The Life & Times of Tim — Episode: "Insurmountable High Score/Tim vs. the Baby"
2009–10 Party Down Casey Klein 20 episodes
2010–11 Childrens Hospital Harmony / Casey Klein 2 episodes
2011 The Cleveland Show Patty Donner (voice) Episode: "The Essence of Cleveland"
2011 Mr. Sunshine Vivian Cornelli Episode: "Ben and Vivian"
2011 Wainy Days Arielle Episode: "Kelly and Arielle – Part 2"
2012 New Girl Julia 4 episodes
2013 Newsreaders Anya Turpo Episode: "Hedge Fun"
2013–16 Masters of Sex Virginia Johnson Main role; also producer
2013–14 The League Rebecca Ruxin 3 episodes
2014 Kroll Show Signing Bonus Contestant #1 Episode: "Krolling Around with Nick Klown"
2014 Comedy Bang! Bang! Herself Episode: "Lizzy Caplan Wears All Black & Powder Blue Espadrilles"

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2007 Saturn Award Best Supporting Actress
Cloverfield
Nominated
2010 Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Actress – Comedy
Hot Tub Time Machine
Nominated
2014 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Actress in a Drama Series
Masters of Sex
Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Nominated
Satellite Award Best Actress – Television Series Drama Nominated
2015 Nominated
2016 Teen Choice Awards Choice Summer Movie Star: Female
Now You See Me 2
Nominated

References

  1. ^ "Lizzy Caplan". Biography.com. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "The Liberation of Lizzy Caplan". Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2015-12-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Miller, Gerri (2005). "Mean girl no more". American Jewish Life Magazine. Retrieved December 13, 2006.
  4. ^ Huver, Scott (2012-09-25). "Lizzy Caplan Tackles "Masters of Sex" and the Marvel Universe". NBC New York. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  5. ^ Hoby, Hermione (July 25, 2014). "Lizzy Caplan interview for Masters of Sex: Sex is easy to fake; comedy isn't". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  6. ^ theoffcamerashow (July 13, 2015). "Lizzy Caplan Reveals Why She Wanted to Be a Boy". YouTube. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  7. ^ "Lizzy Caplan on Her New Show, Masters of Sex". Vulture. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
  8. ^ Guestdjproject (2012-12-12). "Lizzy Caplan - Guest DJ Project on KCRW". Kcrw.com. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
  9. ^ 12 Jun 2012 (2012-06-12). "Howard Bragman on Twitter: "Could I be any prouder of my niece Lizzy Caplan who just got a pilot picked up for Showtime? An amazing actor... http://t.co/RdE82aOd"". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2015-10-08. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Lizzy Caplan  — Bios  — The Class on CBS". CBS.com. May 23, 2007. Archived from the original on February 4, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Brink, Rob (February 2008). "Hey, You're Cool! Lizzy Caplan". Mass Appeal Magazine. p. 48.
  12. ^ a b "The naked truth: Lizzy Caplan on 'Masters of Sex'". The Independent. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  13. ^ Rohan, Virginia (July 3, 2000). "Like its title, 'Freaks and Geeks' just not accepted". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  14. ^ a b Made Man (December 23, 2013). "Masters of Sex's Lizzy Caplan Commands Respect - Speakeasy". YouTube. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  15. ^ "Lizzy Caplan | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  16. ^ a b Saval, Malina. "Lizzy Caplan: The _Heeb_ Interview". Heeb. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  17. ^ Indrisek, Scott (April 27, 2010). "Lizzy Caplan on 'Party Down' and Her 'True Blood' Nude Scenes". BlackBook Magazine. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "UPDATE: Michael Sheen & Lizzy Caplan To Star In Showtime Pilot 'Masters Of Sex'". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
  19. ^ "Phallic Victories". Retrieved 2014-01-31.
  20. ^ "66th Primetime Emmys Nominees and Winners". Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  21. ^ ScreenSlam (March 26, 2014). "Masters of Sex: Sarah Timberman (Exeuctive Producer) Exclusive Premiere Interview". YouTube. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  22. ^ a b "Masters of Sex's Lizzy Caplan talks Auditioning & Nudity with BGB Magazine! The Bramon Garcia Braun Studio". bramongarciabraun.com. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  23. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (2013-07-26). "'Masters of Sex' Recalls the Work of Masters and Johnson". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  24. ^ "'Masters of Sex' star Lizzy Caplan on nudity, the 1950s and typecasting". HitFix. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  25. ^ "The facts, fictions of 'Masters of Sex' : Entertainment". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  26. ^ "Virginia Johnson from Masters of Sex on Showtime". SHO.com. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  27. ^ a b "'Masters of Sex's Lizzy Caplan on Nudity: "It's as Close [to Comfortable] As It's Going to Get"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  28. ^ "Matthew Perry's Student Body Hookup". TMZ.com. 2006-11-16. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
  29. ^ Fisher, Kelly (September 10, 2011). "Matthew Perry And Lizzy Caplan: Another Hollywood Odd Couple? (PHOTO)". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
  30. ^ "Matthew Perry and Lizzie Caplan catch the closing night of "Assistance"". NYPOST.com. 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
  31. ^ Takeda, Allison (October 18, 2013). "Matthew Perry, Lizzy Caplan Quietly Split, "Haven't Been Together for a Long Time"". Us Weekly. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  32. ^ Schnurr, Samantha (July 22, 2016). "Lizzy Caplan Is Engaged". Eonline.com. Retrieved January 7, 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ "Update: Actress Busy Philipps expecting first child, a girl – Moms & Babies – Moms & Babies - People.com". Celebritybabies.people.com. 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
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