Carrie Preston

Primetime Emmy winner Carrie Preston has played many central roles on television over the years but is perhaps currently best known for playing Arlene Fowler in True Blood (which won a Golden Globe and an Emmy) and Elspeth Tascioni in The Good Wife and its spin-off, The Good Fight. She won her Primetime Emmy (for Best Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series) for The Good Wife in 2013. She has also co-starred in the TNT comedy-drama series Claws and had main roles in series such as Happyish and Crowded. On the big screen, she has appeared in many films, including My Best Friend’s Wedding and the 2004 remake of The Stepford Wives.

Preston was born in Macon, Georgia, in June 1967 and studied acting at the prestigious Juilliard School. Although she made her acting debut in 1985, she didn’t make screen acting her career until the mid-1990s when she began appearing in television show. She was part of a hit in 1997 when she appeared in My Best Friend’s Wedding, a Julia Roberts rom-com that grossed nearly $300 million at the box office. Her first recurring TV role was a part in Emeril Lagasse’s sitcom vehicle, Emeril, in 2001, but it was when she landed the role of Arlene in True Blood that her career truly took off. The show ran for seven seasons and was rated as one of the best series of its time by the American Film Institute.

In more recent years, Preston has been closely associated with The Good Wife and The Good Fight, playing quirky lawyer Elspeth Tacioni and giving award-winning performances. She has also been given honours such as being invited to be a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race.