Elizabeth Perkins

Elizabeth Perkins made her Broadway debut in Neil Simon’s ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’ in the spring of 1984 as a replacement, establishing a strong foundation in theatrical performance. She honed her craft at Chicago’s Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University for three years, and furthered her stage work with companies including Playwrights Horizon, the Ensemble Studio, The New York Shakespeare Festival, and the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, before co-starring in the ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’ touring company production in 1986. Perkins transitioned to film that same year with her debut in Edward Zwick’s ‘About Last Night…’ starring alongside Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, and Jim Belushi. Her career received a significant boost when she co-starred with Tom Hanks in the widely acclaimed film ‘Big’ in 1988, followed by critical recognition for her role in Barry Levinson’s ‘Avalon’ in 1990 and her performance as a terminal cancer patient opposite William Hurt in ‘The Doctor’ in 1991.

For her compelling performance, she received two Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress (2006, 2007) and three Emmy Award nominations in the same category (2007, 2009). Following her acclaimed run on ‘Weeds,’ Perkins continued her impactful television career, starring as Marilyn Lovell in HBO’s ‘From The Earth to the Moon,’ and appearing as Birdie in the Netflix series ‘GLOW.’ She also joined Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson in the HBO miniseries ‘Sharp Objects’ in 2018. Her recent television work includes roles in Apple TV+’s ‘Truth Be Told,’ HBO’s ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ and Fox’s ‘The Moodys.’ Perkins also recurred as Janet Malone, Mandy Moore’s mother, in NBC’s ‘This Is Us’ from 2017 to 2022. In 2023, she starred as Isabel in the Apple TV+ series ‘The Afterparty’ and showcased her voice talent as May / Quippy Spider-Person in the animated feature ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.’