Best known for her roles as Effie Trinket in “The Hunger Games” films and as Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the “Pitch Perfect” film series, Elizabeth Banks is also a director and producer with her own television and production company, Brownstone Productions. She has also starred in “Wet Hot American Summer,” “Seabiscuit,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” and Sam Raimi’s “Spiderman” trilogy. On television, she played Avery Jessup on the NBC sitcom “30 Rock,” which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She also had recurring roles in the comedy series “Scrubs” and “Modern Family.”
Banks was born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell on February 10, 1974, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Growing up, her primary aim was to become an athlete, and she played softball and participated in horseback riding. After fracturing her leg in a softball game she tried out for a school play, which sparked her interest in acting.
She attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1996 with a major in Communications and a minor in Theater Arts. She then earned her Master of Fine Arts from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California. In 1998, she joined the Screen Actors Guild and changed her name, because an Elizabeth Mitchell was already registered.
In 2002, she co-founded her production company, Brownstone Productions.
“I was a frustrated actress, I was bored,” she said to The New York Times. “There just came a moment where I was like, ‘I need more control over all of this.’”
And her company has found success, as evidenced by its production of “Pitch Perfect 2,” her directorial debut. The film grossed $69 million on its opening-weekend, which set a record for a first-time director.
Brownstone Productions and Banks currently have a number of projects lined up. She is set to star in, direct, and produce a new adaptation of “The Invisible Woman,” produce and star as Ms. Frizzle in “The Magic School Bus,” direct the upcoming thriller film “Cocaine Bear,” and direct and star in the upcoming television series “Red Queen,” based on the novel of the same name.