Elizabeth McGovern

Elizabeth McGovern
McGovern at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Elizabeth Lee McGovern (1961-07-18) July 18, 1961 (age 63) Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Education	Juilliard School
Occupation(s)	Actor, musician
Years active	1979–present
Spouse	Simon Curtis ​ (m. 1992)​
Children	2
Musical career
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Musical artist
Website	elizabethmcgovern.co.uk

Elizabeth Lee McGovern^[1] (born July 18, 1961)^[2] is an American actress. She has received many awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, three Golden Globe Award nominations, and one Academy Award nomination.

Born in Evanston, Illinois on July 18 1961, McGovern spent most of her early life in Los Angeles. After attending the American Conservatory Theater and the Juilliard School, she made her feature film debut in Ordinary People (1980). For her role as Evelyn Nesbit in the film adaptation of Ragtime (1981), she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She subsequently had lead roles in a number of major studio films, including Once Upon a Time in America (1984), She's Having a Baby (1987), The Bedroom Window (1987), The Handmaid's Tale (1990), and The Wings of the Dove (1997).

In 2007, McGovern, after years of studying guitar, formed the musical group Sadie and the Hotheads, with whom she has released four studio albums since 2016. She gained further international attention for her portrayal of Cora, Countess of Grantham, in the British drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award. She reprised her role as Cora in the subsequent films Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).