Elizabeth Banks is an actress, producer, and director from the United States. Elizabeth Banks is most known for her roles in the films Maybe, The Hunger Games, Pitch Perfect, and The Lego Movie series, as well as Zack and Miri, Make a Porno. She is best known as a producer/director for the Pitch Perfect franchise and the 2019 Charlie’s Angels revival.
Early Years
Elizabeth Banks was born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell in February 1974 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. According to Banks, she was born into an “Irish + WASP + Catholic” family and went on to earn a magna cum laude degree in communications with an emphasis in theatre arts from the University of Pennsylvania. Then, in 1998, she graduated from the American Conservatory Theater with a master’s degree in fine arts.
Personal Experiences
Since 2003, she has been married to sportswriter Max Handelman. In 1992, the pair met on her first day of classes at the University of Pennsylvania. Felix and Magnus Mitchell, their two boys, were born to them.
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A Career in Acting
Because there was already an Elizabeth Mitchell on the SAG lists when Banks became serious about acting and joined the Screen Actors Guild, she changed her name to the one we know today. Banks made her on-screen debut in the independent film Surrender Dorothy later that year.
A few years later, she scored a minor but memorable role in David Wain’s 2001 film Wet Hot American Summer, which had a cast of many future stars, including Bradley Cooper (she has since reprised her role in two Netflix follow-up series to the film). In 2002, she played Betty Brant in Spider-Man, followed by roles in Seabiscuit and The 40-Year-Old Virgin with Steve Carrell in 2003 and 2005, respectively.
She also worked a lot on television during this time. She had a recurring part on Scrubs as Dr. Kim Briggs for 15 episodes, and her work as Avery Jessup on 30 Rock got her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
Invincible, a sports drama starring Mark Wahlberg, starred Banks in 2006. (the two were nominated for “Best Kiss” at the MTV Movie Awards for their roles in the film). In 2008, Banks starred in Zack and Miri Make a Porno alongside fellow 40-Year-Old Virgin alum Seth Rogen and director Kevin Smith, as well as appearing as Laura Bush in Oliver Stone’s George W. Bush biopic W.
Banks is best known for her humorous roles, however, she did star in The Uninvited, a remake of the Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters, in 2009. In 2012, she landed one of her most well-known parts in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, as Capitol official Effie Trinket, a role she continued to play throughout the film series. She then got the role of Wyldstyle in The Lego Movie in 2014, a role she returned to in the 2019 sequel.
In 2015, she starred in Love & Mercy, a biopic based on the life and career of Beach Boys auteur Brian Wilson. Then, in 2017, she appeared in a feature film adaptation of the Power Rangers franchise as the villainous Rita Repulsa.
She starred in The Happytime Murders in 2018 and Brightburn, a superhero/horror mashup the following year. Mrs. America, an FX miniseries starring Cate Blanchett and Rose Byrne, premiered in 2020.
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Managing a Career
Banks, who has continued to perform in films and television shows, has also found success as a director since taking over the Pitch Perfect franchise after starring in and directing the first installment.
In 2015, she made her film directing debut with Pitch Perfect 2, and in 2017, she directed Pitch Perfect 3. Then, in 2019, she directed Charlie’s Angels, a remake of the 1970s action series’ film franchise. She had two directorial credits before Pitch Perfect 2, a short film called Just A Little Heart Attack in 2011, and a segment in the famed comedic anthology Movie 43 in 2013.
Miscellaneous Projects
Banks has a few video game credits thanks to her roles in the Spider-Man and LEGO movies, as well as a vocal role in The LEGO Movie: 4D – A New Adventure at Legoland in Florida. She’s also appeared in a few music videos, including Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You” with Cardi B and Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana Del Rey’s “Don’t Call Me Angel” for the 2019 Charlie’s Angels film. In the same year, she made her game show hosting debut on ABC’s Press Your Luck.
Banks is one of the few persons to have starred as herself in both the Muppets and Curb Your Enthusiasm franchises, and she was one among the celebs to sign on for the public service campaign COVID Is No Joke in 2020.
Politics
Banks was a staunch supporter of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, performing with other celebrities at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in a rendition of Rachel Platten’s track “Fight Song.” She also considers herself a feminist. Banks urged her Instagram followers to contact VoteRiders for voter ID information and help in September 2020.
Elizabeth Banks’s Net Worth
What is Elizabeth Banks’ net worth? Elizabeth Banks’ net worth is expected to be around $52 million in 2021. Her film roles and productions provide her with the most of her income.
However, in March 2021, it was revealed that Banks would helm the upcoming thriller Cocaine Bear, which she will co-produce with Brownstone Productions’ Max Handelman, as well as Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Peacock announced in May 2021 that Banks will direct and appear in the upcoming Peacock TV show Red Queen, which is based on the dystopian novel of the same name.
Husband
Elizabeth Banks is married to Max Handelman, his longtime boyfriend. On September 7, 1992, she met her husband, Max Handelman, a sportswriter and producer from Portland, Oregon, on her first day of college. In 2003, they tied the knot. The couple has two sons who were born through surrogacy. Banks and her future husband, Max Handelman, founded their own production company, Brownstone Productions, in 2002.
Banks went through the process of converting to Judaism, studying with rabbis, and learning about her husband’s faith. In 2013, she stated that she practices Judaism, even though she “did not have my mikveh, so technically I’m not converted,” and that she has “been essentially a Jew for like 15 years,” adding, “Frankly because I’m already doing everything [practicing religious rituals], I feel like I’m as Jewish as I’ll ever be.”
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Purchasing Real Estate
According to reports, Elizabeth and Max paid $1.625 million for a property in Studio City, California in 2007. After 13 years, the couple decided to sell their property for $2.4 million in May 2020.
They bought a custom-built gated 1-acre hilltop property in adjacent Sherman Oaks for $6.85 million in 2018.
Brownstone Productions is a production company based in New York City
Brownstone Productions, which Elizabeth and Max co-founded in 2002, is a film production firm. Their studio was the driving force behind the Pitch Perfect film franchise. She made her directorial debut with the second part of the Pitch series, which cost $30 million to film but grossed $300 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing musical comedy of all time at the time of its release.