Biography
Who is Betty Gilpin?
Early life and education
Betty Gilpin was born in New York City on July 21, 1986. She is the daughter of actors Ann McDonough and Jack Gilpin. Her father is also an Episcopal priest. Betty grew up in the South Street Seaport area of Manhattan, a neighborhood that was once largely a fish market. She has described her childhood home as one of the few occupied buildings on her street.
For her education, she attended the Loomis Chaffee School, graduating in 2004. She later continued her studies at Fordham University and earned her degree in 2008. During high school, she dated actor and musician Damon Daunno. She has family connections to academia, as her father is a first cousin of Drew Gilpin Faust, who served as the president of Harvard University.
Acting career beginnings
Betty Gilpin launched her acting career with guest roles on various television programs. Her early credits include appearances on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Medium, Fringe, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Elementary. She also gained experience on the stage in off-Broadway productions. Some of her stage credits include Heartless, We Live Here, and I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard.
She transitioned into supporting film roles during this period. She appeared in the movies Ghost Town in 2008 and Take Care in 2014. Her first major recurring television role was as Dr. Carrie Roman on the Showtime comedy-drama Nurse Jackie, where she appeared from 2013 until the show ended in 2015.
Rise to prominence
Her breakthrough role arrived with the Netflix comedy-drama series GLOW, which aired from 2017 to 2019. Betty played the character Debbie Eagan, also known as Liberty Belle. The show was based on the 1980s wrestling league called Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Her performance earned her three nominations for Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Following GLOW, Betty appeared in several films between 2019 and 2020. These included the romantic comedy Isn't It Romantic, the drama A Dog's path, and the action comedy Stuber. She also starred in the 2020 horror film The Grudge and the satiric thriller The Hunt. For her work in The Hunt, she received a Critics' Choice Super Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie.
Recent projects and personal life
In 2022, she appeared in the political thriller limited series Gaslit as Mo Dean. She also published a collection of essays titled All the Women in My Brain: And Other Concerns in September of that year. In 2023, she took the lead role of Sister Simone in the science-fiction series Mrs. Davis, where her character battles artificial intelligence. She also voiced the character Irene in the animated series Skull Island.
Her work continued in 2025 with roles in the Netflix Western miniseries American Primeval and the historical drama Death by Lightning. She also made her Broadway debut that year in the production Oh, Mary!, playing Mary Todd Lincoln. In 2026, she appeared in the Apple TV series Widow's Bay, winning a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Betty married actor Cosmo Pfeil in 2016, and the couple has two daughters, born in 2020 and 2024.
Birthday and age
Betty Gilpin was born on July 21, 1986, which makes Betty 40 years old today. That birthday falls under the Cancer sign. Betty shares the date with 33 other famous people.
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