Keri Russell

Keri Russell
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Name	Keri Russell
Caption	Russell in 2019
Birth date	23 March 1976
Birth place	Fountain Valley, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1991–present
Spouse	Shane Deary (m. 2007; div. 2014), Matthew Rhys (m. 2021)

Keri Russell is an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1990s and achieved critical acclaim for her leading roles in television and film. She first gained widespread recognition for her starring role on the The WB teen drama series Felicity, which earned her a Golden Globe Award. Russell later garnered further praise and awards attention for her performance as a KGB officer on the FX period spy drama The Americans, opposite Matthew Rhys.

Early life and education

Born in Fountain Valley, California, she is the daughter of a Nissan executive and a homemaker. Russell began training as a dancer at a young age and was a member of the Mickey Mouse Club alongside future stars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Her family relocated to Middleton, Colorado, and later to Mesa, Arizona, where she attended Mesa High School. She pursued her early career while balancing her education, eventually moving to Los Angeles to focus on acting full-time.

Career

Russell's early career included roles on Nickelodeon series like The All-New Mickey Mouse Club and the ABC sitcom Daddy's Girls. Her breakthrough came with the lead role in Felicity, created by J.J. Abrams, which aired for four seasons and won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. Following the series, she transitioned to film with roles in projects such as We Were Soldiers, The Upside of Anger, and ''Waitress'', directed by Adrienne Shelly. A major career resurgence came with her starring role as Elizabeth Jennings on the critically acclaimed series The Americans, for which she received multiple Primetime Emmy Award nominations and a Critics' Choice Television Award. Her film work during this period included roles in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Free State of Jones, and the Star Wars sequel Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. She also starred in the Netflix political thriller The Diplomat, created by Debora Cahn.

Personal life

Russell was married to contractor Shane Deary from 2007 to 2014; they have two children together. During the production of The Americans, she began a relationship with her co-star, Welsh actor Matthew Rhys. The couple had a son in 2016 and were married in 2021 in a private ceremony. They reside in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Russell is known for maintaining a relatively private life away from the Hollywood spotlight.

Filmography

A selected list of her acting credits includes the television series Felicity (1998–2002) and The Americans (2013–2018), and films such as Mad About Mambo (2000), Mission: Impossible III (2006), August Rush (2007), Bedtime Stories (2008), Extraordinary Measures (2010), Austenland (2013), and Cocaine Bear (2023). Her recent television work includes the series The Diplomat (2023–present).

Awards and nominations

Russell's performance on Felicity earned her the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama in 1999. For her work on The Americans, she received three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series in 2019. She has also been nominated for multiple Satellite Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards throughout her career.

Category:American television actresses Category:American film actresses Category:1976 births Category:Living people