Elizabeth Frances Henstridge (born 11 September 1987) is an English actress, model and director. She is best known for starring as Jemma Simmons in the ABC superhero action drama series '' Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (2013–2020), set within the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

Early life

Henstridge was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

, England, attending

Meadowhead School Meadowhead School is a mixed secondary school and Language College with academy status in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. There are currently around 1,841 students on roll, about 120 teaching staff and approximately 50 non-teaching staff. ...

and King Edward VII School. Henstridge has two sisters. She is of English and Irish descent. She graduated from the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

in 2009. She studied at

East 15 Acting School East 15 Acting School (East 15) is a British drama school in Loughton, Essex.Its degrees are awarded by the University of Essex, with which it merged on 1 September 2000. As of 2020, Essex University, where East 15 is located, has been ranked N ...

and later moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Career

Henstridge made her professional acting debut in the 2010 short film ''Easy Under the Apple Bough''. She made her television debut in 2011, appearing as Emily Alexander in the long-running British soap opera '' Hollyoaks''. She starred in the short film ''And the Kid'', which she also composed. Henstridge was cast in the lead role of the 2012

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

pilot ''Shelter'', which was not picked up to series. She went on to co-star in the horror film ''

The Thompsons ''The Thompsons'' is an independent 2012 horror film directed by the Butcher Brothers ( Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores) and produced by Rob Weston and Travis Stevens. It is a sequel to the Butcher Brothers previous film ''The Hamiltons''. ...

'' (2012), the crime drama film ''

Gangs of Tooting Broadway ''Gangs of Tooting Broadway'' is a 2013 British-Tamil crime drama film directed by Devanand Shanmugam. The film features Nav Sidhu and Kabelan Verlkumar in lead roles. It released on 4 February 2013. The story is based on gang wars between Tami ...

'' (2013), and the ensemble drama film ''

Reach Me ''Reach Me'' is a 2014 American drama film directed and written by John Herzfeld. The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Kyra Sedgwick, Terry Crews, Thomas Jane, Kevin Connolly, Lauren Cohan, Kelsey Grammer, and Tom Berenger. The film was produced b ...

'' (2014). In November 2012, Henstridge was cast as Agent Jemma Simmons, a series regular character in the ABC superhero action drama series '' Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', which was set within the

. The series was ordered on 10 May 2013, and premiered on ABC on 24 September 2013. Elizabeth Henstridge Wondercon 2016

For her role in ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', she gained further recognition and acclaim from critics. In 2015, Henstridge received positive reviews for her performance in " 4,722 Hours", the fifth episode of the third season of ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' In contrast to the ensemble nature of the series, the episode contained none (except Iain De Caestecker) of the main cast and was centered around Henstridge's character. The episode's positive critical response focused praise on the

bottle episode In episodic television, a bottle episode is produced cheaply and restricted in scope to use as few regular cast members, effects and sets as possible. Bottle episodes are usually shot on sets built for other episodes, frequently the main interior ...

nature and Henstridge's performance. It was later named one of the best television episodes of 2015 by ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

''. In 2016, Henstridge reprised the role of Jemma Simmons in animated form in an episode of the Disney XD superhero series '' Ultimate Spider-Man''. That same year, she was cast as Abigail Folger in the horror film ''

Wolves at the Door ''Wolves at the Door'' is a 2016 American horror film directed by John R. Leonetti and written by Gary Dauberman. The film is loosely based on the murder of Sharon Tate, the wife of Roman Polanski, and her friends in 1969 by members of the Manso ...

'', loosely based on the infamous Manson Family's

murders Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

. The film was released Direct-to-DVD in the United States on 18 April 2017. In 2019, Henstridge starred as Jessica Cooper in the Hallmark Channel Christmas romantic comedy film ''Christmas at the Plaza''. In March 2020, it was announced that she was cast in a leading role in the

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced ...

drama thriller series '' Suspicion'', alongside Uma Thurman. Henstridge plays Tara, a junior research fellow at Oxford and one of the suspects in the Leo Newman case. As well as this, Henstridge has also starred in the short film ''The Imperfect Picture'' as Anna, and has done more directing. A short film she directed, ''Air'', is now debuting in the festival circuit. In 2019, it was revealed that she was involved in an untitled superhero film that she starred, directed, wrote and produced. On 7 December 2021, it was announced that she will be directing an episode of the CW's ''

Superman & Lois ''Superman & Lois'' is an American superhero drama television series developed for The CW by Todd Helbing and Greg Berlanti, based on the DC Comics characters Superman and Lois Lane, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Tyler Hoechlin ...

'', which will air in 2022.

Personal life

Henstridge has been in a relationship with actor and online influencer Zachary Abel since 2012. They met on the set of Shelter. On 22 April 2019, she announced their engagement with an Instagram post. The two were married in England in August 2021. Henstridge has a dog named Maggie, and she supports

Smile Train Smile Train is a nonprofit organization and charity providing corrective surgery for children with cleft lips and palates. Headquartered in New York City and founded in 1999, Smile Train provides free corrective cleft surgery in 87 countries, t ...

, a charity organization.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henstridge, Elizabeth 1987 births Living people English film actresses English television actresses English soap opera actresses English models English YouTubers English podcasters English directors English expatriates in the United States British expatriate actresses in the United States People educated at King Edward VII School, Sheffield Actresses from Sheffield Alumni of the University of Birmingham Alumni of East 15 Acting School 21st-century English actresses English female YouTubers