Linda Edna Cardellini (born June 25, 1975) is an American actress. In television, she is known for her leading roles in the teen drama ''

Freaks and Geeks ''Freaks and Geeks'' is an American teen drama, teen comedy-drama television series created by Paul Feig and executive producer, executive-produced by Judd Apatow that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 United States network television schedul ...

'' (1999–2000), the medical drama '' ER'' (2003–09), the drama thriller ''

Bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic informa ...

'' (2015–17), and the

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...

'' Dead to Me'' (2019–2022), the latter of which earned her a nomination for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Beginning with the 18th Primetime Emmy Awards, leading actresses in comedy have competed alone. However, these comedic performance ...

. She also guest starred in the period drama ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its fict ...

'' (2013–15), for which she received a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

nomination. Her voice work includes the animated series ''

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated ''Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated'' (also known as ''Mystery Incorporated'' or ''Scooby-Doo! Mystery, Inc.'') is an American animated television series that serves as the eleventh incarnation of the ''Scooby-Doo'' media franchise created by Han ...

'' (2010–13), ''

Regular Show ''Regular Show'' (known as ''Regular Show in Space'' during its eighth season) is an American animated sitcom created by J. G. Quintel for Cartoon Network. It ran from September 6, 2010, to January 16, 2017, over the course of eight seasons a ...

'' (2012–15), ''

Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (Kristen Schaal) wh ...

'' (2012–16), and ''

Sanjay and Craig ''Sanjay and Craig'' is an American animated sitcom created by Jim Dirschberger, Jay Howell, and Andreas Trolf for Nickelodeon. Produced by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi, the series revolves around Sanjay, voiced by Maulik Pancholy, and his be ...

'' (2013–16). In film, Cardellini is best known for her portrayal of

Velma Dinkley Velma Dinkley is a fictional character in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise. She is usually seen wearing a baggy orange turtleneck sweater, a short pink pleated skirt (or in later episodes an A-line skirt, or sometimes shorts), knee socks, Mary Jane ...

in ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animation, animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative List of Scooby-Doo media, media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the orig ...

'' (2002) and its sequel '' Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'' (2004), and her supporting roles in ''

Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his List of directorial debuts, feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith (writer), Kirsten Smith from ...

'' (2001), ''

Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx, the screenplay was written by ...

'' (2005), '' Grandma’s Boy'' (2006), ''

Kill the Irishman ''Kill the Irishman'' is a 2011 American biographical crime film directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, and starring Ray Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Christopher Walken, and Val Kilmer. Written by Hensleigh and Jeremy Walters, it is based on the lif ...

'' (2011), '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015), ''

The Founder ''The Founder'' is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Robert Siegel. Starring Michael Keaton as businessman Ray Kroc, the film portrays the story of his creation of the McDonald's fast-food rest ...

'' (2016), '' Green Book'', '' A Simple Favor'' (both 2018), and '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019). She also starred in the drama ''

Return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

'' (2011), earning an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead nomination, the comedies '' Daddy's Home'' (2015) and ''

Daddy's Home 2 ''Daddy's Home 2'' (titled on screen as ''Daddy's Home Two'') is a 2017 American Christmas buddy comedy film directed by Sean Anders and written by Anders and John Morris. A sequel to '' Daddy's Home'' (2015), it stars Will Ferrell, Mark Wahl ...

'' (2017), the horror film ''

The Curse of La Llorona ''The Curse of La Llorona'' (also known as ''The Curse of the Weeping Woman'' in some markets) is a 2019 American supernatural horror film directed by Michael Chaves, in his feature directorial debut, and written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias ...

'' (2019), and the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

television series '' Hawkeye''.

Early life and education

Cardellini was born in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

, the daughter of Lorraine Cardellini (née Hernan), a homemaker, and Wayne David Cardellini, a businessman. She is the youngest of four children. Cardellini is of Italian, Irish, German, and Scottish descent. She was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. She made her first public appearance at age 10, when she sang in a school play. Subsequently, she acted in several school productions and started attending drama lessons. She graduated from nearby Mountain View's Catholic St. Francis High School in 1993, then moved to Los Angeles to seek roles in television and film. Cardellini was a contestant in a 1994 episode of ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

'', winning a fireplace. She attended

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

's College of

Communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

and

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

, graduating in 1997 with a degree in theatre arts. In 2007, she was recognized as a "Distinguished Alumna" by the university.

Career

Cardellini received her first big break role in 1996 as Sarah on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's Saturday morning live-action children's series, ''

Bone Chillers ''Bone Chillers'' is a series of children's horror fiction novels and a TV show created and authored by Betsy Haynes. Synopsis Four freshmen at Edgar Allan Poe High School not only have to deal with the normal pressures of competing with the co ...

''. Following this, she made guest appearances on prime-time programs including '' Step by Step'', ''

Clueless ''Clueless'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy film written and directed by Amy Heckerling. It stars Alicia Silverstone with supporting roles by Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy and Paul Rudd. It was produced by Scott Rudin and Robert ...

'', '' 3rd Rock from the Sun'', and she played Lauren on ''

Boy Meets World ''Boy Meets World'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September1993 and May2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his friends and fami ...

'', a girl that came between the show's star couple. Cardellini starred in the first season of the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

series ''

The Lot ''The Lot'' is an American comedy-drama series that aired for two seasons and 17 episodes on the AMC from 1999 to 2001. It profiled the fictional studio Sylver Screen Pictures during the 1930s and the pursuits of its classic stars (such as Bar ...

'' in 1999, and spent the summer in Europe as part of a touring production of ''Lancelot'', a fourteenth-century Dutch tragedy. Linda Cardellini onstage

Cardellini had her first major success when she landed one of the starring roles in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

series ''

'', which debuted during the 1999–2000 season. As Lindsay Weir, an honor student in the midst of an identity crisis, Cardellini earned positive response that subsequently catapulted her to fame. Cardellini starred in the live-action adaptation of ''

'' in 2002, in which she played the cartoon character Velma Dinkley. She later reprised the role of Velma in 2004's '' Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed''. She joined the cast of the hospital drama '' ER'' in 2003 as Samantha Taggart, a free-spirited nurse. Cardellini acted for six seasons on ''ER'', until the series finale, " And in the End...", and with the cast won the

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and cla ...

ensemble ''Icon Award'' in 2009. Linda Cardellini Deauville 2011

Her other film work includes roles in ''

Dead Man on Campus ''Dead Man on Campus'' is a 1998 black comedy film starring Tom Everett Scott and Mark-Paul Gosselaar. It centers on the urban legend that a student gets straight As if their roommate commits suicide (''see'' pass by catastrophe). Two failing ...

'', '' Strangeland'', ''

Good Burger ''Good Burger'' is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by Dan Schneider with Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert. Starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, it is based on the comedy sketch of the same name on the Nick ...

'', ''

'' (for which she was nominated for the ensemble GothamGotham Awards Nominations Announced
. FilmMakerMagazine.com, October 25, 2005. and

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

awards), and a starring role in the

Happy Madison Happy Madison Productions is an American film and television production company founded in 1999 by Adam Sandler, which is best known for its comedy films. Happy Madison takes its name from the films ''Happy Gilmore'' and ''Billy Madison'', two ...

film '' Grandma's Boy'' as Samantha. She was the voice of Ursula in the

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...

video game ''

Gladius ''Gladius'' () is a Latin word meaning "sword" (of any type), but in its narrow sense it refers to the sword of ancient Roman foot soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those of the Greeks, called '' xiphe'' (plural; singular ''xi ...

'' and played the voice of Bliss Goode on the ABC animated series ''

The Goode Family ''The Goode Family'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Goode Family'') is a short-lived American adult animated television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from May 27 to August 7, 2009. The series was created by Mike Judge, the creator of MTV's '' ...

''. In 2007, Cardellini was chosen to play lovelorn Clara in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

miniseries ''

Comanche Moon ''Comanche Moon'' (1997) is a western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the fourth and final book he published in the ''Lonesome Dove'' series. In terms of chronology, it is the second installment of the narrative. A Comanche Moon ...

'', a prequel to 1989's ''

Lonesome Dove ''Lonesome Dove'' is a 1985 Western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the first published book of the ''Lonesome Dove'' series, but the third installment in the series chronologically. The story revolves around the relationships b ...

''. In 2010 and 2011, Cardellini returned to the stage with the Dr. God comedy group in Los Angeles and San Francisco, appeared in ''

'' and ''Super'', and starred in the independent film ''Return''. She appeared with cast members and producers of ''

'' and ''

Undeclared ''Undeclared'' is an American sitcom created by Judd Apatow, which aired on Fox during the 2001–02 season. The show has developed a cult following, and in 2012, ''Entertainment Weekly'' listed it at #16 in the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the P ...

'' at the

Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York City, New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, ...

PaleyFest on March 12, 2011. From June 15, 2012, to February 15, 2016, she was the voice of Wendy on the Disney Channel show ''

''. Cardellini voice acts periodically on the podcast and live show ''

The Thrilling Adventure Hour ''The Thrilling Adventure Hour'' was a staged production and podcast in the style of old time radio that was held monthly at Largo, a Los Angeles nightclub located in the former Coronet Theatre. The show ran from March 2005 to April 2015. Each ...

'', on the ''Sparks Nevada: Marshal on Mars'' segments. In 2013, she was chosen to play Sylvia Rosen, a love interest of

Don Draper Donald Francis Draper, born Richard “Dick” Whitman, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the AMC television series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), portrayed by Jon Hamm. Up to the Season 3 finale, Draper was creative director of ficti ...

on ''

''. For her performance on ''Mad Men'', she received a nomination for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a gues ...

. In 2015, she played Hawkeye's wife Laura Barton in '' Avengers: Age of Ultron,'' a role she reprised in the 2019 sequel '' Avengers: Endgame'', which was briefly the highest-grossing film of all time. Starting in 2015, she joined

Kyle Chandler Kyle Martin Chandler (born September 17, 1965) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut in a 1988 television film, '' Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story'', Chandler's first regular television role was in the ABC drama '' Hom ...

on a new

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

drama series ''

'', from the creators of ''

Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

''. The show was cancelled in 2016, and ended after its third season. That same year, she also had a starring role as Sara Whitaker in the comedy film '' Daddy's Home''. In 2017, she reprised her role in the sequel film ''

''. In August 2018, Cardellini was cast to co-star with

Christina Applegate Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. As a child actress, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film an ...

's dark comedy series '' Dead to Me''. It premiered on May 3, 2019. For her performance, she received critical acclaim and a nomination for the

. That same year, she co-starred with

Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. R (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor, writer, director, producer, musician, and multimedia artist. Born and raised in the State of New York to a Danish father and American mother, he also lived in Argentin ...

and

Mahershala Ali Mahershala Ali (; born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore, February 16, 1974) is an American actor. He has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. ''Time'' magazine named him one of th ...

in the film '' Green Book'', which won the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category ...

. In 2019, she starred in the

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

''. In 2020, Cardellini appeared in the biographical drama film '' Capone'' as

Mae Capone Mary Josephine Capone ( Coughlin; April 11, 1897 – April 16, 1986) was the Irish-American wife of gangster Al Capone. Early life Mary "Mae" Josephine Coughlin was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Bridget Gorman and Michael (Mike) Coughlin o ...

, the wife of the title character. In 2021, she reprised her role of Laura Barton in the

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...

show '' Hawkeye'', which premiered on

in November 2021.

Personal life

Cardellini dated her ''Freaks and Geeks'' co-star

Jason Segel Jason Jordan Segel ( ; born January 18, 1980) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Marshall Eriksen in the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'', as well as for his work with director and pr ...

for several years following the show's cancellation in 2000. In October 2011, she and her boyfriend Steven Rodriguez announced her pregnancy. She gave birth to their daughter in February 2012. She and Rodriguez became engaged in June 2013.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cardellini, Linda 1975 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from California American film actresses American people of German descent American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent American people of Scottish descent American television actresses American video game actresses American voice actresses Contestants on American game shows Living people Loyola Marymount University alumni People from Redwood City, California