Michelle Lynn Monaghan ( ; born March 23, 1976) is an American actress, best known for her starring roles in ''

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' is a 2005 American neo-noir black comedy mystery thriller film written and directed by Shane Black (in his directorial debut), and starring Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, and Corbin Bernsen. The scrip ...

'' (2005), ''

Gone Baby Gone ''Gone Baby Gone'' is a 2007 American crime thriller film directed by Ben Affleck, in his directorial debut. Affleck co-wrote the screenplay with Aaron Stockard based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. The film stars Casey Affl ...

'' (2007), ''

Made of Honor ''Made of Honor'' (''Made of Honour'' in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and Australia) is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Paul Weiland and written by Adam Sztykiel, Deborah Kaplan, and Harry Elfont. The film stars Patrick ...

'' (2008), ''

Eagle Eye ''Eagle Eye'' is a 2008 American action-thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and with a screenplay by John Glenn (screenwriter), John Glenn, Travis Adam Wright, Hillary Seitz and Dan McDermott from a story by McDermott. The film stars Shia LaB ...

'' (2008), ''

Trucker A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

'' (2008), ''

Source Code In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...

'' (2011), ''

Pixels In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sm ...

'' (2015), and '' Patriots Day'' (2016). She also received recognition for her starring role as Julia Meade in the action spy film series '' Mission: Impossible'', and her appearances in '' Mission: Impossible III'' (2006), '' Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol'' (2011), '' Mission: Impossible – Fallout'' (2018), and '' Echoes'' (2022). On television, Monaghan starred as Maggie Hart in the first season of the anthology crime drama series ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the ...

'' (2014), for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She starred as Sarah Lane in the drama series '' The Path'' (2016–18). She played the role of Eva Geller in the 2020

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 ...

thriller series ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...

''; it was cancelled after one season.

Early life

Monaghan was born in the small town (then a population of about 750) of

Winthrop, Iowa Winthrop is a city in Buchanan County, Iowa, United States. The population was 823 at the time of the 2020 census. History Winthrop was platted in 1857. Geography Winthrop is located at (42.472419, -91.735713). According to the United States ...

, the daughter of Sharon (Hammel) and Robert Monaghan, a factory worker. She has two older brothers, Bob and John. She has mostly Irish and German ancestry, and was raised Catholic. She graduated from East Buchanan High School in 1994. After graduation she moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to study journalism at

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergra ...

and began to model. She modeled in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, as well as in the United States. With one semester remaining to complete her journalism degree in 1999, she left for New York to pursue an acting career. She worked as a model, appearing in several magazines and catalogs, before making her acting debut.

Career

Monaghan's first two credited television appearances, in a supporting role, were as Caroline Busse in episodes of ''

Young Americans ''Young Americans'' is the ninth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 7March 1975 through RCA Records. The album marked a departure from the glam rock style of Bowie's previous albums, showcasing his interest in soul and ...

'', which aired in 2000. She also performed on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' in "Consent", an episode that was broadcast on January 19, 2001, and she made her big-screen debut that same year in ''Perfume,'' playing the part of Henrietta. Her next film, again in a supporting role, was in 2002 in '' Unfaithful'', starring

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

and

Diane Lane Diane Colleen Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at age 14 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film ''A Little Romance''. The two films that could have catapulted her to star ...

. Monaghan got a big-break role in 2002 when she co-starred in the television series ''

Boston Public ''Boston Public'' is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. Set in Boston, the series centers on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school in the Boston Public Schools district. It features ...

'' playing the role of Kimberly Woods. After guest-starring for a season, she returned to film appearing in '' It Runs in the Family'' in 2003, ''

Winter Solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...

'' in 2004, and starring with

Robert Downey Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...

and

Val Kilmer Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...

in ''

'' in 2005. She also appears in ''

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

'' in 2005, but her role in that film was essentially cut, with her scenes viewable on the DVD under "deleted scenes". In 2007 she co-starred with

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...

in '' The Heartbreak Kid'' remake, and with

Casey Affleck Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt (born August 12, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Satellite Award. He beg ...

in ''Gone Baby Gone''. In 2008, she co-starred with

Patrick Dempsey Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor and race car driver. He is best known for his role as neurosurgeon Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in ''Grey's Anatomy''. He had early success as an actor, starring in a number of fil ...

in ''

'', and co-starred with

Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf (; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor, performance artist, and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series ''Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and ...

in ''

''. She starred alongside

Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He beg ...

in ''

''. She played the role of Diane Ford in ''

''.

In 2014 Monaghan starred in the first season of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

anthology series ''

''. In April 2016 Monaghan joined the principal cast of

Shawn Christensen Shawn Christensen is an American musician, filmmaker, podcaster and artist. He is a graduate of Pratt Institute, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration and graphic design. Christensen was the frontman of the indie rock band Ste ...

's independent feature film ''

The Vanishing of Sidney Hall ''The Vanishing of Sidney Hall'' (originally titled ''Sidney Hall'') is a 2017 American mystery drama film directed and co-written by Shawn Christensen and starring Logan Lerman, Elle Fanning, Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Lane and Kyle Chandler. Pr ...

'', which began filming later that month. Nine months later, on January 25, 2017, the film premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. In May 2018 it was announced that Monaghan had been cast in the main role of

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

operative Eva Geller in the

thriller ''

''. The series premiered on Netflix on January 1, 2020 and was cancelled after one season.

Personal life

Monaghan met Australian graphic artist Peter White at a party in 2000. They married in

Port Douglas Port Douglas is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia, approximately 60 km north of Cairns. In the , Port Douglas had a population of 3,504 people. The town's population can often double, however, with the in ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in August 2005 and live in New York. She gave birth to their daughter in 2008, and their son on October 30, 2013.

Filmography

Film

:Key

Television

References

External links

*
Michelle Monaghan interview at reviewgraveyard.com

Profile of Michelle Monaghan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monaghan, Michelle 1976 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Iowa Female models from Iowa American film actresses American people of German descent American people of Irish descent American television actresses Living people People from Buchanan County, Iowa