Molly Ephraim (born May 22, 1986) is an American actress who has appeared in films, television, and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, Off-Broadway, and regional theater productions. She is best known for her role as Mandy Baxter on the

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 ...

sitcom '' Last Man Standing'' during its original run (2011–2017). Ephraim has also appeared on a number of other TV series, including ''

Brockmire ''Brockmire'' is an American sitcom that premiered on April 5, 2017 on IFC. The show stars Hank Azaria, Amanda Peet, and Tyrel Jackson Williams, with J. K. Simmons guest starring in the third season. Azaria plays a baseball play-by-play announc ...

'' (2017), '' Halt and Catch Fire'' (2017), and '' Casual'' (2018). Ephraim portrayed Irene Kelly in the

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...

movie '' The Front Runner'' (2018), her second collaboration with her '' Last Man Standing'' co-star

Kaitlyn Dever Kaitlyn Rochelle Dever (; born December 21, 1996) is an American actress. She gained recognition for her roles in the FX crime drama television series '' Justified'' (2011–2015), the ABC/ Fox sitcom '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021), the N ...

. She also appeared on

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 ...

's ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

'' as Della Street’s lover Hazel Prystock. She plays Maybelle Fox on the Amazon series ''

A League of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena ...

''.

Early life

Ephraim was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, and was raised Jewish.Steinberg, Lisa
"Molly Ephraim – Bad Jews"
starrymag, June 9, 2015 She grew up in

Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the Englis ...

. Ephraim performed in shows at the

Bucks County Playhouse THE BUCKS COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE The Bucks County Playhouse is located in New Hope, Pennsylvania. When the ''Hope Mills'' burned in 1790, the grist mills were rebuilt as the ''New Hope Mills,'' by Benjamin Parry. The town was renamed for the mills. ...

, and in professional productions at the

Prince Music Theater The Prince Theater is a non-profit theatrical producing organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and specializing in music theatre, including opera, music drama, musical comedy and experimental forms. Founded in 1984 as the American ...

and at the Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia. In 2008, Ephraim graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in Religious Studies, after going to Central Bucks East High School. At Princeton she was a member of the

Triangle Club The Princeton Triangle Club is a theater troupe at Princeton University. Founded in 1891, it is one of the oldest collegiate theater troupes in the United States. Triangle premieres an original student-written musical every year, and then takes ...

and performed in and choreographed various shows for Princeton University Players and Theatre Intime."Rising star, Questions and answers with actress Molly Ephraim ’08"
princeton.edu, March 5, 2008

Career

Theater

Ephraim made her

debut as Little Red Riding Hood in the Broadway revival of ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

'' in 2002, receiving a

Drama League Award The Drama League Awards, created in 1922, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing. Each May, the awards ...

nomination. She later played Bielke in a Broadway revival of '' Fiddler on the Roof'' (2004). Off-Broadway, Ephraim played Rachel Stein in ''End Days'' at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in 2009. She played Olive in ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...

'' at the Barrington Stage Company in 2008, in a remounting of the production with new direction by Jeremy Dobrish, and at the

North Shore Music Theatre North Shore Music Theatre is the largest operating regional theater in New England. It is located in Beverly, Massachusetts and is one of the few remaining theatre-in-the-round stages left in the United States. The theater is owned by Massachuset ...

. In 2010, she played

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

in ''

The Diary of Anne Frank ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherl ...

'' at the

Westport Country Playhouse Westport Country Playhouse, is a not-for-profit regional theater in Westport, Connecticut, Westport, Connecticut. It was founded in 1931 by Lawrence Langner, a New York theater producer. Langner remodeled an 1830s tannery with a Broadway-quality ...

.Gates, Anita
"Review. In the Attic With Anne Frank"
''The New York Times'', October 8, 2010 In 2015, Ephraim appeared as "Daphna Feygenbaum" in Joshua Harmon's ''

Bad Jews ''Bad Jews'' is a dark comedy play by Joshua Harmon. After a beloved grandfather dies in New York, leaving a treasured piece of religious jewelry that he succeeded in hiding even from the Nazis during the Holocaust, cousins fight over not only ...

'' at the

Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse (or the Geffen) is a not-for-profit theater company founded by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhouse is located ...

in Los Angeles.

Film and television

Ephraim appeared as a series regular in the role of Mandy Baxter, daughter of series' lead Mike Baxter (portrayed by

Tim Allen Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953), known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'' (1991–1999) and Mike Baxter on the ABC/ ...

), on the

sitcom '' Last Man Standing'', which premiered on October 11, 2011 and originally ended in March 2017, canceled after six seasons. The series was revived by

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

in May 2018, but Ephraim opted not to return for the show's seventh season, with

Molly McCook Molly Jane McCook (born July 30, 1990) is an American stage and TV actress. She played a leading role in Fox's '' Last Man Standing''. Early life McCook was born on July 30, 1990, in Los Angeles. She is daughter of actor John McCook and actres ...

recast in the role. Ephraim has appeared on several other television series, including ''

Royal Pains ''Royal Pains'' (stylized ℞oyalPains) is an American comedy-drama television series that ran on the USA Network from 2009 to 2016. The series was based in part on actual concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies. The ca ...

'' (2009), ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' (2008), the

Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian-American retired actor. Beginning his career in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1 ...

-produced pilot ''Hench at Home'' (2003), the

pilot ''

The Wonderful Maladys ''The Wonderful Maladys'' is a HBO television pilot written by Charles Randolph, directed by Alan Taylor, and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. HBO did not pick up the series. Plot The show was to have followed three adult siblings in New York ...

'' (2009), and has had recurring roles on ''

'' (2017), '' Halt and Catch Fire'' (2017), '' Casual'' (2018) and ''

'' (2020). Ephraim portrayed Wendy Greenhut in the film ''

College Road Trip ''College Road Trip'' is a 2008 American family comedy film directed by Roger Kumble and starring Martin Lawrence, Kym Whitley, Raven-Symoné, Brenda Song, Margo Harshman, and Donny Osmond. The film centers on college-bound teen Melanie Port ...

'' (2008) and Ali Rey in the film ''

Paranormal Activity 2 ''Paranormal Activity 2'' is a 2010 American found footage supernatural horror film directed by Tod Williams and written by Michael R. Perry, Christopher Landon and Tom Pabst. The film is a prequel to the 2007 film ''Paranormal Activity'', b ...

'' (2010) and the spin-off film '' Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones'' (2014)."Ephraim Biography"
tcm.com, retrieved August 24, 2018 Ephraim appeared in a supporting role in the 2018 biographical political drama '' The Front Runner'', portraying Irene Kelly. She also played Gypsy Rose Blanchard's attorney in '' The Act'' on

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

. As of August 12, 2022, Ephraim plays Maybelle Fox on the Amazon series ''

''.

Personal life

Ephraim was married in September 2021. Her husband, Evan, works at a software company. On December 1, 2021, Ephraim gave birth to the couple's first child, daughter Zia.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ephraim, Molly Living people 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Philadelphia American child actresses American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses American television actresses People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania Princeton University alumni Jewish American actresses 21st-century American Jews 1986 births