Carrie Alexandra Coon (born January 24, 1981) is an American actress. In television, she is known for her starring roles as grieving mother Nora Durst in the HBO drama series '' The Leftovers'' (2014–2017) and as

Gloria Burgle Gloria Burgle is a fictional character in the FX television series '' Fargo''. She is the female protagonist of the third season and is portrayed by actress Carrie Coon. Character overview At the beginning of the third season, Gloria is the ch ...

in the third season of the FX

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

'' Fargo'' (2017). She won the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama for both performances, won the

Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series The Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series is one of the award categories presented annually by the Critics' Choice Television Awards (BTJA) to recognize the work done by television actresses. It was introdu ...

for ''The Leftovers'' and was nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for ''Fargo''. She also had a leading role in the second season of the anthology drama series '' The Sinner'' (2018), and is known for playing Bertha Russell in the HBO series ''

The Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...

''. On stage, Coon was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

for her performance in the 2012 revival of ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'' She has also appeared in numerous films, including the psychological thriller '' Gone Girl'' (2014), the political drama '' The Post'' (2017), the heist thriller '' Widows'' (2018), the superhero film '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), the period drama '' The Nest'' (2020), and the supernatural comedy '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' (2021).

Early life

Coon was born in

Copley, Ohio Copley is an unincorporated community in Summit County, in the U.S. state of Ohio. History Variant names were Greenfield and Copley Center. The first settlement at Copley Center was made around 1819. The community was named for its location nea ...

on January 24, 1981, to Paula (''née'' Ploenes) and John Coon. She has an older sister, an older brother, and two younger brothers. She graduated from Copley High School in 1999, next attending the University of Mount Union, graduating in 2003 with a BA in English and Spanish. In 2006, she earned her M.F.A. in acting from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

Career

Early career

Coon began her career in regional theater. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Coon was immediately recruited by the Madison Repertory Theatre and made her professional stage debut in a production of ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 thr ...

''. After her debut with the Madison Repertory Theatre, Coon joined the American Players Theatre and stayed with them for four seasons. Coon moved to Chicago in 2008 and made her Chicago debut with a production of '' Brontë'' at Remy Bumppo Theatre Company. Coon commuted between Chicago and Wisconsin for several years, alternating between Chicago productions, productions in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, and seasons with the American Players Theatre. During these years, Coon provided for herself by performing

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...

work for a video game company based in Wisconsin. Coon's breakthrough came in 2010 when she was cast as Honey in the

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on ...

production of ''

'' The role immediately resulted in further parts in Chicago productions, and she followed the production to performances in Washington, D.C. and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, making her

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 ...

debut. For her performance, she won a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

and received a

nomination. Coon made her screen debut in an episode of the short-lived NBC series ''

The Playboy Club ''The Playboy Club'' is an American historical crime drama television series that aired on NBC from September 19 to October 3, 2011. Set in 1961, the series centers on the employees (known as Bunnies) of the original Playboy Club operating in C ...

'' in 2011. She later guest-starred on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' Ironside'', and ''

Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can ...

''.

Breakthrough with ''Gone Girl'' and ''The Leftovers''

Following her Tony Award nomination, in 2014 Coon was cast as one of the main characters in the HBO drama series '' The Leftovers'', alongside Justin Theroux,

Amy Brenneman Amy Frederica Brenneman (born June 22, 1964) is an American actress and producer. She worked extensively in television, coming to prominence as Detective Janice Licalsi in the ABC police drama series ''NYPD Blue'' (1993–1994). Brenneman ne ...

, and Ann Dowd. That same year, she made her film debut in '' Gone Girl'', based on the 2012 novel of same name and directed by

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. F ...

. In early 2015, Coon starred in the lead role of the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

production of ''Placebo'' at

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...

. She also participated in readings for her husband Tracy Letts' 2015–2016 season play '' Mary Page Marlowe'' and was in talks to perform in the production in Chicago if her filming schedule with ''The Leftovers'' permits; in December 2015, it was announced that Coon would be one of six actresses portraying the title character in ''Mary Page Marlowe'' for the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago from March to May 2016. In April 2015, Coon left

The Gersh Agency The Gersh Agency (also known as simply Gersh) is a talent and literary agency established in 1949 by Phil Gersh, based in Beverly Hills, California and New York City. The Gersh Agency is the fourth largest talent agency in the United States. H ...

for United Talent Agency. In October and November 2015, Coon filmed the movie '' Strange Weather'' alongside actress

Holly Hunter Holly Patricia Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. For her performance as Ada McGrath in the 1993 drama film '' The Piano'', Hunter won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She earned three additional Academy Award nominations for ...

for director

Katherine Dieckmann Katherine Dieckmann is an American film and music video director known for her work with R.E.M. and the feature films ''Good Baby'' and ''Diggers''. Music video filmography *" Shiny Happy People" by R.E.M. *" Stand" by R.E.M. *" Your Ghost" b ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. In December 2015, she filmed the horror romance ''The Keeping Hours'' for director Karen Moncrieff and Blumhouse Productions. Coon starred in the lead role of

in the third season of the FX

'' Fargo''. She received a nomination for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her role and won the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama for both ''Fargo'' and ''The Leftovers''. In 2017, she played real life journalist

Meg Greenfield Mary Ellen Greenfield (December 27, 1930 – May 13, 1999), known as Meg Greenfield, was an American editorial writer who worked for the '' Washington Post'' and '' Newsweek''. She was also a Washington, D.C. insider, known for her wit. Greenfie ...

in the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

-directed historical drama film '' The Post''. In 2018, Coon co-starred in the

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and ...

heist thriller film '' Widows''. Coon provided the voice and motion capture for Proxima Midnight, a member of the Black Order and a child of

Thanos Thanos is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer-artist Jim Starlin, and first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 ( cover date February 1973). An Eternal– Deviant warl ...

, in the

Russo brothers Anthony Russo (born February 3, 1970) and Joseph Russo (born July 18, 1971), collectively known as the Russo brothers (), are American directors, producers, and screenwriters. They direct most of their work together. They are best known for dir ...

-directed superhero film '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018). On April 30, 2020, Coon joined the cast of the HBO drama series ''

'' as Bertha Russell, replacing

Amanda Peet Amanda Peet (born January 11, 1972) is an American actress. She began her career with small parts on television, and made her feature film debut in '' Animal Room'' (1995). Her portrayal of Jill St. Claire in '' The Whole Nine Yards'' (2000) bro ...

. She received a

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series ...

nomination for Best Actress at the

9th Canadian Screen Awards The 9th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held in the week of May 17 to 20, 2021, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2020.Barry Hertz, "How one Canadian arts institution is rebuilding amid the p ...

in 2021, for her work in the film '' The Nest''.

Personal life

Coon married actor and playwright

Tracy Letts Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received ...

in 2013. They have a son who was born in 2018 and a daughter born in 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coon, Carrie 1981 births Living people American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses University of Mount Union alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Theatre World Award winners 21st-century American actresses People from Copley, Ohio Actresses from Ohio Obie Award recipients Motion capture actresses