Elizabeth Banks

Biography

Elizabeth Banks (born February 10, 1974) is an American actress, producer and director. She is known for playing Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games film series (2012–2015) and Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the Pitch Perfect film series (2012–2017). She made her directorial film debut with Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), whose $69 million opening-weekend gross set a record for a first-time director. She went on to direct, write, produce, and star in the action comedy film Charlie's Angels (2019). She also directed and produced the horror comedy film Cocaine Bear (2023). Banks founded the film and television production company Brownstone Productions in October 2002, with her husband Max Handelman.

Banks made her film debut in the low-budget independent film Surrender Dorothy (1998). She has appeared in the films Wet Hot American Summer (2001), Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007), The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Invincible (2006), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), Role Models (2008), The Next Three Days (2010), Man on a Ledge (2012), Movie 43 (2013), The Lego Movie (2014) and its 2019 sequel, Love & Mercy (2014), Walk of Shame (2014), Magic Mike XXL (2015), Power Rangers (2017), and The Beanie Bubble (2023).

CritifyHub Reviews Featuring Elizabeth Banks

Dystopia in Sharp Focus: The Hunger Games’ Cinematic Rebellion

on The Hunger Games | Jul 24, 2025

The Hunger Games (2012), directed by Gary Ross, transforms Suzanne Collins’ novel into a visually arresting and emotionally resonant dystopian spectacle, leveraging its incisive world-building and Jen... Read more

Hooves of Hope: Seabiscuit’s Quiet Triumph Over Despair

on Seabiscuit | Jul 13, 2025

In Seabiscuit (2003), director Gary Ross crafts a narrative that transcends the racetrack, weaving a tapestry of human resilience through the lens of an underdog thoroughbred. The film, adapted from L... Read more