Elizabeth Olsen
Birthdate: Feb 16, 1989
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA
Known to mavens of the Marvel Comics Universe as Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch, Elizabeth Olsen (birthname: Elizabeth Chase Olsen) is a fast-rising actor whose range and depth were immediately apparent in her feature debut as the survivor of a cult in Antonio Campos’ Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011).
With this widely acclaimed performance, Olsen immediately shed any association—positive or negative—with her world-famous clothing designer sisters, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and appeared primed for an interesting career in serious American independent cinema.
This immediately happened with filmmaker Josh Radnor and his comedy, Liberal Arts (2012). Olsen then found herself acting alongside Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver in the Spanish-made thriller Red Lights (2012), and with director Spike Lee and star Josh Brolin in Lee’s remake of Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy (2013), the same year Olsen played Jack Kerouac’s wife in Kill Your Darlings, about the private lives of the Beat Generation poets.
But it wasn’t soon until the studios started calling for Elizabeth Olsen. It started with Godzilla (2014), opposite Bryan Cranston, opening the door for the MCU. Cast as Scarlet Witch, Olsen’s profile transformed into a set of mega-blockbuster Marvel hits: first, in a teaser appearance in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), followed by prominent appearances in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015); Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and a starring/title role in Disney’s highly acclaimed streaming series, WandaVision (2021) with Paul Bettany.
Elizabeth Olsen is hardly done with Scarlet Witch: She proceeds to work her wonders in the Doctor Strange sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) with Benedict Cumberbatch. Olsen’s non-MCU work tends to be overshadowed, but it includes stellar work in Taylor Sheridan’s strong debut feature, Wind River (2017) with Jeremy Renner, and the comedy Ingrid Goes West (2017) with Aubrey Plaza.
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Personal Details
Elizabeth Olsen was born in the San Fernando Valley community of Sherman Oaks to parents David and Jarnette Olsen. Her sisters are internationally known fashion designers/models Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and her brother is Trent.
Olsen’s parents divorced when she was 7 in 1996. Elizabeth Olsen attended Campbell Hall School in Sherman Oaks, and did her theater studies at both NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and the Moscow Art Theatre School, with support from the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. She and actor Boyd Holbrook were engaged in 2014 but split less than a year later. Elizabeth Olsen married songwriter-actor Robbie Arnett in 2021; the couple has no children. Her height is 5’ 6”.
Filmography
actor
Previous (7)
- 2022 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessasWanda Maximoff
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Doctor Strange teams up with a mysterious teenage girl from his dreams who can travel across multiverses, to battle multiple threats, including other-universe versions of himself, which threaten to wipe out millions across the mul...
- 2019 | Avengers: EndgameasWanda Maximoff
Avengers: Endgame
After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to reverse Thanos' actions and restore balance to the universe.
- 2018 | Avengers: Infinity WarasWanda Maximoff
Avengers: Infinity War
The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
- 2017 | Ingrid Goes WestasTaylor Sloane
Ingrid Goes West
An unhinged social media stalker moves to LA and ingratiates herself into the life of an Instagram star.
- 2017 | Wind RiverasJane Banner
Wind River
A wildlife officer, who is haunted by a tragedy that happened because of him, teams up with an FBI agent in solving a murder of a young woman on a Wyoming Native American reservation and hopes to get redemption from his past regrets.
- 2014 |
- 2012 | Silent HouseasSarah
Silent House
A girl is trapped inside her family's lakeside retreat and becomes unable to contact the outside world as supernatural forces haunt the house with mysterious energy and consequences.
Some Facts About Elizabeth Olsen
Career Crisis: Witnessing first-hand the media frenzy involving sister Mary-Kate’s eating disorder episode, Elizabeth Olsen considered quitting acting and show business.
Fashion Label: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen named their clothing line, Elizabeth and James, in part after sister Elizabeth Olsen (as well as their brother James).
