50 facts about Elizabeth Banks: earned an Emmy Award nomination in 2011 for ‘Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series’

Banks met her husband, sportswriter and producer Max Handelman, on her first day at college. Learn 50 facts about Elizabeth Banks.

1. Elizabeth Banks has appeared as 'Effie Trinket' in the international hit "The Hunger Games, "What to Expect When You're Expecting," "Man on a Ledge" opposite Sam Worthington and "People Like Us" opposite Chris Pine and Michelle Pfeiffer.

2. She will next be seen in "Mockingjay Part 2" the highly-anticipated finale to "The Hunger Games" and will reprise her role as Effie Trinket. The film is set to release on November 20, 2015.

3. She has also lent her voice in "Moonbeam City", releasing on September 16, 2015, and "The Lego Movie" (2014).

4. She was recently seen in "Magic Mike XXL" opposite Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, and Jada Pinkett Smith.

5. She was recently seen in the independent film, "Love & Mercy" directed by Bill Pohlad which will take an unconventional look at the life of the celebrated leader of The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, and his legendary battle with mental illness.

6. She was also recently seen in "Every Secret Thing" directed by Amy Berg and based on the best-selling novel by Laura Lippman. The story follows a detective who looks to unravel a mystery surrounding missing children and the two young women who are prime suspects.

7. In May 2015, she was seen in Universal Pictures' "Pitch Perfect 2" as Gail.

8. Banks directed and produced the film with her husband, Max Handelman, through their company, Brownstone Productions.

9. Banks is slated to reprise her roles as Gail in "Pitch Perfect 3" in July 2017. Currently, she is in talks to direct "Red Queen."

10. She also starred opposite Russell Crowe in "The Next Three Days" in 2010.

11. In 2008, Banks received critical acclaim for her role as 'First Lady Laura Bush' opposite Josh Brolin in Oliver Stone's "W". The impressive cast included James Cromwell, Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Burstyn and Jeffrey Wright. In Kevin Smith's "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," Banks (Miri) and Zack (Seth) played two broke friends who decide to cure their financial ills by making an X-rated movie.

12. Banks' additional feature credits include her breakthrough roles in the award Academy Award winning films "Seabiscuit," in which she starred as 'Marcela Howard' opposite Jeff Bridges and Tobey Maguire, and in Steve Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can."

13. She has also appeared in "Role Models," "Meet Dave," "Invincible," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Fred Claus," "Sisters," "Slither," "Heights," "The Baxter," "The Trade," "Ordinary Sinner," "The Uninvited," "Daltry Calhoun," "Sexual Life", John Singleton's "Shaft" with Samuel L. Jackson and cult hit "Wet Hot American Summer" starring Janeane Garofalo and David Hyde Pierce.

14. She also appeared as journalist 'Betty Brant,' a role that director Sam Raimi created for her, in Columbia Pictures' three blockbuster "Spider-Man" films with Tobey Maguire as the title character.

15. On the small screen, Bank earned an Emmy Award nomination in 2011 for 'Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series' for her performance as "Avery Jessup on "30 Rock."

16. She has also appeared on ABC's "Modern Family" as Sal and in 2009 on NBC's "Scrubs" as 'Dr. Kim Biggs'.

17. In 2007 she appeared in the CBS mini series "Comanche Moon," Larry McMurtry's prequel to "Lonesome Dove."

18. In addition to producing "Pitch Perfect," Banks also produced Disney's 2009 sci-fi thriller "The Surrogates," starring Bruce Willis, through her company Brownstone Productions.

19. Upcoming projects for Brownstone, which Banks runs with her husband Max Handelman, include "Forever 21," a Dreamworks comedy which Banks will star in and produce; "Too Far From Home," a Universal film about three astronauts who were stranded on the international space station.

20. Her extensive theater credits include many roles in American Conservatory Theatre productions, as well as the Guthrie Theater's production of "Summer & Smoke" directed by David Esbjornson.

21. In 2006 Banks played Cherie, the female lead in William Inge's comedy "Bus Stop," as part of the Williamstown Theater Festival.

22. Originally from Massachusetts, Banks received her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her Graduate Degree at the American Conservatory Theater.

23. She currently resides in Los Angeles.

24. Elizabeth Banks was born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell.

25. Banks made her film debut in the low-budget independent film Surrender Dorothy (1998).

26. In 2014, Banks portrayed the girlfriend and later wife of the Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson, Melinda Ledbetter, in Bill Pohlad's film Love & Mercy.

27. In 2015, she made her directorial debut with Pitch Perfect 2, whose May 15-17 $69M opening weekend gross set a record for a first-time director.

28. She also had recurring roles on Scrubs and Modern Family. In 2015, she reprised her role as Lindsay for the Netflix TV miniseries Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.

29. Banks was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the eldest of four children of Ann (née Wallace) and Mark P. Mitchell.

30. Her father was a factory worker for General Electric.

31. Her mother worked in a bank.

32. She has Irish and British ancestry.

33. Grew up Catholic.

34. Growing up, Banks played baseball and rode horses.

35. She was in Little League when she broke her leg sliding into third.

36. She then tried out for the school play, which was her start in acting.

37. Banks changed her name to avoid confusion with actress Elizabeth Mitchell.

38. In August 2005, at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Banks starred in William Inge's Bus Stop as Cherie, the sexy, blonde, aspiring nightclub singer.

39. In 2005, she appeared on the series Stella.

40. In May 2006, she had a role in the season five finale of the NBC sitcom Scrubs as Dr. Kim Briggs, the love interest of J.D. (Zach Braff).

41. In 2006, Banks appeared in the American football drama film Invincible, in which she played Mark Wahlberg's love interest.

42. Later, she and co-star Wahlberg were nominated for the "Best Kiss" award at the MTV Movie Awards.

43. That same year, she landed the starring role in the comedy-horror film Slither.

44. In 2007, Banks played the female lead in the comedy film Meet Bill, alongside Aaron Eckhart and Jessica Alba.

45. That same year, she had a small role in the Christmas comedy film Fred Claus, co-starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti as Santa's little helper, Charlyne.

46. In 2009, Banks appeared in the thriller The Uninvited, a remake of the Korean horror film A Tale of Two Sisters.

47. Banks met her husband, sportswriter and producer Max Handelman, on her first day at college on September 6, 1992. They were married in 2003.

48. She and her husband had their first child, Felix, who was born through a surrogate in March 2011.

49. In November 2012, Banks announced the birth of another son, Magnus Mitchell, also by surrogate.

50. Banks went through parts of the process of conversion to Judaism, her husband's faith, and studied with rabbis.

Source: elizabethbanks.com, Wikipedia.org