Elizabeth McGovern

Elizabeth Lee McGovern (born July 18, 1961) is an American actress. She has received three Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Satellite Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, among numerous other career plaudits and honors.

Born in Evanston, Illinois on July 18, 1961, McGovern spent most of her early life in Los Angeles. After attending the American Conservatory Theater and the Juilliard School, she made her feature film debut in Ordinary People (1980). For her role as Evelyn Nesbit in the film adaptation of Ragtime (1981), she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She subsequently had lead roles in a number of major studio films, including Once Upon a Time in America (1984), She's Having a Baby (1987), The Bedroom Window (1987), The Handmaid's Tale (1990), and The Wings of the Dove (1997).

In 2007, McGovern, after years of studying guitar, formed the musical group Sadie and the Hotheads, with whom she has released four studio albums since 2016. She gained further international attention for her portrayal of Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, in the British drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award. She reprised her role as Cora in the subsequent films Downton Abbey (2019), Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025).