Brian George

Elizabeth Irene Banks is an American actress. Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1974, she competed in the Nickelodeon game show *Finders Keepers* as a child. After graduating from Pittsfield High School, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in 1996. Early roles included *Seabiscuit*, *Heights*, the *Spider-Man* series, and *Wet Hot American Summer*. She gained wider recognition with films like *The 40-Year-Old Virgin* and *Slither*. In 2006, she starred in the Disney film *Invincible* and appeared in the season five finale and season six of *Scrubs*. Later roles included *Meet Bill*, *Fred Claus*, and a remake of *A Tale of Two Sisters*, *The Uninvited*. She also appeared in TV shows such as *Sex and the City*, *Third Watch*, *All My Children*, and *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit*. From 2010-2012, she played Avery Jessup in *30 Rock*. She played Effie Trinket in all the *Hunger Games* films. In 2012, she played Gail in *Pitch Perfect* and reprised the role in subsequent films. She starred in films like *Love & Mercy* and *Walk of Shame*. In 2015, she directed her first feature film, *Pitch Perfect 2*. In 2017, she played Rita Repulsa, the main villain, in the *Power Rangers* film adaptation. In 2003, Banks married Max Handelman, whom she had been with since college, and converted to Judaism. They have two sons, Felix (born 2011) and Magnus (born 2012), via surrogate.