Elizabeth McGovern (born July 18, 1961) is an American film, television, and theater actress. In 1980, while studying at Juilliard, McGovern was offered a part in her first film, Ordinary People, in which she played the girlfriend of troubled teenager Timothy Hutton. The following year she completed her education as an actress at the American Conservatory Theatre and at The Juilliard School, and began to appear in plays, first Off-Broadway and later in famous theaters. In 1981, she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Evelyn Nesbit in the film Ragtime. In 1984, she starred in Sergio Leone's gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America as Robert De Niro's romantic interest, Deborah Gelly. In 1989, she played Mickey Rourke's girlfriend in Johnny Handsome, directed by Walter Hill, and the same year she appeared as a rebellious lesbian in Volker Schlöndorff's thriller The Handmaid's Tale.

KNOWN FOR

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2019
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
2007
The Kelly Clarkson Show
2022
Modern Family
2011
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
2012
Agatha Christie's Poirot
2009
American Playhouse
1988
Loose Women
2022
Downton Abbey
2010
A Little Late with Lilly Singh
2019
Tales from the Crypt
1996
Omnibus
1997

FILMOGRAPHY

All
Movies
TV
Acting
94
Writing
1
Producing
1
2027
Seasons
· unreleased
2025
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
as Cora Crawley
2025
Downton Abbey Celebrates the Grand Finale
as Self
2025
Talamasca: The Secret Order
as Helen
2025
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
as Self - Guest
2024
And Mrs.
as Margaret
2022
Downton Abbey: A New Era
as Cora Crawley
2022
The Kelly Clarkson Show
as Self
2022
Loose Women
as Self
2021
Big Fat Quiz
as Self - Guest
2019
The Chaperone
as Norma
2019
Downton Abbey
as Cora Crawley
2019
JFK Jr. and Carolyn's Wedding: The Lost Tapes
as Self (archive footage)
2019
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
as Self - Guest
2019
War of the Worlds
as Helen Brown
2019
A Little Late with Lilly Singh
as Self
2018
The Commuter
as Karen MacCauley
2017
The Wife
as Elaine Mozell
2016
The Queen At 90
as Narrator
2016
Showing Roots
as Shirley
2015
Swung
as Dolly Adams
2015
Unexpected
as Carolyn
2015
Woman in Gold
as Judge Florence-Marie Cooper
2014
Civil War: The Untold Story
as Narrator (voice)
2014
The Kumars
as Self
2012
Cheerful Weather for the Wedding
as Mrs. Thatcham
2012
Screen Goddesses
as Narrator
2012
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
as Self
2011
Angels Crest
as Jane
2011
Wallis Simpson: The Secret Letters
as Wallis Simpson (Voice)
2011
Modern Family
as California Mom (archive footage)
2010
Kick-Ass
as Mrs. Lizewski
2010
Clash of the Titans
as Marmara
2010
Downton Abbey
as Cora Crawley
2009
Agatha Christie's Poirot
as Dame Celia Westholme
2009
10 Minute Tales
as Ex-Wife
2008
Inconceivable
as Tallulah 'Tutu' Williams
2008
Freezing
2008
A Room with a View
as Mrs Honeychurch
2007
Daphne
as Ellen Doubleday
2007
A Room with a View
as Mrs Honeychurch
2007
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
as Faith Sutton
2006
The Truth
as Donna
2006
Three Moons Over Milford
2004
Remembering Ragtime
as Evelyn Nesbit (archive footage)
2003
Thursday the 12th
as Candice Hopper
2003
The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire
as Helen Shaw
2002
Buffalo Soldiers
as Mrs. Berman
2001
Hawkins
as Susie Hawkins
2001
The Flamingo Rising
as Edna Lee
2001
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Edna Lee
2000
The House of Mirth
as Mrs. Carry Fisher
2000
Manila
as Elizabeth
1999
The Scarlet Pimpernel
as Marguerite Blakeney
1998
The Man with Rain in His Shoes
as Diane
1998
The Misadventures of Margaret
as Till Turner
1997
The Wings of the Dove
as Susan Stringham
1997
Clover
as Sara Kate
1997
Performance
as Margaret Hyman
1997
Omnibus
as Self
1996
The Summer of Ben Tyler
as Celia Rayburn
1996
Broken Glass
as Margaret Hyman
1996
Tales from the Crypt
as Laura Kendall
1996
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Celia
1995
Wings of Courage
as Noëlle Guillaumet
1995
Broken Trust
as Janice Dillon
1995
If Not for You
as Jessie Kent
1994
The Favor
as Emily
1993
King of the Hill
as Lydia
1993
The Changeling
as Beatrice-Joanna
1993
Me and Veronica
as Fanny
1993
Performance
as Beatrice-Joanna
1992
Tales from Hollywood
as Helen Schwartz
1992
Performance
as Helen Schwartz
1992
American Playhouse
as Helen Schwartz
1991
Ashenden
as Aileen Somerville
1990
A Shock to the System
as Stella Anderson
1990
The Handmaid's Tale
as Moira
1990
Women and Men: Stories of Seduction
as Vicki (segment "The Man in the Brooks Brothers Shirt")
1990
Tune in Tomorrow...
as Elena Quince
1989
Johnny Handsome
as Donna McCarty
1988
She's Having a Baby
as Kristy Briggs
1988
American Playhouse
as Mary Dalton
1987
The Bedroom Window
as Denise
1986
Native Son
as Mary Dalton
1984
Once Upon a Time in America
as Deborah
1984
Racing with the Moon
as Caddie Winger
1984
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
as Snow White
1984
Faerie Tale Theatre
as Snow White
1983
Lovesick
as Chloe Allen
1981
Ragtime
as Evelyn Nesbit
1981
Chytilová Versus Forman
as Self
1980
Ordinary People
as Jeannine Pratt
1979
California Fever