She's perhaps best known for her role as Janis Ian in cult film Mean Girls, but she's also highly versatile with many appearances in film and television. She starred on the critically acclaimed Masters of Sex as Virginia Johnson, for which she gained notable press.
She married English actor Tom Riley in 2017, and gave birth to their son in 2021.
Film Roles
- 2004 Mean Girls as Janis Ian
- 2008 Cloverfield as Marlena Diamond
- 2008 My Best Friend's Girl as Ami
- 2010 Hot Tub Time Machine as April Drennan
- 2010 127 Hours as Sonja Ralston
- 2012 Bachelorette as Gena
- 2012 Item 47 as Clare
- 2012 Save The Date as Sarah
- 2014 The Interview as Agent Lacy
- 2016 Now You See Me 2 as Lula May
- 2018 Extinction (2018) as Alice
- 2023 Cobweb as Carol
Television Roles
- 1999–2000 Freaks and Geeks as Sara
- 2001, 2003 Smallville as Tina Greer
- 2003 The Pitts as Faith Pitt
- 2005 Tru Calling as Avery Bishop
- 2006–2009 American Dad! as Debbie
- 2006–2007 The Class (2006) as Kat Warbler
- 2008 True Blood as Amy Burley
- 2009–2010 Party Down as Casey Klein
- 2012 New Girl as Julia
- 2013–2016 Masters of Sex as Virginia Johnson
- 2018 Das Boot
- 2019 Castle Rock as Annie Wilkes
- 2021 Inside Job as Reagan Ridley
- 2022 Fleishman Is In Trouble as Libby Epstein
Tropes
- Ability over Appearance: The Mean Girls producers thought Lizzy Caplan was too pretty for "art freak" Janis, but eventually cast her due to considering her the best actress that auditioned.
- Brainy Brunette: In most of her roles she's a very intelligent woman, and has her natural brunette hair.
- The Cast Showoff: She sings cover versions of "You Don't Know Me" and "What the World Needs Now is Love" for Masters of Sex.
- Contralto of Strength: She has a surprisingly deep voice, especially for her younger roles, and has played the Action Girl a few times.
- Deadpan Snarker: Watch any interview with her. It's little wonder she often plays snarky Ensemble Dark Horse types.
- Ms. Fanservice: In both Masters of Sex and True Blood she has extensive scenes topless or having sex.
