Elizabeth McGovern Wiki Biography
Elizabeth Lee McGovern was born on 18 July 1961, in Evanston, Illinois USA, and is a musician and actor, probably best known for her Academy Award nominated performance in the film “Ragtime” in which she played Evelyn Nesbit. She was also part of the series “Downtown Abbey” playing Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham. All of her efforts have helped put her net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Elizabeth McGovern? As of early-2017, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $4 million, mostly earned through a successful career in acting, including being nominated for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her performance in “Downtown Abbey”. As she continues her career, it is expected that her wealth will increase.
Elizabeth McGovern Net Worth $4 million
During the play “The Skin of Our Teeth”, an agent saw Elizabeth’s performance and recommended that she take acting lessons. She attended the American Conservatory Theater and later went to The Julliard School in New York City, where in 1980 while still studying, she was offered a part in the film “Ordinary People”, playing the girlfriend of Timothy Hutton’s character. After finishing her education, she appeared in several off-Broadway plays, and the following year she became part of “Ragtime”, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her net worth was well established.
In 1984 McGovern starred in the film “Once Upon a Time in America” as the love interest of Robert De Niro, and was then cast in two more lead roles in “Racing with the Moon” starring Sean Penn and the comedy “Lovesick” appearing as a patient of a psychiatrist played by Dudley Moore. In 1989, she appeared in the Walter Hill film “Johnny Handsome” which starred Mickey Rourke, and later in the year became part of “The Handmaid’s Tale” as a rebellious lesbian. Her next project would be the romantic comedy “She’s Having a Baby”, co-starring with Kevin Bacon, followed by a part in the thriller “The Bedroom Window”, before teaming up with Michael Caine in “A Shock to the System”, and in 1994 starring in “The Favor” alongside Brad Pitt, and would also appear in 20 more films during the 2000s.
For her television projects, she made an appearance in the 2006 episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”. Other projects she has been part of include “Tales from the Crypt”, “The Changeling”, and “Agatha Christie’s Poirot”. In 2008, she was cast in the three part series “Freezing” and would later become part of the highly acclaimed series “Downtown Abbey” which she was a part of from 2010 to 2015.
Additionally, she is also the singer-songwriter of the band Sadie and the Hotheads.
For her theatre work, she’s been a part of numerous productions, including “Painting Churches”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “Three Days of Rain” and “The Shawl”, all of which contributed steadily to her net worth.
For her personal life, it is known that she was engaged to actor Sean Penn when she was 23 years old. In 1992, she married film director Simon Curtis and the couple have two daughters.
| Full Name | Elizabeth McGovern |
| Net Worth | $4 Million |
| Date Of Birth | July 18, 1961 |
| Place Of Birth | Evanston, Illinois, U.S. |
| Height | 1.75 m |
| Profession | Actress |
| Education | Juilliard School, American Conservatory Theater |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Simon Curtis |
| Children | Matilda Curtis, Grace Curtis |
| Parents | William Montgomery McGovern Jr., Katharine Wolcott |
| Siblings | Cammie McGovern, William Montgomery McGovern |
| Twitter | |
| IMDB | |
| Awards | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series |
| Nominations | Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie, Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television, Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Tele… |
| Movies | Once Upon a Time in America, Ragtime, Racing with the Moon, Ordinary People, She’s Having a Baby, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, Johnny Handsome, The Favor, Woman in Gold, The Bedroom Window, Kick-Ass, The Wings of the Dove, Clash of the Titans, Buffalo Soldiers, Angels Crest, A Shock to the Syst… |
| TV Shows | Downton Abbey, Three Moons Over Milford, The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Freezing, If Not for You |
| Quote |
| 1 | I had reconciled myself to being happily out to pasture, a bit. |
| 2 | In today’s world, we all live with the burden of feeling that anything is possible if we’re only clever enough, smart enough, work hard enough. |
| 3 | It’s very tough when two creative people are together. |
| 4 | I don’t believe in villains – just people who channel their energy in the wrong way. |
| 5 | It’s peaceful for people to know how their lives are going to be, pretty much. |
| 6 | I can’t just sit around thinking how lucky I am. |
| 7 | That feeling of being 19 or 20 and ‘hot’ in Hollywood was so intense. |
| 8 | I like writing letters and receiving letters. It’s a shame that we’ve lost the art of letter-writing and saving correspondence. I mourn that. |
| 9 | Now we have to contend with overstimulation and too many opportunities all the time, and too many decisions all the time. |
| 10 | Well, I have a band, “Sadie and the Hotheads”, and we have an album that is already out that is available on our website. |
| 11 | I’ve got my private life – that’s sacred – and I didn’t have that before. |
| 12 | Well, when I moved to England I was making a lot of personal adjustments because I was getting married and starting a family, that sort of thing. |
| 13 | I have a terrible sense of direction. |
| 14 | By definition, an actor’s life is a recipe for regret. There are always roads you could have taken. But I’ve lived long enough to realize that each road has its own rewards. |
| 15 | England as a culture has endured so much more than America has as a culture, so it’s given them a different perspective. |
| 16 | My family were all into classical music, and I found that very intimidating. |
| 17 | I’ve found acting on stage much more challenging than on screen. |
| 18 | So the English approach to show business and their work is more – and this is a big generalization, I hasten to say – but it’s more, they work on it as a craft job. |
| 19 | My father was an academic, an eccentric. He was a lecturer. |
| 20 | North Hollywood isn’t actually Hollywood, it’s in the San Fernando Valley… it’s not the most glamorous part of L.A. |
| 21 | I wasn’t ecstatic about being pregnant – I wasn’t somebody who actively wanted kids. Certainly there were no fantasies about nappy-changing. |
| 22 | I miss sometimes the buzz of America. A sense that anything can change at the drop of a hat. In a way, it’s an exhausting thing to live with. |
| 23 | As far as I can see women who have facelifts don’t look younger, just weirder. You see them on screen with these tight, little porcelain faces – then the hand goes up to the face and it looks like it belongs to an alien. I find it really freaky. |
| 24 | I’ve been in things that have impressed people and they’ve come up to congratulate you but in a kind of, you-must-think-you’re-really-special way. |
| 25 | I love having the opportunity to explore a part for a great length of time, really get deeper and deeper into it, because you only have a chance to do that once or twice in a career. |
| 26 | To me, the lyrics of the song define the kind of style it is. |
| 27 | In London, I take the Tube everywhere. |
| 28 | I’m someone who’s done the opposite of whatever the received wisdom is, to keep your career going into your 50s. |
| 29 | We lack rituals in this modern world. |
| 30 | If I feel I can play a part I do everything in my power to try to play it. |
| 31 | Whenever I work on anything, there’s always the fantasy that what one is doing is the next ‘Citizen Kane’-slash-‘Sopranos.’ |
| 32 | Most people grow up dreaming of going to Hollywood and some of them work and work and work and finally end up in Hollywood. |
| 33 | I still feel I’m doing the same work I’ve always done. |
| 34 | Hollywood never suited me, I didn’t ever feel comfortable with it, it took me a couple of years but I found where I was always meant to be… Chiswick! |
| 35 | I just find it fascinating, like everybody, to be in a different life. It’s an escape. |
| 36 | My job now is to work hard and learn all I can. |
| 37 | I turned down the opportunity to be in some films that went on to be blockbusters. |
| 38 | There is nothing in my life where I view myself as a 1920s person. |
| 39 | Honestly, I am always shocked when I see myself in the mirror because I feel exactly the same as I did when I was 18 getting off the plane to go to Juilliard in New York. |
| 40 | On careers other than acting: “I probably would have become a veterinarian, or I might have lived on a ranch somewhere and raised horses, or I might have become more serious about painting, or I might have worked in a Burger King.” |
| Fact |
| 1 | Can be seen in The Making of ‘Amadeus’ (2002), uncredited. In footage from her screen tests (in costume, apparently testing for the role of Constanze) her face has been blurred but her name can be read clearly on handwritten lists of actors that appear onscreen in a shooting log. |
| 2 | She has Scottish, English, and more distant German, ancestry. |
| 3 | Met husband-to-be Simon Curtis on Performance: Tales from Hollywood (1992), an episode of the popular BBC TV series Performance (1992), where Curtis was a producer. |
| 4 | Her band “Sadie and the Hotheads” (formed 2007) opened for Sting at the Montreux Jazz Festival Switzerland (July 16th, 2013). |
| 5 | Appeared opposite Richard Dreyfuss and David Suchet in the disastrous production of Complicit directed by Kevin Spacey at the Old Vic. [January 2009] |
| 6 | Recently appeared on British television in a situation comedy written by her husband Simon Curtis. [February 2008] |
| 7 | Is appearing in the British series “Downton Abbey” which is presently showing on PBS in the USA. [January 2011] |
| 8 | Now lives in England, UK [April 2006] |
| 9 | Counts Henry James and Edith Wharton among her favorite authors. |
| 10 | Has two daughters named Matilda (b. July 1993) and Grace Curtis (b. 1998). |
| 11 | Daughter of Katie and Bill McGovern. |
| 12 | Has lived in West London (UK) since 1992. |
| 13 | Sings and plays guitar in her own band “Sadie and the Hotheads”. |
| 14 | Has a brother, William Montgomery McGovern, “Monty” who is a professor of mathematics. |
| 15 | Was engaged to Sean Penn after falling in love on the set of Racing with the Moon (1984). |
| 16 | As a young actress on the New York stage, McGovern was required in one play to pray over some candles that were set on a bed. Realizing that the bed had caught fire halfway through her monologue, McGovern kept talking while trying to pat out the flames. She thought she had the situation pretty well under control, when firefighters suddenly arrived onstage to clear the theater. |
| 17 | Dropped out of college when she was studying acting at The Juilliard School in order to accept the ingénue role in Ordinary People (1980). |
| 18 | Her younger sister Cammie McGovern is a novelist, whose latest novel [2006] is “Eye Contact.” |
Actress
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
| The Commuter | 2017 | post-production |
| Showing Roots | 2016 | Shirley |
| Downton Abbey | 2010-2015 | TV Series | Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham |
| Swung | 2015 | Dolly |
| Woman in Gold | 2015 | Judge Florence Cooper |
| Unexpected | 2015 | Carolyn |
| Text Santa 2014 | 2014 | TV Movie | Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham |
| Civil War: The Untold Story | 2014 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Narrator (voice) |
| Cheerful Weather for the Wedding | 2012 | Mrs Thatcham |
| Wallis Simpson: The Secret Letters | 2011 | TV Movie | Wallis Simpson (voice) |
| Angels Crest | 2011 | Jane |
| Clash of the Titans | 2010 | Marmara |
| Kick-Ass | 2010 | Mrs. Lizewski |
| 10 Minute Tales | 2009 | TV Series | Ex Wife |
| Freezing | 2008-2009 | TV Series | Elizabeth |
| Agatha Christie’s Poirot | 2008 | TV Series | Dame Celia Westholme |
| Inconceivable | 2008 | Tallulah ‘Tutu’ Williams |
| A Room with a View | 2007 | TV Movie | Mrs. Honeychurch |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | 2007 | TV Series | Dr. Faith Sutton |
| Daphne | 2007 | TV Movie | Ellen Doubleday |
| Three Moons Over Milford | 2006 | TV Series | Laura Davis |
| The Truth | 2006 | Donna |
| The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire | 2003 | TV Series | Helen Shaw |
| Thursday the 12th | 2003 | TV Movie | Candice Hopper |
| Buffalo Soldiers | 2001 | Mrs. Berman |
| Hawk | 2001 | TV Movie | Susie Hawkins |
| Table 12 | 2001 | TV Series | Mel |
| The Flamingo Rising | 2001 | TV Movie | Edna Lee |
| The House of Mirth | 2000 | Mrs. Carry Fisher |
| Manila | 2000 | Elizabeth |
| The Scarlet Pimpernel | 1999 | TV Series | Lady Marguerite Blakeney |
| Twice Upon a Yesterday | 1998 | Diane |
| The Misadventures of Margaret | 1998 | Till Turner |
| Clover | 1997 | TV Movie | Sara Kate |
| The Wings of the Dove | 1997 | Susan |
| The Summer of Ben Tyler | 1996 | TV Movie | Celia Rayburn |
| Broken Glass | 1996 | TV Movie | Margaret Hyman |
| Tales from the Crypt | 1996 | TV Series | Laura Kendall |
| Tracey Takes On… | 1996 | TV Series | Judge Loring |
| If Not for You | 1995 | TV Series | Jessie Kent |
| Broken Trust | 1995 | TV Movie | Janice Dillon |
| Wings of Courage | 1995 | Noëlle |
| The Favor | 1994 | Emily Embrey |
| Performance | 1992-1993 | TV Series | Beatrice-Joanna Helen Schwartz |
| Me and Veronica | 1993 | Fanny |
| King of the Hill | 1993 | Lydia |
| Ashenden | 1991 | TV Mini-Series | Aileen Somerville |
| Women and Men: Stories of Seduction | 1990 | TV Movie | Vicki |
| Tune in Tomorrow… | 1990 | Elena Quince |
| A Shock to the System | 1990 | Stella Anderson |
| The Handmaid’s Tale | 1990 | Moira |
| Johnny Handsome | 1989 | Donna McCarty |
| She’s Having a Baby | 1988 | Kristy Briggs |
| Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam | 1987 | TV Movie documentary | Me (voice) |
| The Bedroom Window | 1987 | Denise |
| Native Son | 1986 | Mary Dalton |
| Faerie Tale Theatre | 1984 | TV Series | Snow White |
| Racing with the Moon | 1984 | Caddie Winger |
| Once Upon a Time in America | 1984 | Deborah Gelly |
| Lovesick | 1983 | Chloe Allen |
| Ragtime | 1981 | Evelyn Nesbit |
| Last Year’s Model | 1980 | Short |
| Ordinary People | 1980 | Jeannine |
| California Fever | 1979 | TV Series | Lisa Bannister |
Writer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
| Inconceivable | 2008 | devised in collaboration with – as Elizabeth Mcgovern |
Soundtrack
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
| Angels Crest | 2011 | writer: “One Thing Leads To Another” |
Thanks
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
| Teen Knight | 1999 | special thanks |
Self
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
| Our Queen at Ninety | 2016 | TV Movie documentary | Herself – Narrator (US version) (voice) |
| Million Dollar American Princesses | 2015-2016 | TV Mini-Series | Herself |
| Live with Kelly and Michael | 2015 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
| PBS NewsHour | 2015 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Talk | 2015 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Chew | 2015 | TV Series | Herself |
| Good Morning America | 1990-2015 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
| BBC News 8pm Summary | 2015 | TV Series short | Herself |
| The Making of Woman in Gold | 2015 | Video documentary short | Herself / Judge Florence Cooper |
| The Kumars | 2014 | TV Series | Herself |
| Tavis Smiley | 2013 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
| Cheerful Weather for the Wedding: Behind the Scenes | 2013 | Video documentary short | Herself / Mrs Thatcham |
| Loose Women | 2013 | TV Series | Herself |
| Arena | 2012 | TV Series documentary | Herself – Narrator |
| Charlie Rose | 2012 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
| Skavlan | 2012 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
| Sunday Brunch | 2012 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
| AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Shirley MacLaine | 2012 | TV Movie | Herself |
| The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards | 2012 | TV Special | Herself – Nominee: Best Actress in a Mini-Series or TV-Movie |
| Downton Abbey: Behind the Drama | 2011 | TV Movie | Herself |
| The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards | 2011 | TV Special | Herself – Nominated: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie |
| Daybreak | 2011 | TV Series | Herself |
| My Life in Books | 2011 | TV Series | Herself |
| The Graham Norton Show | 2010 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
| Frostrup on Sunday | 1999 | TV Series | Herself |
| Late Night with Conan O’Brien | 1994 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
| The 62nd Annual Academy Awards | 1990 | TV Special | Herself – Presenter: Best Makeup |
| Today | 1985 | TV Series | Herself – Guest |
| Working in the Theatre | 1985 | TV Series documentary | Herself |
| The 55th Annual Academy Awards | 1983 | TV Special | Herself – Co-Presenter: Best Visual Effects |
Archive Footage
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
| Downton Abbey Revisited | 2012 | TV Movie documentary | Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham |
| OK! TV | 2011 | TV Series documentary | Cora, Countess of Grantham |
| Remembering ‘Ragtime’ | 2004 | Video documentary short | Evelyn Nesbit (uncredited) |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | 1990 | TV Series | Elena Quince from film TUNE IN TOMORROW… |
Won Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
| 2016 | Actor | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey (2010) |
| 2015 | Actor | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey (2010) |
| 2013 | Actor | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey (2010) |
Nominated Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
| 2015 | BAFTA Scotland Award | BAFTA Awards, Scotland | Best Actress – Film | Swung (2015) |
| 2014 | Actor | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey (2010) |
| 2012 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Downton Abbey (2010) |
| 2012 | OFTA Television Award | Online Film & Television Association | Best Actress in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey (2010) |
| 2011 | Primetime Emmy | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie | Downton Abbey (2010) |
| 2011 | Gold Derby TV Award | Gold Derby Awards | TV Movie/Mini Lead Actress | Downton Abbey (2010) |
| 2011 | OFTA Television Award | Online Film & Television Association | Best Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Downton Abbey (2010) |
| 2011 | Satellite Award | Satellite Awards | Best Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television | Downton Abbey (2010) |
| 2011 | WIN Award | Women’s Image Network Awards | Actress Made For TV Movie / Mini Series | Downton Abbey (2010) |
| 1993 | CableACE | CableACE Awards | Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries | Ashenden (1991) |
| 1991 | CableACE | CableACE Awards | Actress in a Movie or Miniseries | Women and Men: Stories of Seduction (1990) |
| 1982 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Ragtime (1981) |
| 1982 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture | Ragtime (1981) |
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