Rachel Brosnahan

Rachel Brosnahan Bio

Rachel Elizabeth Brosnahan (born July 12, 1990) is an American actress. She is widely recognized for portraying Lois Lane in the DC Universe, a role she first played in the film Superman (2025). She rose to international fame for her performance as Midge Maisel in the Amazon Prime Video period comedy series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023), winning a Primetime Emmy Award in 2018 and two consecutive Golden Globe Awards in 2018 and 2019.

Beyond television, Brosnahan has built a varied résumé across stage and film. Her screen work includes the political thriller series House of Cards (2013–2015) and the comedy miniseries Crisis in Six Scenes (2016), while her film credits span The Courier (2020), I’m Your Woman (2020), and The Amateur (2025). She continues to balance leading roles with producing duties through her company, Scrap Paper Pictures, which she launched in 2019.

Early Life and Background

Rachel Brosnahan was born on July 12, 1990, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Carol and Earl Brosnahan, both of whom worked in children’s publishing. Her mother is British, and her father is an American of Irish descent. From age four, she was raised in Highland Park, Illinois, alongside a younger brother and sister.

She attended Wayne Thomas Elementary School and Northwood Junior High School, where she began performing in musical theater. At Highland Park High School, Brosnahan served on the wrestling team for two years and worked as a snowboarding instructor. When she was sixteen, she took a class with Carole Dibo, director of Wilmette’s Actors Training Center, who has since served as her manager.

Brosnahan graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2012. Her training in New York shaped her approach to both comedy and drama, and she often credits her Midwestern upbringing with grounding her performances in ordinary, relatable characters.

Path to Acting

While still in high school, Brosnahan received her first movie role as Lisa in the Michael Bay-produced horror film The Unborn (2009). She made her stage debut the same year in Up at Steppenwolf Theatre, a leading Chicago company known for launching major American talents. These early experiences gave her professional confidence before she relocated to New York for college.

At New York University, she appeared in single episodes of television series such as Gossip Girl, The Good Wife, Grey’s Anatomy, and In Treatment. After graduating, she booked recurring roles in the crime thriller The Blacklist (2014) and the short-lived medical drama Black Box (2014). She also appeared in two short films directed by Ari Aster, Basically (2013) and Munchausen (2014), and made her Broadway debut in the 2013 revival of Clifford Odets’s The Big Knife with Roundabout Theatre Company.

In 2013, she was cast as Rachel Posner in the Netflix political drama House of Cards, starring opposite Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. Although she was initially booked for only two episodes, showrunner Beau Willimon expanded her role significantly. Her performance brought her career prominence and earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Rachel Brosnahan Career

Early Career (2009–2016)

Brosnahan’s earliest screen credit was the horror film The Unborn (2009), followed by guest spots on several network dramas while she was still in college. Her theatrical profile rose with her Broadway debut in The Big Knife (2013), and she continued to build her stage résumé with a 2016 off-Broadway run as Desdemona in Othello at New York Theatre Workshop, opposite Daniel Craig and David Oyelowo.

On television, her breakout arrived with House of Cards (2013–2015), where her recurring role as Rachel Posner earned her first Emmy nomination. She also appeared in the period drama Manhattan (2014–2015) and the Woody Allen comedy series Crisis in Six Scenes (2016), establishing her as a versatile supporting player before her lead role breakthrough.

Breakthrough (2017–2023)

Starting in 2017, Brosnahan starred as the title character in the Amazon period comedy series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, playing Midge Maisel, a 1950s Jewish housewife who pursues a career in stand-up comedy after her marriage ends. Brosnahan has said her exposure to Jewish culture while growing up helped prepare her for the role. Her performance earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Critics’ Choice Television Awards, among other accolades.

She expanded her film work during this period with the Benedict Cumberbatch drama The Courier, released in January 2020, and the crime thriller I’m Your Woman in December 2020, which she also produced. In 2022, she starred in the western Dead for a Dollar, which premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival. On stage, she earned positive reviews for a 2023 Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window opposite Oscar Isaac, a performance that brought her a Drama League Award nomination for Outstanding Distinguished Performer.

In 2019, Brosnahan launched the production company Scrap Paper Pictures, signaling her growing role behind the camera and her commitment to producing female-driven stories.

Notable Works and Milestones

Brosnahan’s signature work remains The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the series that earned her Emmy and Golden Globe honors and cemented her as one of the defining comedic performers of her generation. Her transition to blockbuster film came with Superman (2025), in which she debuted as Lois Lane under director James Gunn, introducing her to global superhero audiences.

Rachel Brosnahan Award Nominations

Across her career, Rachel Brosnahan has received nominations from the Primetime Emmy Awards, the Drama League Awards, and various critics’ circles. Her first Emmy nomination came for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for House of Cards, and she later earned a Drama League Award nomination for Outstanding Distinguished Performer for The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window.

Rachel Brosnahan Awards Won

Rachel Brosnahan has won a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, all for her leading performance in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. In 2018, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and her first Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. She repeated the Golden Globe win in 2019, joining a small group of actresses to take the honor in consecutive years.

Rachel Brosnahan Family

Rachel Brosnahan was raised by Carol and Earl Brosnahan, both of whom worked in children’s publishing, and grew up with a younger brother and sister in Highland Park, Illinois. She is the niece of the late handbag designer Kate Spade, born Katherine Noel Brosnahan, who was married to Andy Spade, the older brother of actor and comedian David Spade.

Personal Life

Brosnahan married actor Jason Ralph in 2016, though their relationship became public years later. Both attended the 76th Golden Globe Awards ceremony in January 2019, where she thanked Ralph during her acceptance speech. Outside of acting, she has twice completed the “Live Below the Line” charity challenge, which raises awareness about global poverty.