Ellen Muth (/ˈmjuːθ/;[1] born March 6, 1981) is an American former actress best known for her role as Georgia "George" Lass in Showtime's series Dead Like Me (2003–2004 series, 2009 film).
Ellen Anna Muth | |
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![]() Muth in 2007 | |
Born | (1981-03-06) March 6, 1981 (age 41) Milford, Connecticut, U.S. |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1995–2013 |
Muth was born in Milford, Connecticut to Eric (a military veteran) and Rachel Muth.[2]
As of 2004, Muth was a member of Intertel and Mensa, high-IQ societies.[3][4] She attended the Skip Barber Racing School[1] and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.[5]
After a brief stint as a model with Ford Models and Rascal's Agency, Muth pursued a career in acting, studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in New York City, and getting her first professional experience doing commercials in 1993.[6] Her first major role was in the 1995 film Dolores Claiborne. She followed that with a role in the eighth-season premiere of Law & Order.[7]
Muth's appearance as the daughter in the 1999 film The Young Girl and the Monsoon earned praise from Stephen Holden of The New York Times for her range in portraying a character "who one minute can be as clinging as a baby and the next delights in cruelly demolishing the nearest grownup with laser-like sarcasm" and her chemistry "whenever Constance (who narrates the film) is on the screen with her father Hank (Terry Kinney)".[8]
Her 2000 work includes appearances in episodes of The Beat and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as a role in The American Collection adaptation of "Cora Unashamed", a short story by Langston Hughes from his 1934 collection The Ways of White Folks.[9] Muth also had a guest role in "Don't Ask", the original unaired pilot episode of the 2000 Fox show that eventually aired as Normal, Ohio. The show's revamp eliminated her role.[10] That year, Muth played the lead in the Lifetime Original Movie The Truth About Jane about a high school girl's struggle with her sexuality and acceptance.
Muth starred in the 2003–04 Showtime television series Dead Like Me in the role of Georgia "George" Lass, the protagonist and one of a team of grim reapers.
Muth's next roles were lower in profile. She appeared in Jack 'n' Jill, a 2007 MFA thesis film.[11] She voiced the character of Addie Vost in the first animated short of Tofu the Vegan Zombie[12] and a character in the audio dramatization "Anne Manx in the Empress Blair Project".[13] In September 2008 she joined three other actors at the Theatre Artist Workshop in Norwalk, Connecticut in a reading of Fleece the Flock, an original musical comedy in development and directed by Joel Vig.[14]
After some delay, Dead Like Me: Life After Death, a film directed by Stephen Herek based on Dead Like Me and featuring many members of the show's cast, including Muth, was released direct-to-video in March 2009.[15]
In 2012, Muth returned to the big screen in the romantic comedy Margarine Wars alongside Robert Loggia and Doris Roberts. The film debuted in Los Angeles on March 29, 2012.[16]
In 2013, Muth made a guest appearance in two episodes of the first season of the TV series Hannibal, produced by Bryan Fuller, the creator of Dead Like Me.[17][18]
Muth shared a best supporting actress award at the 1995 Tokyo International Film Festival for her screen debut in Dolores Claiborne.[19] In 1999 she won the American Film Institute (AFI) Best Actress Award for The Young Girl and the Monsoon.
In 2004, Muth's work on Dead Like Me received two nominations: for a Saturn Award in the Best Actress in a Television Series category and for a Satellite Award in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama series.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1995 | Dolores Claiborne | Young Selena St. George | Tokyo International Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress |
1999 | The Young Girl and the Monsoon | Constance | AFI Award for Best Actress |
2001 | Rain | Jenny | |
2002 | A Gentleman's Game | Mollie Kilduff | |
2007 | Tofu the Vegan Zombie in Zombie Dearest | Addie Vost | Short film |
2008 | Jack N Jill | Jill | Short film |
2009 | Dead Like Me: Life After Death | George Lass | Video |
2011 | Rose and Violet | Rose | Short film |
2012 | Margarine Wars | Katie Trumbull | |
Rudyard Kipling's Mark of the Beast | Natalie |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Law & Order | Adele Green | Episode: "Thrill" |
1999 | Only Love | Rachel | TV film |
2000 | The Beat | Jacqueline Hutchinson | Episode: "The Beat Goes On" |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Elaine Harrington | Episode: "Chat Room" | |
The Truth About Jane | Jane | TV film | |
Normal, Ohio | Dana Le Tour | Original pilot | |
Cora Unashamed | Jessie at 18 | TV film | |
2002 | Superfire | Jill Perkins | TV film |
Two Against Time | Emma Portman | TV film | |
2003–2004 | Dead Like Me | Georgia "George" Lass | Lead role (29 episodes) Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama |
2012 | Are We There Yet? | Andrea | Episode: "The Inappropriate Website Episode"[20] |
2013 | Hannibal | Georgia Madchen | Guest (2 episodes) |
Muth has withdrawn from public life since her 2013 appearances on Hannibal, instead concentrating on a coffee business she launched, and a cat-breeding business. Saying she eventually wanted "to settle down and have a family of my own", Muth told a relaxed-lifestyle website in December 2015 that she had "hit the pause button on the acting for now."[21]
From the story of two roommates (LaPaglia and Goodman) – one straight and one gay – dealing with their sons, the storyline was changed to 'gay man returns home after coming out of the closet and running away to LA'. There was major recasting and some characters were dumped.
The Best Supporting Actress Award: Ellen Muth (Dolores Claiborne) and Gledys Ibarra (Sicario – Assassin for Hire)
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National libraries |