1998–2005: Early career and breakthrough

Banks changed her name upon joining the Screen Actors Guild, as actress Elizabeth Mitchell was already registered in the union under that name.^[15]

After auditioning in New York, she was offered a role on the soap opera Santa Barbara. Taking the role would have required her to quit her education at the American Conservatory Theater, and as she had taken out student loans to complete her degree, she declined the offer.^[16] She made her acting debut in the 1998 independent film Surrender Dorothy as Elizabeth Casey, and appeared in various films over the next seven years, including Wet Hot American Summer (2001), Swept Away (2002) and Seabiscuit (2003).^[17] Her most notable role up to that point was Betty Brant in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007).

In 2002, Banks set up her own production company, Brownstone Productions, with her future husband, Max Handelman.

Banks gained more prominent widespread exposure with her role in the 2005 comedy film The 40-Year-Old Virgin.^[18] In August 2005, at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, she starred in William Inge's Bus Stop as Cherie, the aspiring nightclub singer.^[19] Jeffrey Borak wrote that Banks' portrayal was acted "with poise, clarity and a shrewd feel for Cherie's complexities. Her performance is all of a piece and in harmony, stylistically, with the performances around her."^[20] In 2005, she appeared on the series Stella, and in May 2006, she had a role in the season five finale of the NBC sitcom Scrubs as Dr. Kim Briggs, the love interest of J.D. (Zach Braff). Banks appeared throughout seasons six, seven, and eight as a recurring guest star.^[21]

2006–2014: Further success and recognition

In 2006, Banks appeared in the American football drama film Invincible, in which she played Mark Wahlberg's love interest. Later, she and co-star Wahlberg were nominated for the "Best Kiss" award at the MTV Movie Awards.^[22] That same year, she landed the starring role in the comedy-horror film Slither.^[23]

In 2007, Banks played the female lead in the comedy film Meet Bill, alongside Aaron Eckhart and Jessica Alba.^[21] That same year, she had a small role as Santa's little helper, Charlyne, in the Christmas comedy film Fred Claus, co-starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti. In 2008, she played the ex-wife of Ryan Reynolds’ character and mother to his daughter in the comedy film Definitely, Maybe alongside Isla Fisher and Rachel Weisz,^[24] starred with Seth Rogen as the eponymous female lead in the Kevin Smith comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno,^[21] and played United States First Lady Laura Bush in W., Oliver Stone's biopic of George W. Bush.^[25]

In 2009, Banks appeared in the horror film The Uninvited, a remake of the South Korean film A Tale of Two Sisters.^[26] The film was about an intrusive stepmother who makes life miserable for the teen daughters of her new husband. Banks based her character, Rachel, on Rebecca De Mornay's character in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.^[27] "It was very important to me that every line reading I gave could be interpreted two ways," says Banks of her role, "So that when you go back through the movie you can see that".^[27]

Banks is a frequent co-star of actor Paul Rudd, the two having appeared in five films together to date (Wet Hot American Summer, The Baxter, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Role Models, and Our Idiot Brother).^[28] She is also a frequent co-star of actor Tobey Maguire, the two having also appeared in five films together (Spider-Man, Seabiscuit, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, and The Details).^[29]

Banks was cast as a love interest for Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) in the fourth season of the Emmy Award-winning sitcom 30 Rock.^[30] Intended to appear in four episodes in 2010, Banks went on to become a recurring character with 13 appearances by the end of the fifth season, including her marriage in the episode "Mrs. Donaghy". Her performance in season five earned her a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards.^[31]

In 2012, Banks starred in the romantic comedy film What to Expect When You're Expecting and the action film Man on a Ledge. She also starred as Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the musical comedy film Pitch Perfect, which became a critical and commercial success. The next year she directed and starred in separate segments of Movie 43, a critically panned comedy anthology film.^[32]

Banks starred in the science fiction adventure film The Hunger Games (2012), playing Effie Trinket, a woman from "The Capitol" who escorts the District 12 tributes to the annual Hunger Games. She went on to reprise the role in the sequel films The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014), and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015).^[21] Banks co-starred in the 2014 movie Every Secret Thing, playing Detective Nancy Porter investigating the disappearance of a young child with similarities to a case she had previously been involved with.^[33] The same year, she provided the voice of the Master Builder Wyldstyle in the Warner Bros. animated film The Lego Movie.^[34]

In 2014, Banks was recognized by Elle Magazine during The Women in Hollywood Awards, honoring women for their outstanding achievements in film, spanning all aspects of the motion picture industry, including acting, directing, and producing.^[35]

2015–present: Directorial debut

After producing and starring in the film Pitch Perfect (2012), Banks directed its sequel, Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), making her feature directorial debut. She also co-produced and starred in both Pitch Perfect 2 and the next sequel, Pitch Perfect 3 (2017).^[36]

Banks portrayed Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, the wife of Brian Wilson, in the 2015 biopic Love & Mercy, which is based on the life of the musician and founding member of The Beach Boys, as portrayed by John Cusack.^[37]

In 2015, she was named as a member of the Jury for the Main Competition at the 2015 Venice Film Festival. The festival was chaired by Alfonso Cuarón.^[38] Also in 2015, Banks became a spokeswoman for Realtor.com in a series of television commercials.^[39] In mid-February 2016, Banks appeared in advertisements for clothing company Old Navy.^[40] She also played space alien Rita Repulsa in the 2017 Power Rangers reboot film.^[41]

In 2018, Banks co-starred as Jenny in the comedy film The Happytime Murders, alongside Melissa McCarthy and Maya Rudolph.^[42] In 2019, she reprised her starring role as Lucy / Wyldstyle in the animated comedy film The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.^[43] She then starred as Tori Breyer in the superhero horror film Brightburn.^[44]

On May 2, 2019, ABC announced Banks as the host of the summer 2019 revival of the game show Press Your Luck, which she also executive produces.^[45] Banks directed, produced, wrote, and starred as Bosley in the action comedy film Charlie's Angels, which was released in November 2019.^[46] In 2020, she starred as feminist Jill Ruckelshaus in the FX miniseries Mrs. America.^[47]

In November 2019, it was announced that Banks was set to star in, direct, and produce a new adaptation of The Invisible Woman (1940), based on her own original story pitch. Erin Cressida Wilson will write the script for the reboot of the female monster, while Max Handelman and Alison Small will serve as producer and executive producer, respectively.^[48]

In February 2020, Banks was allowed to pitch for a project by Universal Pictures from the roster of Universal Monsters, ultimately pitching The Invisible Woman.^[49] In June 2020, it was announced Banks would star as Ms. Frizzle in a live-action/animated hybrid of The Magic School Bus, which she will also produce through her company Brownstone Productions.^[50][51]

In March 2021, it was announced that Banks would direct the thriller film Cocaine Bear, which she produced alongside Max Handelman for Brownstone Productions, and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.^[52] In May 2021, Peacock announced that Banks would direct and star in the upcoming television series Red Queen, based on the dystopian novel of the same name.^[53]

In January 2022, Banks was cast in the film The Beanie Bubble, co-directed by Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash.^[54]

In March 2023 it was announced that Banks would executive produce and voice the character Pebbles Flintstone in the upcoming Fox animated prime-time series Bedrock which will be a reboot of the original series The Flintstones and will take place two decades after that series.^[55]