Elizabeth Anne Caplan (born June 30, 1982) is an American actress. Her first acting role was on the television series Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000). She received wider recognition with roles in the films Mean Girls (2004) and Cloverfield (2008), she also starred on the television shows Related (2005–2006), The Class (2006–2007), and Party Down (2009–2010; 2023).

From 2013 to 2016, Caplan played Virginia E. Johnson on the Showtime series Masters of Sex, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. In 2019, she portrayed Annie Wilkes in the Hulu anthology series Castle Rock. Her other film appearances include Hot Tub Time Machine, 127 Hours (both 2010), Save the Date, Bachelorette (both 2012), The Interview (2014), Now You See Me 2, Allied (both 2016), and Extinction (2018). She starred in FX on Hulu's Fleishman Is in Trouble (2022) (for which she won another Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress nomination) and the Paramount+ erotic thriller Fatal Attraction (2023).

Elizabeth Anne Caplan was born on June 30, 1982, in Los Angeles, California,^[1] and grew up in its Miracle Mile district.^[2] Her family are Reform Jews of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.^[3][4][5] She had a Bat Mitzvah and attended Jewish summer camp.^[6][7][8] Her father, Richard Caplan, was a lawyer and her mother, Barbara (née Bragman), was a political aide.^[9] She is the youngest of three children with a brother, Benjamin, and a sister, Julie.^[10] Her mother died of cancer^[11] when she was 13 years old.^[2][12][13] Her uncle was publicist Howard Bragman.^[14] Caplan attended Alexander Hamilton High School in Castle Heights,^[15] and attended the school's Academy of Music. She first focused on playing the piano, then later decided to pursue drama.^[16] She was also on her school's soccer team.^[17] She graduated in 2000, but did not attend college because she wanted to focus on acting.^[17]

Caplan began her acting career in 1999, first playing a girl named Sara in the critically acclaimed series Freaks and Geeks.^[18] Due to her performance, her character became the girlfriend of Jason Segel's character.^[19] She then had a series of guest appearances on numerous shows, and appeared in Jason Mraz's music video "You and I Both". In 2000 she appeared in her first film From Where I Sit which was released straight to television.^[20] In 2001, she played Tina Greer in an episode of Smallville, and reprised her role on the show in 2003.^{[citation needed]} She appeared in two episodes of the ABC series Once and Again. In 2003, she starred in the television series The Pitts, playing Faith Pitt. She gained wider notice for playing Janis Ian in the 2004 film Mean Girls. She played Avery Bishop in the second season of Tru Calling.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, Caplan played troubled sister Marjee Sorelli in Related, a one-hour comedy-drama on The WB that was canceled after one season. In 2006, she starred as Sara Weller in the thriller film Love is the Drug and was named one of "10 Actors to Watch" by Variety.^[21] After Related ended, Caplan was cast in the CBS sitcom The Class, which premiered in September 2006 and lasted for one season. She played Kat Warbler, one of several elementary school friends that reunite after 20 years.^[21]

In 2008, Caplan played Marlena Diamond in the film Cloverfield and was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also appeared as Ami in the romantic comedy My Best Friend's Girl. Later that year, she guest-starred as Amy Burley on the HBO vampire show True Blood. She was the voice of Faith Pitt in the proposed animated version of The Pitts, which was developed in 2007.^{[citation needed]} She also appeared in the critically acclaimed Starz ensemble comedy Party Down, playing a struggling comedian who is part of a catering crew. In 2010, she appeared in 127 Hours.^[22]

In early 2012, Caplan premiered two films at the Sundance Film Festival: Save the Date and Bachelorette. Also in 2012, she appeared as Julia in several episodes of the Fox sitcom New Girl.^{[citation needed]}

She played Agent Lacey in the 2014 film The Interview.^{[citation needed]}

Caplan became engaged to British actor Tom Riley in New York in May 2016.^[33] They had met in January 2015 while Caplan was filming Now You See Me 2^[34] in London and made their red carpet debut as a couple at the Prague Opera Ball in February 2016.^[35] They married in September 2017,^[36] and have a son born in 2021.^[37]