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Rise to Fame
She spent a decade doing exactly what you're supposed to do: studied communication at Northwestern, trained in improv at UCB and ImprovOlympic, showed up in Unforgettable and Man Seeking Woman as Jay Baruchel's overachieving lawyer sister. Good training, steady work, no stardom. Then Severance arrived in 2022 and the role of Helly R., a new severed employee fighting to escape a reality she barely understands, turned out to be the part that shows you what an actor can actually do. She didn't just play desperate. She made the desperation feel philosophical.
In the Spotlight
The Emmy win in 2025 was a genuine upset. She beat Kathy Bates, Sharon Horgan, Bella Ramsey, and Keri Russell, winning for Severance Season 2 on her first nomination. During the speech she unfolded a note that read "LET ME OUT," a nod to Helly R.'s plea across both seasons, and closed by thanking the character for choosing her. She's now signed for Netflix's I Will Find You, a Harlan Coben limited series opposite Sam Worthington, and a horror film, Sender, with Jamie Lee Curtis. The queue is filling up fast.
Side Notes
She grew up in Heyworth, Illinois, where her mother made a living painting faces at events. At Northwestern she stumbled into improv and never really left it behind. Between Severance seasons she wrote, directed, and produced Circus Person, a short that premiered at Tribeca in 2021, and she's talked about wanting to leave Hollywood for the circus permanently. The circus obsession predates the fame. It's the part of her career that doesn't fit the biography and probably won't go away.