Celebrity Movie Blog

Who is Elizabeth Banks?

Elizabeth Banks was born February 10th, 1974 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The American actress graduated magna cum laude from University of Pennsylvania in 1996. She went on to receive formal acting training from the San Francisco American Conservatory Theatre that has produced fellow notables Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Wynona Ryder, and Nicolas Cage. Banks talents are truly wide ranging. Her comedic abilities made a small part as the girl the Forty Year Old Virgin (2005) meets in a bookstore before being introduced to her penchant for wildness everywhere else. That fun, crazy character caught a lot of critics attention and became a regular part of the promotional ads for the movie. Banks has also appeared in blockbusters like Seabiscuit (2003) and summer smash hit Spider-man (2002). In addition to these large screen movies where Banks is often singled out, in 2005 she played blonde bombshell Cherie in the William Inge play Bus Stop at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. The venue was not the wide theatrical release of Spiderman, but the role was made famous by Marilyn Monroe, after all. Banks married longtime sweetheart Max Handelman in 2003, for whom she converted to Judaism.