Mary Elisabeth Winstead is an American actress and singer. She has been part of many successfull films.
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about her life and career.
- Mary Elizabeth Winstead was born on November 28, 1984
- She is an American actress and singer
- Her first significant role came as Jessica Bennett on the NBC soap opera Passions (1999-2000)
- She went on to appear in such films as the superhero comedy Sky High (2005)
- She came to wider recognition as a scream queen for her roles in the supernatural horror series Wolf Lake (2001-2002), the monster film Monster Island (2004), the supernatural horror film Final Destination 3 (2006), the slasher film Black Christmas (2006), the exploitation horror film Death Proof (2007), the science fiction horror film The Thing (2011), the dark fantasy action horror film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), and the psychological horror-thriller film 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), among others
- Further success came with her roles as John McClane’s daughter, Lucy Gennero-McClane, in the 2007 film, Live Free or Die Hard
- And again in 2013 in A Good Day to Die Hard
- Her critically acclaimed performance as an alcoholic struggling with sobriety in the drama film Smashed (2012) was followed by numerous other well-received independent films
- She was also Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
- And Huntress in Birds of Prey (2020)
- Winstead returned to television with roles in the supernatural drama series The Returned (2015), the political satire/science fiction comedy series BrainDead (2016), the period medical drama series Mercy Street (2016-2017), and the black comedy/drama anthology series Fargo (2017)
- Since 2013, Winstead has performed as half of the music duo Got a Girl, with Dan the Automator
- Mary Elizabeth Winstead was born on November 28, 1984, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina
- Her parents are Betty Lou and James Ronald Winstead
- She is the youngest of five children
- Her grandfather was a cousin of actress Ava Gardner
- When she was five years old, her family moved to Sandy, Utah
- She attended Peruvian Park Elementary
- There she took advanced classes
- She studied dance in a Joffrey Ballet summer program in Chicago
- She sang in the International Children’s Choir
- During her youth, Winstead initially hoped to pursue a career as a ballerina and appeared in local ballet productions
- As she entered her teens, she was forced to quit ballet due to her height
- She later stated, “I realized pretty early on that I was already too tall by the time I was 13… you know, your body has to stay that way for your entire life, and it’s pretty hard on your muscles and your bones”
- Realizing that a dance career was unlikely, Winstead turned to acting
- As she was still a teenager at the time, this required her to be homeschooled through most of high school
- Winstead has expressed her interest in singing, but initially did not plan on pursuing it as a career
- For her part in 2007’s Death Proof, Tarantino had Winstead sing an a cappella cover of The Shirelles’ hit recording “Baby It’s You”
- She was asked without warning to perform the song and the cast were reportedly “gob-smacked” by her singing
- Winstead and music producer Thai Long Ly eventually co-wrote a song, called “Warmth of Him”
- Although first rumored to be a pre-release single, Winstead confirmed that she was just exploring her interest and did not plan at the time on releasing any music albums
- In an interview with Complex magazine for the June/July 2012 issue, Winstead revealed she was working with Dan the Automator and was indeed planning on releasing a music album
- The duo formed the band Got a Girl the following year
- They released their demo “You & Me” on May 21, 2013
- The album, titled I Love You but I Must Drive Off This Cliff Now, was released on July 22, 2014 via Bulk Recordings
- The first single, “Did We Live Too Fast” premiered on June 3
- And its music video, directed by Hope Larson, premiered online on June 16
- The album features heavy influences of French pop music
- All lyrics were written by Winstead
- While all music was composed by Dan the Automator
- Winstead was also featured on the songs “The Agony” and “Look Across The Sky” on Deltron 3030’s second studio album Event 2
- The album was released on September 30, 2013
- In November 2016, Honus Honus from experimental band Man Man released a song on SoundCloud, “Santa Monica” that features Winstead
- In December 2016, Portugal. The Man released the single and video for “Noise Pollution (Version A, Vocal Up Mix 1.3)” from their album Woodstock, featuring Winstead and Zoe Manville
- In 2010, Winstead married American filmmaker Riley Stearns
- She met him at age 18 on an ocean cruise
- She starred in and produced Stearns’ debut feature film, Faults, in 2014
- She announced their separation in May 2017
- It was reported in October 2017 that she was in a relationship with Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, whom she had met on the set of Fargo
Got anything to add?