Elisabeth Moss is an undeniable talent. She shines in whatever she’s in, whether that’s Girl, Interrupted , Mad Men , or The Handmaids Tale .
But there’s also a lot to Moss beyond what you see on screen.
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This includes everything from her many years spent dancing ballet to her “traumatic” marriage to SNL actor, Fred Armisen, and her relationship with Scientology.
1. She comes from an artistic family:
She was born in California to musicians Ron and Linda Moss. Her mother played blues harmonica while her father was a jazz artist.
Her one sibling, Derek, is a filmmaker. So it definitely runs in her family.
2. She always knew that she wanted to be an actor:
“I can’t explain how I knew,” she said . “There wasn’t one defining moment. But you just know.”
She hustled hard to make this happen by being homeschooled and even graduating at age 16.
3. She made her acting debut at age seven:
In 1990, she appeared in the NBC miniseries called Lucky Chances where she played Sandra Bullock’s six-year-old daughter, Lucky.
Even back then, her talent was undeniable! And playing Bullock’s daughter must have been so cool.
4. She used to be a ballerina:
Moss started taking lessons when she was five.
When she was a teenager, she attended the School of American Ballet in New York and spent summers at Suzanne Farrell’s intensive in DC.
“I trained for a long time and I was focused and good,” Moss told *Arrive* magazine.
She said that she quit ballet at 15 once she realized that she would be able to have a long career as an actress.
5. She’s a member of the Church of Scientology:
This is something that she’s been a part of since she was a kid, although she doesn’t speak out about it often.
She will, however, defend her religion if she’s asked about it, like the time she defended it to The Daily Beast .
She had been asked about her belief in Scientology conflicted with *Mad Man* and *The Handmaids Tale*.
“Listen, it’s a complicated thing because the things that I believe in, I can only speak to my personal experience and my personal beliefs,” she said.
“One of the things I believe in is freedom of speech. I believe we as humans should be able to critique things.”
She also used to be friends with Leah Remini, but that all changed when the actress famously decided to leave the church.
6. She had her breakout role in *Girl, Interrupted*:
In the film, she played Polly, a burn victim alongside Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder.
It could also be argued that her role as Peggy Olson on Mad Men was her breakout role.
7. She’s done some voiceover work:
She began her voiceover career by voicing Holly in Frosty Returns (1992). I bet you didn’t know that, did you?
Since then, she’s done Batman: The Animated Series , Charlie Brown The Simpsons , plus more.
8. She was married to Fred Armisen:
Moss and the SNL actor first met when her Mad Men co-star Jon Hamm hosted the show.
She had appeared in a sketch, parodying the show. She and Fred clicked instantly and were engaged three months later.
It was a whirlwind marriage, one that only lasted for two years, from 2009 to 2011.
Things did not end amicably, as Moss has called their marriage “traumatic.”
She told Vulture : “Looking back, I feel like I was really young, and at the time I didn’t think that I was that young.”
“It was extremely traumatic and awful and horrible.”
“At the same time, it turned out for the best. I’m glad that I’m not there. I’m glad that it didn’t happen when I was 50.”
When asked if she still keeps in touch with Armisen, she said, “Oh, God, no.”
9. She’s a proud cat owner:
She owns two orange tabby cats, Ethel and Lucy, who are sisters.
She says that she adores them and even once dressed Ethel in a Handmaid’s costume for Halloween! Who doesn’t love a dressed up cat?!
10. She earned her first producer credit on *The Handmaid’s Tale*:
It’s something that she’s extremely proud of.
“For me, to have a voice in this industry after doing this for 28 years, to be able to have a say in anything,” she told IndieWire . “It’s like crack.”
11. She has a *lot* of awards:
Everything Moss touches turns to gold.
She has been nominated for several Emmys for her roles in Mad Men , Top of the Lake , and The Handmaid’s Tale .
She won many of them for her work on the latter.
She’s also earned many nominations and wins from the Golden Globes.
Her two big wins were Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries for Top of the Lake and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series for The Handmaid’s Tale .
12. She considers herself a loner:
“I’m quite the loner and I’m quite the homebody,” she told The Hollywood Reporter when asked about how she’s handling the quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic.
“So for me, obviously, the biggest difference is not working on set.
Thankfully, producing her kept her busy.
“I’ve been keeping really busy with producing and developing. So, I haven’t felt really bored or anything. And I am very good at being alone — probably a little bit too good at it. So I’ve been, in a lot of ways, quite better at it than I thought I would be.”
