Elizabeth Chase Olsen born February 16, 1989 is an American actress. Her breakthrough came in 2011 when she starred in the independent thriller drama Martha Marcy May Marlene, for which she was nominated for the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Actress and Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, among other awards. She subsequently starred in the films Silent House (2011), Liberal Arts (2012), Oldboy (2013), Godzilla (2014), I Saw the Light (2015), Wind River (2017), and Ingrid Goes West (2017). In television, she executive produced and starred in the Facebook Watch drama series Sorry for Your Loss (2018–2019), for which she was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Television Award.
Olsen achieved international recognition for her portrayal of Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films, including Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019), as well as in the Disney+ MCU miniseries WandaVision (2021).
Early life
Olsen was born on February 16, 1989 in Sherman Oaks, California, to Jarnette “Jarnie”, a personal manager, and David Olsen, a real estate developer and mortgage banker. She is the younger sister of twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who became television and film actresses as children. Olsen also has an older brother, a younger half-brother, and a younger half-sister. Her parents divorced in 1996. The Olsens have Norwegian and English ancestry.
As a child, Olsen received ballet and singing lessons. She began acting at a young age, with appearances in her sisters’ films. Before the age of 11, Olsen had small roles in How the West Was Fun and the straight-to-video series The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley. Having appeared in her sisters’ videos, when she was in the fourth grade Olsen began to go on auditions for other projects. She attended Campbell Hall School in North Hollywood, California, from kindergarten through grade 12.
After graduation, Olsen enrolled at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. In 2009, Olsen spent a semester studying in Moscow at the Moscow Art Theatre School through the MATS program at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.
Career
Olsen at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival
Olsen began acting when she was four years old and co-starred in six of Mary-Kate and Ashley’s productions. She nearly quit acting in 2004 due to the media frenzy related to Mary-Kate’s eating disorder. In 2011, she starred in the thriller film Martha Marcy May Marlene. The film, along with Olsen’s performance, received critical acclaim following its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Olsen was nominated for and won numerous critics awards for her portrayal of the titular character, Martha, a girl suffering from delusions after fleeing her life in a cult and returning to her family. She next appeared in the horror film remake Silent House, in which she played the role of Sarah. The film received mixed reviews, but Olsen’s performance was praised. Olsen filmed the film Red Lights in mid-2011; it was released in the U.S. in July 2012. She starred in Josh Radnor’s film Liberal Arts, which was released on January 22, 2012.
Olsen at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con
In January 2013, Olsen was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award. She co-starred in the 2013 American remake of the 2003 South Korean film Oldboy; she played Marie, a young social worker who developed a relationship with the protagonist, played by Josh Brolin. She played Edie Parker, novelist Jack Kerouac’s first wife and the author of the Beat Generation memoir You’ll Be Okay, in the biographical drama Kill Your Darlings. Also in 2013, she portrayed the leading role in In Secret, an adaptation of Émile Zola’s 1867 classic novel Thérèse Raquin. In 2014, Olsen starred in Legendary’s reboot of Godzilla, opposite Bryan Cranston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. She and Dakota Fanning starred in Very Good Girls, which was also released in 2014.
Olsen joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe by starring in the film Avengers: Age of Ultron, the 2015 sequel to The Avengers, portraying Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch. She first appeared as the character in a post-credits scene of the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier, alongside her Godzilla co-star Taylor-Johnson, who portrayed the Scarlet Witch’s brother, Quicksilver. She reprised the role in the Captain America: Civil War (2016), as well as the sequels Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), the lattermost of which became the highest-grossing film of all time.
Olsen portrayed Audrey Williams, the wife, manager, and duet partner of singer Hank Williams in the 2015 biopic film I Saw the Light, directed by Marc Abraham and starring Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams. Olsen starred alongside Jeremy Renner in Taylor Sheridan’s directorial feature film debut, Wind River. She also portrayed a lead role in Matt Spicer’s Ingrid Goes West opposite Aubrey Plaza. Wind River and Ingrid Goes West were both released in August 2017 to critical praise. Olsen next executive produced and starred as a grieving widow in the Facebook Watch web television series Sorry for Your Loss, which premiered in September 2018. Her performance has been praised as “stunning”, “disciplined and sharp”, as well as “slyly sympathetic”. The series was canceled in January 2020 after two seasons.
Olsen stars alongside Paul Bettany as Scarlet Witch and Vision, respectively, in the miniseries WandaVision, which premiered on Disney+ in January 2021. She will also reprise the role in the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which is scheduled for a March 2022 release.
Personal life
Olsen stated that she has been an atheist since the age of 13. She attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and Atlantic Theater Company and graduated in March 2013 after six years of intermittent study. Her sisters’ clothing line “Elizabeth and James” was named after her and their older brother.
Olsen and actor Boyd Holbrook were in a relationship from 2011 to 2014. She became engaged to musician Robbie Arnett of the American band Milo Greene in 2019 after three years of dating.
Filmography
 |
Denotes productions that have not yet been released |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Martha Marcy May Marlene | Martha | |
| Silent House | Sarah | ||
| Peace, Love & Misunderstanding | Zoe | ||
| 2012 | Red Lights | Sally Owen | |
| Liberal Arts | Zibby | ||
| 2013 | Kill Your Darlings | Edie Parker | |
| Very Good Girls | Gerry Fields | ||
| In Secret | Thérèse Raquin | ||
| Oldboy | Marie Sebastian / Mia Doucett | ||
| 2014 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier | Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch | Uncredited cameo; post-credits scene |
| Godzilla | Elle Brody | ||
| 2015 | I Saw the Light | Audrey Williams | |
| Avengers: Age of Ultron | Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch | ||
| 2016 | Captain America: Civil War | Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch | |
| 2017 | Ingrid Goes West | Taylor Sloane | |
| Wind River | Jane Banner | ||
| Kodachrome | Zoe Kern | ||
| 2018 | Avengers: Infinity War | Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch | |
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch | |
| 2022 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness |
Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch | Filming |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | How the West Was Fun | Girl in car | Television film |
| 2016 | Drunk History | Norma Kopp | Episode: “Siblings” |
| 2017 | HarmonQuest | Stirrip | Episode: “The Keystone Obelisk” |
| 2018–2019 | Sorry for Your Loss | Leigh Shaw | Main role; also executive producer |
| 2021 | WandaVision | Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch | Miniseries; main role |
Video shorts
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Our First Video | Herself | |
| 1993 | Olsen Twins Mother’s Day Special | Herself | |
| 1994–1996 | The Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley | Herself | 4 episodes |