Merritt Wever | |
|---|---|
 Wever in 2010 | |
| Born | Merritt Carmen Wever (1980-08-11)August 11, 1980 (age 45) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Sarah Lawrence College |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1995–present |
Merritt Carmen Wever (born August 11, 1980) is an American actress. Wever has had supporting roles in several television series, including theShowtime television seriesNurse Jackie (2009–2015),Godless (2017), andUnbelievable (2019). She has played recurring roles on series such asStudio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–2007),New Girl (2013),The Walking Dead (2015–2016), andSeverance (2025). She also played supporting roles in several films, includingMichael Clayton (2007),Birdman (2014),Welcome to Marwen (2018) andMarriage Story (2019).
Wever has won threePrimetime Emmy Awards:Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series forNurse Jackie,Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie forGodless, andOutstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series forSeverance. She was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film forUnbelievable.
Merritt Carmen Wever[1] was born on August 11, 1980[2][3] in Manhattan, New York City. She was conceived using asperm donor and raised by her mother, Georgia.[4][5] Her mother is fromTexas, and is a feminist and political activist.[6][7]
Wever graduated fromFiorello H. LaGuardia High School andSarah Lawrence College.[8]
Wever began her career starring in low budget, independent short and feature films. She has performed in theater productions, includingBrooke Berman's playSmashing andCavedweller with Deirdre O'Connell, bothoff-Broadway.[5] Wever appeared in numerous films, includingInto the Wild,Michael Clayton,Series 7: The Contenders,Signs,The Adventures of Sebastian Cole,Bringing Rain,Tiny Furniture, andAll I Wanna Do.[9]
She has guest-starred on a number of television series, includingNew Girl,The Good Wife,Conviction,Law & Order: Criminal Intent andThe Wire. She also starred inEd Zwick's ill-fated pilotQuarterlife, withRachel Blanchard,Austin Nichols andShiri Appleby. She also had a recurring role onStudio 60 on the Sunset Strip asSuzanne.[9]
Wever is perhaps best known for her role as Zoey Barkow in the television seriesNurse Jackie, which premiered on Showtime in June 2009.[10] Zoey is described on the officialNurse Jackie website as "an irrepressibly bubbly trauma nurse, who serves as a comic foil toEdie Falco's hard-bitten (and prescription drug-addicted) titular character".[11] Wever received widespread critical acclaim for her role on the show.[12]
Wever was nominated for aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2012 and 2013 for her role inNurse Jackie, winning the award in 2013 and delivering a memorable speech that consisted only of her stunned reaction: "Thanks so much. Thank you so much. I gotta go. Bye."[13]
In 2016, Wever had a recurring role on AMC'sThe Walking Dead as Denise Cloyd. Her character's death toward the end of thesixth season of the series was controversial and sparked outrage on social media with many fans, most notably members of theLGBT community.[14][15][16]
Wever played a lead role in the miniseriesGodless (2017) as Mary Agnes McNue, a tough leader of a female-dominated town. She said in interviews that she had been intimidated by the role: "I spent so much of this shoot thinking I would come off as a fool, that nobody would buy me as this and it wouldn't be believable."[17] Many critics nonetheless noted her character as a highlight of the show.Entertainment Weekly titled its review ofGodless "Merritt Wever rides tall in Netflix'sGodless" and wrote that "no one is more electric than the always extraordinary Merritt Wever".[18] In 2018, she won an Emmy for the role.
In 2019, Wever starred in another Netflix miniseries,Unbelievable, which was released on September 13, 2019.[19] The series received critical acclaim, with Wever receiving her firstGolden Globe Awards nomination forBest Actress – Miniseries or Television Film.[20][21][22]
In 2020, Wever starred oppositeDomhnall Gleeson in theHBOcomedy thriller seriesRun.[23] It was cancelled after one season.[24]
In 2025, the Creative Arts Emmys awarded her an Emmy Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Gretchen George in season 2 ofSeverance.[25]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Alaska | April | Short film |
| 1998 | All I Wanna Do | Maureen 'Momo' Haines | |
| Arresting Gena | Tammy | ||
| 1999 | The Adventures of Sebastian Cole | Susan | |
| 2001 | Series 7: The Contenders | Lindsay Berns | |
| 2002 | Signs | Tracey Abernathy | |
| 2003 | Season of Youth | Anna | |
| Bringing Rain | Monica Greenfield | ||
| 2004 | A Hole in One | Betty | |
| 2005 | 12 and Holding | Debbie Poole | |
| 2007 | Michael Clayton | Anna Kaiserson | |
| Into the Wild | Lori | ||
| Neal Cassady | Mountain Girl | ||
| 2008 | Righteous Kill | Rape Victim | |
| 2009 | Mr. Softie | Gail | |
| The Missing Person | Mabel Page | ||
| The Messenger | Lara | ||
| 2010 | Greenberg | Gina | |
| Tiny Furniture | Frankie | ||
| 2011 | The Strange Ones | Hotel Girl | Short film |
| 2014 | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | Annie | |
| 2015 | Meadowland | Kelly | |
| 2016 | The Last Face | Marlee | |
| 2018 | Irreplaceable You | Mindy | |
| Charlie Says | Karlene Faith | ||
| Welcome to Marwen | Roberta | ||
| 2019 | Marriage Story | Cassie | |
| 2022 | Midday Black Midnight Blue | Beth | [26] |
| 2023 | Memory | Olivia | |
| 2025 | Christy | Joyce Salters | |
| 2026 | The Great Beyond† | TBA | Post-production |
| TBA | Primetime† | TBA | Post-production |
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Blue River | Lottie Howland | Television film |
| 1997 | Law & Order | Myra | Episode: "Mad Dog" |
| 2002 | Jennifer Taylor | Episode: "American Jihad" | |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Hannah Price | Episode: "Tomorrow" | |
| 2003 | The Wire | Prissy | 2 episodes: "Storm Warnings" and "Bad Dreams" |
| 2004 | Something the Lord Made | Mrs. Francis Saxon | Television film |
| 2005 | Quarterlife | Bailey | Television film |
| Law & Order | Sunshine Porter | Episode: "Sects" | |
| NCIS | Wendy Smith | Episode: "Switch" | |
| 2006 | Conviction | Bridget Kellner | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2006–2007 | Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | Suzanne | 12 episodes |
| 2009–2015 | Nurse Jackie | Zoey Barkow | Main role |
| 2012 | The Good Wife | Aubrey Gardner | Episode: "After the Fall" |
| 2013 | New Girl | Elizabeth | 7 episodes |
| Remember Sunday | Lucy Gillenwater | Television film | |
| 2015–2016 | The Walking Dead | Dr. Denise Cloyd | 9 episodes |
| 2017 | Godless | Mary Agnes McNue | Main role |
| 2019 | Unbelievable | Detective Karen Duvall | Main role |
| 2020 | Run | Ruby Richardson | Main role |
| 2021 | Robot Chicken | Mandy, Susan the Tauntaun (voices) | Episode: "May Cause the Exact Thing You're Taking This to Avoid" |
| 2022 | Roar | Elisa | Episode: "The Woman Who Was Fed by a Duck" |
| 2023 | Tiny Beautiful Things | Frances "Frankie" Pierce | 7 episodes |
| 2025 | Severance | Gretchen George | 5 episodes |
| The Bombing of Pan Am 103 | Kathryn Turman | 4 episodes[27] | |
| The Gilded Age | Monica O'Brien | Episode: "Marriage Is a Gamble" |
| Year | Title | Role | Playwright | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Cavedweller | Cissy Pritchard | Kate Moira Ryan | New York Theatre Workshop, Off-Broadway | [28] |
| 2006 | What When | Sallie | Rinne Groff | The Ohio Theater, Off-Broadway | |
| 2010 | The Female of the Species | Molly Rivers | Joanna Murray-Smith | Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles | [29] |
| 2011 | The Illusion | Elicia / Lyse / Clarina | Tony Kushner | Peter Norton Space, Off-Broadway | [30] |
| Touch(ed) | Emma | Bess Wohl | Williamstown Theater Festival, Massachusetts | [31] | |
| 2012 | Uncle Vanya | Sonya | Anton Chekov | Soho Rep, Off-Broadway | [32] |
| 2015 | The Nether | Morris | Jennifer Haley | Lucille Lortel Theater, Off-Broadway | [33] |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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