Linda Edna Cardellini^[1] (born June 25, 1975)^[2] is an American actress. In television, she is known for her starring roles in the teen dramaFreaks and Geeks (1999–2000), the medical dramaER (2003–2009), and the thrillerBloodline (2015–2017), as well as for her guest role asSylvia Rosen onAMC'sMad Men (2013–2015). Her starring role in theNetflix dark comedy seriesDead to Me (2019–2022) earned her a nomination for aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress.

Linda Cardellini
Cardellini in 2019
Born	Linda Edna Cardellini (1975-06-25)June 25, 1975 (age 49) Redwood City, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Loyola Marymount University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1996–present
Works	Full list
Partner(s)	Steven Rodriguez (2009–present; engaged)
Children	1

In film, Cardellini became known for playingVelma Dinkley inScooby-Doo (2002) and its2004 sequel. Her other credits includeLegally Blonde (2001),Brokeback Mountain (2005),Daddy's Home (2015) andits 2017 sequel,The Founder (2016),Green Book (2018),A Simple Favor (2018), andThe Curse of La Llorona (2019). She also playedLaura Barton and voicedLylla in theMarvel Cinematic Universe.

Linda Edna Cardellini was born on June 25, 1975,^[2] inRedwood City, California, United States.^[3] Her father, Wayne David Cardellini, is a businessman, and her mother, Lorraine^[1] (née Hernan),^[4] is a homemaker. She is the youngest of four children.^[5] Cardellini is of Italian, Irish, German, and Scottish descent.^[6][7] She is Catholic.^[8][9] Cardellini made her first public appearance at age ten when she sang in a school play. Subsequently, she acted in several school productions and started taking drama lessons.^[10] Cardellini graduated fromSt. Francis High School in Mountain View in 1993^[11] and then moved to Los Angeles to seek roles in television and film.^[12] She was a contestant in a 1994 episode ofThe Price Is Right, winning a fireplace.^[13] Cardellini attendedLoyola Marymount University's College ofCommunication andFine Arts, where she graduated with a degree in theater arts in 1997.^[14] She was recognized as a "Distinguished Alumna" by the university in 2007.^[15]

Cardellini received her first big break role in 1996 as Sarah onABC's Saturday morning live-action children's series,Bone Chillers. At the time, she worked at anice cream shop and was in college.^[16] Following this, she made guest appearances on prime-time programs includingStep by Step,Clueless, and3rd Rock from the Sun, and she played Lauren onBoy Meets World, a girl that came between the show's star couple. Cardellini starred in the first season of theAMC seriesThe Lot in 1999,^[12] and spent the summer in Europe as part of a touring production ofLancelot, a fourteenth-century Dutch tragedy.^[11]

Cardellini had her first major success when she landed one of the starring roles in theNBC seriesFreaks and Geeks, which debuted during the 1999–2000 season, playing the role of Lindsay Weir, an honor student in the midst of an identity crisis. Cardellini starred in the live-action adaptation ofScooby-Doo in 2002, in which she played the cartoon character Velma Dinkley. She later reprised the role of Velma in 2004'sScooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. She joined the cast of the hospital dramaER in 2003 asSamantha Taggart, a free-spirited nurse. Cardellini acted for six seasons onER until the series finale, "And in the End...", and with the cast won theTV Land ensembleIcon Award in 2009.^[17]

Her other film work includes roles inDead Man on Campus,Strangeland,Good Burger,Legally Blonde,Brokeback Mountain (for which she was nominated for the ensembleGotham^[18] andScreen Actors Guild awards),^[19] and a starring role in theHappy Madison filmGrandma's Boy as Samantha. She was the voice of Ursula in therole-playing video gameGladius and played the voice of Bliss Goode on the ABC animated seriesThe Goode Family. In 2007, Cardellini was chosen to play lovelorn Clara in theCBS miniseriesComanche Moon, a prequel to 1989'sLonesome Dove.^[20]

In 2010 and 2011, Cardellini returned to the stage with the Dr. God comedy group in Los Angeles and San Francisco,^[21][22] appeared inKill the Irishman andSuper, and starred in the independent filmReturn. She appeared with cast members and producers ofFreaks and Geeks andUndeclared at thePaley Center for Media PaleyFest on March 12, 2011.^[23][24] From 2012 to 2016, she provided the voice ofWendy Corduroy on theDisney Channel animated seriesGravity Falls.

Cardellini voice acts periodically on the podcast and live showThe Thrilling Adventure Hour, on theSparks Nevada: Marshal on Mars segments.^[25][26] In 2013, she was chosen to play Sylvia Rosen, a love interest ofDon Draper onMad Men. For her performance onMad Men, she received a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. In 2015, she playedHawkeye's wifeLaura Barton inAvengers: Age of Ultron, a role she reprised in the 2019 sequelAvengers: Endgame, which was briefly thehighest-grossing film of all time. Starting in 2015, she joinedKyle Chandler on a newNetflix drama seriesBloodline, from the creators ofDamages.^[27] The show was canceled in 2016, and ended after its third season.^[28] That same year, she also had a starring role as Sara Whitaker in the comedy filmDaddy's Home. In 2017, she reprised her role in the sequel filmDaddy's Home 2.

In August 2018, Cardellini was cast to co-star withChristina Applegate inNetflix's dark comedy seriesDead to Me.^[29] It premiered on May 3, 2019.^[30] For her performance, she received critical acclaim and a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. That same year, she co-starred withViggo Mortensen andMahershala Ali in the filmGreen Book, which won theAcademy Award for Best Picture.

In 2019, she starred in thehorror filmThe Curse of La Llorona.^[31] In 2020, Cardellini appeared in the biographical drama filmCapone asMae Capone, the wife ofthe title character.^[32]

In 2021, she reprised her role of Laura Barton in theMarvel Studios showHawkeye, which premiered onDisney+ in November 2021. As of December 2024, she has starred in theNetflix seriesNo Good Deed.^[33]

On March 24, 2025 it was announced that Cardellini would be appearing asPamela Voorhees, mother ofJason Voorhees, in the upcomingPeacock seriesCrystal Lake which will be a prequel to theFriday the 13th film series.^[34]

Cardellini dated herFreaks and Geeks co-starJason Segel for several years following the show's cancellation in 2000.^[35] She and her boyfriend Steven Rodriguez announced her pregnancy in October 2011.^[36] Cardellini gave birth to their daughter in February 2012.^[37] She and Rodriguez became engaged in June 2013.^[38]

Cardellini divides her time between theSan Francisco Bay area andLos Angeles. She and her family own a country home inWoodside, California, where she enjoyshorseback riding.^[39]

•   Media related toLinda Cardellini at Wikimedia Commons
• Linda Cardellini atIMDb