Darby Stanchfield | |
|---|---|
 Stanchfield inWashington, D.C. on May 3, 2014 | |
| Born | Darby Leigh Stanchfield (1971-04-29)April 29, 1971 (age 54) Kodiak, Alaska, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Puget Sound (BA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouse | |
Darby Leigh Stanchfield (born April 29, 1971)[1] is an American actress. She is best known for her role asAbby Whelan in theABC political drama seriesScandal (2012–2018). Stanchfield is also known for roles as Shannon Gibbs in theCBS military proceduralNCIS,April Green in theCBS post-apocalyptic drama seriesJericho (2006–07), and asHelen Bishop in theAMC period drama seriesMad Men (2007–08). In 2020, she began starring as Nina Locke in the Netflix fantasy horror seriesLocke & Key.
Stanchfield was born and raised inKodiak, Alaska, where her father was a commercial fisherman. She later moved toDutch Harbor in theAleutian Islands, and finallyMercer Island, nearSeattle. She attended theUniversity of Puget Sound, graduating in 1993 with a degree in Communications and a minor in theater. She graduated from theAmerican Conservatory Theater inSan Francisco.[2]
Stanchfield began her career in theater. For a time, she did regional theatre work in the greater Seattle area including acting with the Encore Playhouse in Bellevue, Washington. She made her television debut in an episode of CBS crime drama,Diagnosis: Murder in 2000.[2] She later appeared in a number of television shows, including dramasAngel,Monk,American Dreams,Strong Medicine,Without a Trace,Nip/Tuck,Bones,Cold Case, andThe Mentalist, and well as sitcomsThat '80s Show,It's All Relative andHow I Met Your Mother. In feature films, she had the female lead role oppositeJosh Duhamel in the2004 adaptation of Oscar Wilde'sThe Picture of Dorian Gray, and co-starred asNathan Fillion's character wife in the comedy-dramaWaitress (2007).[2] She later has appeared in a number of independent films.
From 2006 to 2007, Stanchfield was a regular cast member in theCBS post-apocalyptic drama seriesJericho asApril Green. In 2007 she playedAmelia Joffe (replacingAnnie Wersching for two weeks in May) in the ABC daytime soap opera,General Hospital.[1][2][3] She later was cast in the recurring role asHelen Bishop onMad Men, appearing on five episodes.[4] She also played Shannon Gibbs,Mark Harmon's character's first wife, in the CBS proceduralNCIS appearing in seven episodes from 2006 to 2015. Stanchfield also guest starred as Meredith, the title character's first ex-wife, on the ABC comedy-drama seriesCastle in 2009 and in 2013.[5]
In March 2011,Shonda Rhimes cast Stanchfield in her political drama seriesScandal.[6] BeforeScandal, Stanchfield had guest role on Shonda Rhimes'Private Practice in 2008. The series debuted onABC on April 5, 2012.[7][8] She plays the role ofAbby Whelan, the investigator in the lead character firm, and later theWhite House Press Secretary.[9][10] The series ran for seven seasons and 124 episodes ending in 2018.[11] In 2017, she directed all six episodes ofGladiator Wanted, a web series that debuted prior to the sixth-season premiere and featuresGuillermo Diaz as Huck,Katie Lowes as Quinn,Cornelius Smith Jr. as Marcus andGeorge Newbern as Charlie.[12] In 2018, she directed one episode of the final season titled "The Noise".[13]
During herScandal years, Stanchfield co-starred in a number of films. She appeared in the crime horror thrillerCarnage Park (2016),[14][15] that premiered atSundance Film Festival, and co-starred oppositeRaza Jaffrey andStana Katic inThe Rendezvous (2017).[16] She starred alongsideEmily Bett Rickards andMeaghan Rath in the mystery-horrorThe Clinic.[17] In 2018, she was cast as a lead character's mother in the dramaJustine.[18] She also played lead character's mother in the 2020 romance drama filmStargirl directed byJulia Hart.[19]
On January 30, 2019, it was announced that Stanchfield had been cast in the series regular role of Nina Locke on theNetflix supernatural drama seriesLocke & Key.[20] The first season premiered on February 7, 2020 to positive reviews from critics.[21]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Picture of Dorian Gray | Sibyl Vane | |
| 2007 | Waitress | Francine Pomatter | |
| 2008 | The Square Root of 2 | Rachel Lehrer | First film with Darby Stanchfield as a lead role |
| 2008 | The Sacrifice | Loretta Johnson | Monaco International Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2009 | Open House | Beth Dunne | Short film |
| 2011 | Clay | Woman | Short film |
| 2011 | Finding Hope | Loretta | |
| 2011 | The Guest Room | Karen | |
| 2011 | Fixing Pete | Cynthia | |
| 2015 | Loserville | Evelyn MacDonald | |
| 2016 | Carnage Park | Ellen San Diego | |
| 2016 | The Rendezvous | Ruthie | |
| 2018 | The Clinic | Emily | |
| 2019 | Justine | Alison Green | |
| 2020 | Stargirl | Gloria Borlock | |
| 2020 | Mosquito | Clementine Bell | |
| 2023 | Willie and Me | Rebecca |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Diagnosis: Murder | Nora | Episode: "Hot House" |
| 2001 | Angel | Denise | Episode: "Happy Anniversary" |
| 2002 | That '80s Show | Spokesmodel #1 | Episode: "Road Trip" |
| 2002 | American Dreams | Amy | Episode: "The Fighting Irish" |
| 2003 | Monk | Erin Hammond | Episode: "Mr. Monk Goes to the Ballgame" |
| 2004 | It's All Relative | Jordan F. | Episode: "Who's Camping Now" |
| 2004 | Good Girls Don't... | Redhead | Episode: "Whatever Happened to Jane's Baby?" |
| 2004 | Strong Medicine | Hilary Davis | Episode: "Code" |
| 2004 | Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus | Store Clerk | Television film |
| 2005 | Without a Trace | Kim | Episode: "End Game" |
| 2005 | 24 | Shari | Episode: "Day 4: 5:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m." |
| 2005 | The Inside | New Girl | Episode: "New Girl in Town" |
| 2005 | Nip/Tuck | Aimee Bolton | Episode: "Tommy Bolton" |
| 2006 | Campus Ladies | Mikka | Episode: "Night of the Condom"[22] |
| 2006–07 | Jericho | April Green | 15 episodes |
| 2006–15 | NCIS | Shannon Gibbs | 7 episodes |
| 2007 | Bones | Connie Lopata | Episode: "The Bodies in the Book" |
| 2007 | General Hospital | Amelia Joffe | 10 episodes[22] |
| 2007 | Cold Case | Melissa Carter | Episode: "Thick as Thieves"[22] |
| 2007 | Exes and Ohs | Sienna | 3 episodes |
| 2007–08 | Mad Men | Helen Bishop | 5 episodes[23] |
| 2008 | Private Practice | Tess Milford | Episode: "Tempting Faith"[22] |
| 2009 | Exes & Ohs | Sienna | Episode: "Fish in a Barrel" |
| 2009 | The Mentalist | Stevie Caid | Episode: "Paint It Red" |
| 2009 | Ghost Whisperer | Greer Clarkson | Episode: "Delusions of Grandview"[22] |
| 2009 | Life | Ella Holden | Episode: "Initiative 38" |
| 2009 | CSI: NY | Dawn Higgins | Episode: "It Happened to Me" |
| 2009, 2013 | Castle | Meredith | Episodes: "Always Buy Retail" and "Significant Others"[22] |
| 2010 | How I Met Your Mother | Marissa Heller | Episode: "Robots Versus Wrestlers"[22] |
| 2011 | CSI: Miami | Linda Hill | Episode: "F-T-F" |
| 2011 | Burn Notice | Sadie Forte | Episode: "Eye for an Eye" |
| 2012–2018 | Scandal | Abby Whelan | Series regular, 120 episodes TV Guide Award for Fan Favorite Cast in a Drama Series (2013) |
| 2020–2022 | Locke & Key | Nina Locke | Main role; 28 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Gladiator Wanted | N/A | Director, 6 episodes |
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| National | |
| Other | |
