---
name: "Betty Gilpin"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/betty-gilpin"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "21 July 1986"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 79
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-17T19:24:33.178485+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Betty Gilpin

Actor. Born 21 July 1986 in New York City, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 21 July 1986, New York City, New York, USA
- **Active:** 2008–present
- **Also known as:** Elizabeth Folan Gilpin, Ελίζαμπεθ Φόλαν Γκίλπιν
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 1 Emmy (1 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as actor, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 80 (1), 2010s 78 (1), 2020s 80 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 79 to 73 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 1 of 1 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Comedy 2, Mystery 2, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Gilpin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20031439, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2365811/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/92572

## Coming up

- *The Social Reckoning* (2026-10-07), as Kris — [page](https://film.one/film/the-social-reckoning.md)
- *Alone at Dawn* (2027-12-25)

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*GLOW*](https://film.one/tv/glow.md) (78)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Betty Gilpin

> Betty Gilpin plays women who are furious, funny and better at something than they would like to be, and lets you see all three at once. In *GLOW* that made her the best thing in a good series.

Debbie Eagan arrives in *GLOW* as the woman whose husband has slept with her best friend, and for an episode or two that is all the part asks of her. Then she gets into the ring. Gilpin plays Debbie as furious, bored, brilliant on camera and appalled that the thing she is best at turns out to be a joke in Lycra, and she keeps all four going at once. Her matches with Alison Brie's Ruth are the only place the two women can talk, and the show knows it. We went in expecting the wronged wife to be the dull corner of the series and found we were watching Gilpin whenever she was on, because she never lets the anger cancel the pleasure.

She had been working for a decade before anyone built anything around her. Guest television parts from 2006, off-Broadway theatre, a recurring run as Dr Carrie Roman in *Nurse Jackie* (2013–2015): steady employment, much of it the kind of small, decorative part offered to a tall blonde woman before anyone has looked closely. *GLOW* (2017–2019) was the first time a show was written to what she could do, and Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch deserve credit for making Debbie unlikeable and right at the same time. Since then she has moved between films and series, *The Hunt* (2020), *The Tomorrow War* (2021), *Mrs. Davis* (2023) and *American Primeval* (2025) among them, and made her Broadway debut in 2025.

She has described herself as "Cyrano driving the Barbie bus", and it is a fair account of the trick. The face gets her the audition; what she does with the part is what nobody expected. The physical work is real. Debbie's Liberty Belle is an athlete's performance, not a costume, and the later action and satirical parts, *The Hunt* especially, ask for the same commitment of the body. We have not reviewed *The Hunt* and will not pretend to know whether it gives her anything to do with the fury once the running stops.

The risk with a performer this good at rage is that she keeps being asked for it and nothing else. Her leads so far have been on television and her film parts mostly supporting, and on our own viewing we cannot yet say whether anyone has written her a second Debbie. Until they do, start with *GLOW*, give it the half-season it needs to find its feet, and watch for the moment Debbie realises she is good at this and does not know whether to be pleased.

## Biography

Betty Gilpin is an American actress. She portrayed Debbie Eagan in the Netflix series *GLOW* (2017–2019), for which she received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

She studied at Fordham University and made her off-Broadway debut in 2008 in *Good Boys and True*. Her father, Jack Gilpin, is also an actor. Gilpin has appeared in films including *True Story* (2015), *Isn't It Romantic* (2019), *The Hunt* (2020) and *The Tomorrow War* (2021). She is credited as Kris in the 2026 film *The Social Reckoning*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Widow's Bay* (2026), Fi1m 80, as Sarah Westcott Warren — [page](https://film.one/tv/widows-bay.md)
- *GLOW* (2017), Fi1m 78, as Debbie Eagan — [page](https://film.one/tv/glow.md)
- *Fringe* (2008), Fi1m 80, as Loraine Daisy Alcott — [page](https://film.one/tv/fringe.md)

## Complete filmography (45)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Alone at Dawn* (2027), Acting
- *The Social Reckoning* (2026), as Kris — coming soon, [page](https://film.one/film/the-social-reckoning.md)
- *Extreme Makeover: Homer Edition* (2026), as Amy  (voice)
- *Office Romance* (2026), as Sydney Bloom
- *Widow's Bay* (2026), series, as Sarah Westcott Warren — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/widows-bay.md)
- *Death by Lightning* (2025), series, as Crete Garfield
- *Hal & Harper* (2025), series, as Kate
- *The Terminal List: Dark Wolf* (2025), series, as Amy Edwards, Amy Edwards (voice)
- *American Primeval* (2025), series, as Sara Rowell
- *Three Women* (2024), series, as Lina
- *Skull Island* (2023), series, as Irene (voice)
- *Mrs. Davis* (2023), series, as Elizabeth Abbott / Sister Simone
- *Gaslit* (2022), series, as Mo Dean
- *Roar* (2022), series, as Amelia
- *The Tomorrow War* (2021), as Emmy Forester
- *Coffee & Kareem* (2020), as Detective Watts
- *The Hunt* (2020), as Crystal
- *The Grudge* (2019), as Nina Spencer
- *Stuber* (2019), as Becca
- *A Dog's Journey* (2019), as Gloria Mitchell
- *Isn't It Romantic* (2019), as Whitney
- *Future '38* (2017), as Banky
- *GLOW* (2017), series, as Debbie Eagan — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/glow.md)
- *American Gods* (2017), series, as Audrey
- *True Story* (2015), as Cheryl
- *Take Care* (2014), as Jodi
- *The Mysteries of Laura* (2014), series, as Isabel Van Doren
- *Masters of Sex* (2013), series, as Nancy Leveau — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/masters-of-sex.md)
- *Beach Pillows* (2013), as Karla
- *Elementary* (2012), series, as Fiona Helbron
- *Past Life* (2010), series, as Corrine
- *The Good Wife* (2009), series, as Molly — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-good-wife.md)
- *The Northern Kingdom* (2009), as Carissa
- *Nurse Jackie* (2009), series, as Dr. Carrie Roman
- *The Unusuals* (2009), series, Acting
- *Ghost Town* (2008), as WWII Nurse
- *Fringe* (2008), series, as Loraine Daisy Alcott — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/fringe.md)
- *Death in Love* (2008), as Young Model
- *New Amsterdam* (2008), series, as Marika Soloway
- *Robot Chicken* (2005), series, as Veronica Lodge (voice)
- *Medium* (2005), series, as Kim Clement
- *Law & Order: Criminal Intent* (2001), series, as Amanda Dockerty, Stacy Hayes-Fitzgerald
- *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), series, as Natalie Relais
- *Law & Order* (1990), series, as Paige Regan — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md)
- *The Roman*, series, as Marla Blake

## Gallery

- ![Betty Gilpin](https://film.one/media/person/95725/gallery-aa4d34894840.jpg) Betty Gilpin — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Betty_Gilpin_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/1280px-Betty_Gilpin_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin reveal their most embarrassing moments on set in a hilarious game of NEVER HAVE I EVER! So if you’ve ever wondered: yes, big wrestl (2018)](https://film.one/media/person/95725/gallery-1860b3ae0677.jpg) Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin reveal their most embarrassing moments on set in a hilarious game of NEVER HAVE I EVER! So if you’ve ever wondered: yes, big wrestl (2018) — MTV International, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Alison_Brie_and_Betty_Gilpin_GLOW_interview_1_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Betty Gilpin and Jeri Ryan speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Entertainment Weekly: Women Who Kick Ass", at the San Diego Convention C](https://film.one/media/person/95725/gallery-7b1a4db208ff.jpg) Betty Gilpin and Jeri Ryan speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Entertainment Weekly: Women Who Kick Ass", at the San Diego Convention C — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Betty_Gilpin_%26_Jeri_Ryan_%2848460252872%29.jpg/1280px-Betty_Gilpin_%26_Jeri_Ryan_%2848460252872%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Betty Gilpin speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Entertainment Weekly: Women Who Kick Ass", at the San Diego Convention Center in San D](https://film.one/media/person/95725/gallery-da6f86953862.jpg) Betty Gilpin speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Entertainment Weekly: Women Who Kick Ass", at the San Diego Convention Center in San D — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Betty_Gilpin_%2848460096751%29.jpg/1280px-Betty_Gilpin_%2848460096751%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Betty Gilpin](https://film.one/media/person/95725/gallery-f478d4a0f808.jpg) Betty Gilpin — Image via TMDB
- ![Betty Gilpin](https://film.one/media/person/95725/gallery-aabdf0d9be5d.jpg) Betty Gilpin — Image via TMDB
- ![Betty Gilpin](https://film.one/media/person/95725/gallery-77a173c5b3dc.jpg) Betty Gilpin — Image via TMDB
- ![Betty Gilpin speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Entertainment Weekly: Women Who Kick Ass", at the San Diego Convention Center in San D](https://film.one/media/person/95725/gallery-28b54df0a56d.jpg) Betty Gilpin speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Entertainment Weekly: Women Who Kick Ass", at the San Diego Convention Center in San D — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Betty_Gilpin_%2848460097206%29.jpg/1280px-Betty_Gilpin_%2848460097206%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Betty Gilpin speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Entertainment Weekly: Women Who Kick Ass", at the San Diego Convention Center in San D](https://film.one/media/person/95725/gallery-4e64fd1be3cd.jpg) Betty Gilpin speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Entertainment Weekly: Women Who Kick Ass", at the San Diego Convention Center in San D — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Betty_Gilpin_%2848460097771%29.jpg/1280px-Betty_Gilpin_%2848460097771%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Betty Gilpin](https://film.one/media/person/95725/gallery-cb6775325fc0.jpg) Betty Gilpin — Image via TMDB
- ![Betty Gilpin](https://film.one/media/person/95725/gallery-f4a6f1995990.jpg) Betty Gilpin — Image via TMDB
- ![Betty Gilpin](https://film.one/media/person/95725/gallery-d5f3a7fcf4a5.jpg) Betty Gilpin — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 1 won

- 2026: Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (won), for *Widow's Bay*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/betty-gilpin