---
name: "Martha Kelly"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/martha-kelly"
fi1m_id: "martha-kelly"
imdb_id: "nm2194373"
tmdb_id: 1572541
wikidata_id: "Q6774445"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "24 February 1968"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-13T21:28:20.581496+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."
---

# Martha Kelly

## Identity

Martha Kelly

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/martha-kelly
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** martha-kelly
- **IMDb ID:** nm2194373
- **TMDB ID:** 1572541
- **Wikidata ID:** Q6774445
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Kelly, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6774445, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2194373/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1572541

Actor. Born 24 February 1968 in Torrance, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 24 February 1968, Torrance, California, USA
- **Active:** 2017–present
- **Also known as:** 마사 켈리
- **Average Fi1m score:** 76, as actor, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 74 (3), 2020s 79 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 75 to 77 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 3 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Adventure 2, Comedy 2, Action 1, Animation 1, Family 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $946m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Kelly, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6774445, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2194373/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1572541

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Marriage Story*](https://film.one/film/marriage-story.md) (84)
- **HBO Max:** [*Common Side Effects*](https://film.one/tv/common-side-effects.md) (80)

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

## Fi1m on Martha Kelly

> Martha Kelly can make an almost expressionless line funny or disturbing without changing her voice much. We value that restraint, especially in small parts, though a role that needs open emotion can expose its limits.

Martha Kelly tends to keep her voice level while the people around her have reasons to raise theirs. Her nearly monotone delivery makes a small part recognisable without much apparent effort. In Noah Baumbach’s *Marriage Story* (2019), she plays the Evaluator, giving a supporting role definition through her distinctive timing. That lack of fuss is welcome in a film whose larger arguments can feel rehearsed. The risk is that the voice becomes all a filmmaker asks her to supply.

Her stand-up had already established that deadpan before Zach Galifianakis wrote Martha Brooks for her in *Baskets* (2016), her acting debut. Across four seasons, the role gave her gentle comic timing more room than a brief film appearance could. Her appearance as Laurie, a drug dealer in *Euphoria* in 2022, showed how chilling that detachment could become. An even delivery can make threatening dialogue sound horribly routine, and Kelly does not need much outward display to make the difference felt.

There is a limit, though: Kelly has acknowledged difficulty with broader emotional expression. *Marriage Story* places her within a film where Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson carry the sustained emotional demands. We were moved by the old affection they keep visible beneath their grievances, because it makes the smaller hurts painfully convincing. Kelly’s contribution works at its own smaller scale, with enough individuality to make the Evaluator register. We would welcome larger parts for her, but they need to offer more than additional lines delivered in the same manner.

Dave Green’s *Coyote vs. Acme* (2026), with Kelly as Dottie Jones, is funny and unexpectedly touching, though its corporate satire settles for easy targets. The friendship between the coyote and his lawyer gives the silliness someone to care about. Kelly is again a supporting player, and our recommendation rests on the affectionate comedy rather than any claim that she transforms it. For more time with her, start with *Baskets*: a role written for her is a fairer test than waiting for the next small film appearance.

## Biography

Martha Kelly is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Born on 24 February 1968 in Torrance, California, she began performing stand-up in the 1990s and appeared on programmes including Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Last Comic Standing and Comedy Central specials.

She made her acting debut in the FX series Baskets (2016–2019), playing Martha Brooks opposite Zach Galifianakis. Subsequent roles include appearances in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Marriage Story (2019), American Gods (2017) and What We Do in the Shadows (2019). She received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Laurie in Euphoria (2019–).

Kelly has also appeared in Hacks (2021), Fallout (2024) and the animated series Common Side Effects (2025). She plays Dottie Jones in the 2026 film Coyote vs. Acme.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, rottentomatoes.com, watch.plex.tv.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Coyote vs. Acme* (2026), Fi1m 78, as Dottie Jones — [page](https://film.one/film/coyote-vs-acme.md)
- *Common Side Effects* (2025), Fi1m 80, as Agent Harrington (voice) — [page](https://film.one/tv/common-side-effects.md)
- *Euphoria* (2019), Fi1m 65, as Laurie — [page](https://film.one/tv/euphoria.md)
- *Marriage Story* (2019), Fi1m 84, as The Evaluator — [page](https://film.one/film/marriage-story.md)
- *Spider-Man: Homecoming* (2017), Fi1m 74, as Tour Guide — [page](https://film.one/film/spider-man-homecoming.md)

## Complete filmography (26)

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

- *Coyote vs. Acme* (2026), as Dottie Jones — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/coyote-vs-acme.md)
- *Homebodies* (2026), as Hold Message (voice)
- *Poetic License* (2025), as Professor Greta Ellis
- *Bad Thoughts* (2025), series, as Natalie
- *Common Side Effects* (2025), series, as Agent Harrington (voice) — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/common-side-effects.md)
- *Fallout* (2024), series, as Representative Welch — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/fallout.md)
- *Carol & the End of the World* (2023), series, as Carol (voice)
- *Only Worn Once* (2023), as Darcy
- *Sitting in Bars with Cake* (2023), as Ruth
- *Indoor Baseball* (2023), as Morgan
- *I Love That for You* (2022), series, as Pam
- *Gaslit* (2022), series, as Rose Mary Woods
- *American Auto* (2021), series, as Barb
- *Hacks* (2021), series, as Barbara — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/hacks.md)
- *The Great North* (2021), series, as Bethany (voice)
- *Aunty Donna's Big Ol House of Fun* (2020), series, as Stylist
- *Marriage Story* (2019), as The Evaluator — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/marriage-story.md)
- *Corporate Animals* (2019), as Gloria
- *Euphoria* (2019), series, as Laurie — Fi1m 65, [page](https://film.one/tv/euphoria.md)
- *What We Do in the Shadows* (2019), series, as Martha
- *Corporate* (2018), series, as Tandy
- *Will & Grace* (2017), series, as Patty
- *Spider-Man: Homecoming* (2017), as Tour Guide — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/spider-man-homecoming.md)
- *American Gods* (2017), series, as Zorya Utrennyaya
- *Infinity Baby* (2017), as Ava
- *Baskets* (2016), series, as Martha Brooks

---
© 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/martha-kelly