Alison Pill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alison Pill
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Pill in 2019
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| Born | November 27, 1985 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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| Alma mater | Vaughan Road Academy |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Joshua Leonard
(m. 2015) |
| Children | 1 |
Alison Pill is a Canadian actress who started acting when she was young, around 12 years old. She appeared in many projects as a child. Later, she moved into adult roles, with a big break in the TV show The Book of Daniel in 2006. That same year, she performed on Broadway in The Lieutenant of Inishmore, which earned her a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
Pill has also had important roles in movies like Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004), Milk (2008), Midnight in Paris (2011), and Vice (2018). From 2012 to 2014, she played Maggie Jordan in the HBO drama series The Newsroom. She also appeared in TV shows such as Star Trek: Picard (2020–2022) and Devs (2020). Many people know her for playing Kim Pine in the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) and the Netflix animated series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023).
Contents
Early Life and Education
Alison Pill was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her father is from Estonia and works as an engineer. Pill went to Vaughan Road Academy. She was part of a special program there that helped students study dance, music, sports, and theatre.
Career Highlights
Starting as a Young Actress (1997–2007)
Alison Pill decided she wanted to be an actress when she was 10 years old. She was part of the Toronto Children's Chorus and was chosen to narrate one of their shows. Her mother tried to make her less interested by getting her a small background role in a TV series. However, by age 11, Pill had a guest role in a children's TV show.
When she was 12, she got parts in two TV movies and a mini-series. She also made a guest appearance on the TV show Psi Factor. Pill also lent her voice to the character "Cornflower" in the animated series Redwall from 1999 to 2001. After more TV movie roles, she got her first movie part in a Canadian film called The Life Before This in 1999. She also played Marfa in Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang.
Before she turned 14, Pill acted in four more TV movies. The next year, she had a small role in Skipped Parts (2000) with Drew Barrymore. She also appeared in four more TV movies and films that year. This included playing Farrah Fawcett's daughter in the movie Baby. She also had a main role in the Canadian film The Dinosaur Hunter. This movie was first meant for a dinosaur museum and an education channel. But it ended up at the Burbank International Film Festival, where Pill won an award for Best Child Actress.
In 2001, she played young Lorna in the ABC-TV movie Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows. This movie was based on a book by Judy Garland's daughter. That same year, Pill played Sissy Spacek's daughter in the TV movie Midwives. In 2003, she was Katie Holmes's sister in the movie Pieces of April. Pill also won the main role in the CTV-TV movie Fast Food High. This movie was about a teenager who works at a fast food restaurant and tries to start a union. She also had a supporting role in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2003), starring Lindsay Lohan.
Pill also started acting on stage in New York City. In 2006, she played Grace Webster in the NBC drama The Book of Daniel. That same year, she made her Broadway debut in the play The Lieutenant of Inishmore. For this role, she was nominated for a Tony Award.
Because she was so busy with acting, Pill studied through a special program for young performers. After finishing high school, Pill moved to New York to focus on theatre. However, she continued to work in movies like Dan in Real Life in 2007. She returned to Broadway in the play Mauritius (2007). Critics praised her performance, calling her "excellent" and noting her "compelling combination of ferocity and fragility." That same year, she acted in the play Blackbird in New York City. For her role, she received nominations for several awards, including the Drama League Award.
Major Film and TV Roles (2008–2014)
In 2008, Pill had a big supporting role as campaign manager Anne Kronenberg in the movie Milk. In 2009, she played April in the TV series In Treatment. She also played Kim Pine in the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) and voiced the character in Scott Pilgrim vs. the Animation. She also played Empress Maud in the mini-series The Pillars of the Earth.
On stage, Pill starred with Abigail Breslin in the Broadway revival of The Miracle Worker (2010). A critic from Variety noted her skill in playing strong, complex women. The next year, she acted in another Broadway play, The House of Blue Leaves, alongside Ben Stiller and Edie Falco. She received good reviews for her role as a kind, partially deaf actress.
Pill appeared in Woody Allen's romantic comedy Midnight in Paris (2011), playing Zelda Fitzgerald. The next year, she worked with Allen again in To Rome with Love (2012). She also starred in short films like Denise and Santa Baby. In 2016, she was in Cover Up and Woman in Deep.
From 2012 to 2014, she was a main cast member in the HBO political drama series The Newsroom. She played Maggie Jordan, a journalist. In a play called Wait Until Dark (2013), Pill played a blind woman who has to fight for her life. Critics praised her performance, comparing it to famous actors who played the role before.
She also appeared in the post-apocalyptic movie Snowpiercer (2013), with Chris Evans. Pill was in Cooties (2014) and played Emma, an artist, in Zoom.
Recent Work (2015–Present)
In 2015, Pill acted in the Coen Brothers comedy Hail, Caesar!. She also starred as Eva Glatt in Goon: Last of the Enforcers, a sequel to the movie Goon. Pill was part of the cast of The Family TV series. In 2016, she co-starred with Jessica Chastain in the thriller Miss Sloane.
In 2017, she joined American Horror Story: Cult as Ivy Mayfair-Richards, a main character. In 2018, she played Mary Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, in the movie Vice. That same year, she acted in the Broadway play Three Tall Women.
In 2020, she was in the TV series Devs, playing Katie, a chief designer. In 2021, she starred in the movie All My Puny Sorrows as Yolandi "Yoli" Von Riesen. For this role, she won the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in a Canadian Film. Pill also appeared in the TV series Them as Betty Wendell. For the first two seasons of Star Trek: Picard, she played scientist Dr. Agnes Jurati. Pill returned to Broadway in 2024, playing Sonya in the play Uncle Vanya alongside Steve Carell. Critics highly praised her performance in this role.
Personal Life
Alison Pill was engaged to actor Jay Baruchel from 2011 to 2013. Baruchel announced their engagement publicly during an awards speech.
Pill married actor Joshua Leonard on May 24, 2015. They have a daughter named Wilder, who was born on November 19, 2016.
Images for kids
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Pill in 2019
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Pill at Comic Con in 2010
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Pill at PaleyFest in 2013
