Gretchen Mol facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gretchen Mol
Mol in 2015
Born	(1972-11-08) November 8, 1972 (age 52) Deep River, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1996-present
Spouse(s)	Tod Williams ​ (m. 2004)​
Children	2

Gretchen Mol (born November 8, 1972) is an American actress. She is well-known for playing Gillian Darmody in the HBO TV show Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014). She has also acted in many movies. Some of her famous films include Rounders (1998), Celebrity (1998), and The Thirteenth Floor (1999). She also played the main character in The Notorious Bettie Page (2005). Later, she appeared in 3:10 to Yuma (2007) and Manchester by the Sea (2016).

Early Life and Acting Start

Gretchen Mol was born on November 8, 1972, in Deep River, Connecticut. Her mother was an artist and teacher. Her father was also a teacher. In high school, she performed in musicals and plays with her friend Peter Lockyer, who also became a Broadway actor. Her brother, Jim Mol, works as a director and editor in movies.

Gretchen went to The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She also studied at the William Esper Studio. Before becoming a full-time actress, she worked as an usher at the Angelika Film Center in New York. She moved there to be with her brother, who was studying film at NYU.

Stage Acting

Mol started her acting career in summer theater in Vermont. She performed in plays like Godspell and 110 in the Shade. In 2001, she played Jenny in Neil LaBute's play The Shape of Things. She performed this role in both London and New York. Later, she played the same character in the movie version of the play in 2003.

In 2004, Mol spent a year on Broadway. She sang and danced as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago. From 2014 to 2015, she played Emily in the Broadway show Disgraced. This play won a Pulitzer-Prize.

Film Career

Mol at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival

Gretchen Mol has acted in more than 30 feature films. Her first movie was Spike Lee's Girl 6 in 1996. Even though it was a small part, it helped her career. She said having Spike Lee on her resume opened new doors.

After Girl 6, filmmaker Abel Ferrara cast her in two movies: The Funeral (1996) and New Rose Hotel (1998). She also had a small role in Donnie Brasco (1997). For a while, she was often cast as "the girlfriend." She tried to change this by taking a different kind of role in Music from Another Room (1998).

In 1998, she appeared in several important films. These included Rounders with Matt Damon. She also worked with Woody Allen in Celebrity, where she acted alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. That same year, she was featured on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. The magazine called her the "It Girl of the Nineties."

She worked with Woody Allen again in 1999 for Sweet and Lowdown. She also played the main female role in the 1999 film The Thirteenth Floor. In 2006, she starred in the romantic comedy Puccini for Beginners.

Mol worked for two years with director Mary Harron on the film The Notorious Bettie Page. She played the real-life character Bettie Page. Mol felt she truly understood Bettie Page by the time filming began.

In 2007, she had a very busy year. She appeared in four films. One of them was a remake of 3:10 to Yuma with Russell Crowe. She also starred in An American Affair, playing a character who has a relationship with John F. Kennedy. In 2016, she appeared in Kenneth Lonergan's highly praised film Manchester by the Sea.

Television Roles

Gretchen Mol's first TV job was in a Coca-Cola commercial. She had a small role in the 1996 TV miniseries Dead Man's Walk. She also appeared in a few episodes of Spin City. In 2002, she was one of the three main actresses in the series girls club. However, the show ended quickly.

She acted in two TV remakes of classic movies. She played Madge Owens in Picnic (2000). She also played Lucy Morgan in The Magnificent Ambersons (2002). In 2007, she starred in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie The Valley of Light.

In 2008, she played Norah in The Memory Keeper's Daughter. This movie aired on The Lifetime Channel. She also played NYPD Officer Annie Norris in the ABC series Life on Mars. This show was based on a British series.

Mol had a regular role on HBO's Boardwalk Empire as Gillian Darmody. She and the cast won two SAG Awards for their acting in 2010 and 2011. In 2018, she played attorney Sam Henessy in the Netflix series Seven Seconds.

Personal Life

Gretchen Mol married film director Tod Williams on June 1, 2004. They have two children. Their son was born in September 2007, and their daughter was born in February 2011. Since becoming a mother, Mol prefers to take acting jobs close to her home in New York City. She wants to be close to her family.

Mol is also the national spokesperson for the PMD Foundation in the United States. This foundation supports research and raises awareness for Pelizaeus–Merzbacher disease. This is a brain disorder that affects children. Mol became involved after a cousin passed away from a similar neurological disease.

Filmography

Film

Television

See also

In Spanish: Gretchen Mol para niños