Keri Russell

Keri Russell (born March 23, 1976, Fountain Valley, California, U.S.) is an American actress who first gained fame with the TV series Felicity (1998–2002) and who later starred in the spy thriller The Americans (2013–18) and the political drama The Diplomat (2023– ).

Early life and The All New Mickey Mouse Club

Russell is one of three children born to Stephanie Russell (née Stephens), a homemaker, and David Russell, an automotive executive. The family moved a number of times, and, while in Mesa, Arizona, she studied jazz dance and ballet and later earned a scholarship to a Denver studio. Discovered by a talent scout, in 1991 Russell began performing on the TV show The All New Mickey Mouse Club. Several of her fellow cast members—notably, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, and Christina Aguilera—went on to have major careers in show business. In 1993 Russell left the series, and by then she had already begun acting in other projects, including Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992), which was her first feature film.

In an interview with W Magazine in 2023, Russell talked about her stint on The All New Mickey Mouse Club:

I was there at a time when there were a lot of famous kids there. And I say this completely truthfully: I was literally the least talented one there. I’m not kidding. When I look at those kids, I’m like, why in the world did they pick me?

Acting career: Felicity

Russell continued acting, and she starred in several TV movies, including The Babysitter’s Seduction (1996) and When Innocence Is Lost (1997). She also had a lead role in the short-lived series Malibu Shores (1996). Her breakthrough came in 1998, when she began starring in Felicity, about a teenager who abandons her college plans to attend the same university as her high-school crush. The coming-of-age drama was a hit, attracting viewers with its likable cast and depiction of college life. However, Felicity’s ratings fell in the second season. While the drop coincided with the show’s move to another night, it was widely attributed to a decision by show creators and network executives to cut Russell’s long curly hair. Although the ratings rebounded somewhat in the third season, the show continued to struggle, and it ended in 2002. Felicity has since become a pop culture touchstone, and it has found enduring popularity on streaming services.

Russell subsequently had supporting roles in such movies as We Were Soldiers (2002), a Vietnam War drama starring Mel Gibson, and The Upside of Anger (2005), featuring Kevin Costner and Joan Allen. In 2006 Russell appeared alongside Tom Cruise in the popular action film Mission: Impossible III. The following year she starred in Waitress, a charming dramedy about a pregnant woman in an unhappy marriage who starts a relationship with her doctor. Her other credits from 2007 include August Rush, in which she played the mother of a musical prodigy. Russell later starred with Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford in Extraordinary Measures (2010), about the search for the cure for a rare genetic disorder.

The Americans and The Diplomat

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In 2013 Russell had another hit TV series, The Americans. She and Matthew Rhys starred as Soviet spies living as a married couple in suburban Washington, D.C., at the height of the Cold War in the 1980s. While pretending to be travel agents, they actually work for the KGB. The show, which ran from 2013 to 2018, was critically acclaimed, and Russell received three Emmy Award nominations for her performance.

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During this time Russell continued to act in movies. Her notable films from this period include Austenland (2013), in which she played a woman obsessed with Jane Austen, and the action-drama Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014). In 2016 she appeared with Matthew McConaughey in Free State of Jones, set during the American Civil War.

After The Americans ended in 2018, Russell limited her appearances. She had a supporting role in Star Wars: Episode IX —The Rise of Skywalker (2019) and later starred in the horror-comedy Cocaine Bear (2023). In 2019 she made her Broadway debut, appearing with Adam Driver in a revival of Lanford Wilson’s Burn This. Four years later she began starring in the Netflix show The Diplomat. The political thriller centers on Kate Wyler, a savvy civil servant who is unexpectedly tapped as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom—while, unbeknownst to her, she is being groomed to become vice president. She must also contend with her complicated marriage to a scheming fellow diplomat (played by Rufus Sewell). The Diplomat was a huge hit with viewers, and Russell earned an Emmy nomination for her work.

Personal life

In 2007 Russell married Shane Deary, a contractor, and the couple had two children. They separated in 2013 and divorced the following year. During this time Russell began a relationship with her Americans costar, Matthew Rhys. They later had a son.