Kristen Connolly

Kristen Nora Connolly was born on 12 July 1980 in Montclair, New Jersey. After finishing high school she graduated from Middlebury College with major in Theatre Studies. This was followed by a failed attempt to study law. She then completed a drama course at Yale School of Drama. During her academic years she played tennis for some time. She also attempted playing field hockey. In fact, it was a choice between sports and drama as a career, and she chose the latter. As a student of drama she regularly featured in Shakespearean plays together with her brother Will.

Kristen Connolly’s entry into acting was in recurring roles in a few ‘CollegeHumour’ digital short films. Her maiden film appearance was in 2003 when she appeared as an extra in ‘Mona Lisa Smile’. After a considerable gap, she once again started featuring in mainstream movies from 2008 and made her presence felt as a powerful actress. She featured in ‘The Happening’, ‘Meet Dave’, and ‘Revolutionary Road’ in 2008. Between 2008 and 2014, Kristen featured in almost ten films. Among these films ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ needs special mention. In this horror comedy, she played the role of Dana Polk, an American college student. In ‘The Bay’, a horror movie, Connolly was highly appreciated for her role as Stephanie. In the drama-thriller ‘A Good Marriage,’ based on Stephen King’s story, her portrayal as Petra Anderson was remarkable. Connolly’s penchant for thrillers is firmly established.

Alongside cinema, she has also featured in television soap operas. In the drama thriller series ‘Zoo’ presented by CBS, she plays a passionate journalist, Jamie. In A&E’s ‘Houdini’, which premiered to a tremendous audience response, Kristin played the part of Bess Houdini along with Adrien Brody who plays Harry Houdini. In the Netflix series ‘House of Cards’, she is remarkable as Christina Gallagher. She puts up a creditable performance with Kevin Spacey. Her other notable roles include Lena Lawrence in the series ‘The Whispers’, Josie Anderson in ‘As the World Turns’, and Jolene in ‘Guiding Light’. Kristen also featured in two television films, ‘Superego’ in 2010 (as Josey), and ‘The Wizard of Lies’ in 2017 (as Stephanie Madoff). Kristen Connolly is also a stage actress. Being a student of drama, she has acted in Shakespearean plays. Along with her brother Will, she staged ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in Montclair Kimberley Academy. In 2011 she appeared in ‘All’s Well that Ends Well’ and ‘Measure for Measure’ produced by Shakespeare in the Park. In Public Theatre Production’s ‘King Lear’, Kristen played the king’s youngest daughter.