Keri Lynn Russell (born March 23, 1976) is an American actress. Working mainly in dramatic television since the 1990s, she has received eight nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series. She won a Golden Globe Award in 1999 for her lead role in the drama series Felicity, and has received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations and four additional Golden Globe Award nominations for her roles in The Americans and The Diplomat. In 2017, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to television.
Russell first appeared on Disney Channel's revival of The Mickey Mouse Club when she was 15 and was a regular cast member on the show from 1991 to 1994. She made her first film appearance in Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992). Russell's other film appearances include We Were Soldiers (2002), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Waitress (2007), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). On stage, she acted in Neil LaBute's off-Broadway play Fat Pig (2004–2005) and made her Broadway debut in the Lanford Wilson revival Burn This (2019).
Early life
Russell was born on March 23, 1976, in Fountain Valley, California, a suburb of Orange County. Her mother, Stephanie Stephens, is a homemaker, and her father, David Russell, is a Nissan Motors executive. She has an older brother and a younger sister. The family lived in Coppell, Texas; Mesa, Arizona; and Highlands Ranch, Colorado, moving frequently due to her father's work.
Career
1990–2002: Early roles and rise to prominence with Felicity
Russell was a dancer in middle school and high school, and her dancing had helped her get cast on The All New Mickey Mouse Club television show on the Disney Channel. Russell was on the show from 1991 to 1994, encompassing seasons four to six.
In 1992, she appeared in Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and in 1993, had a minor role on the sitcom Boy Meets World as Mr. Feeny's niece. She appeared on Married... with Children in a 1995 episode ("Radio Free Trumaine", production 9.24). She subsequently had several film and television roles, including the 1996 made-for-television film The Babysitter's Seduction. In 1997, she appeared in two episodes of Roar. In 2005, she returned to television and film, beginning with an appearance in the Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie The Magic of Ordinary Days, the theatrical film The Upside of Anger, and the television miniseries Into the West. In 2005, director J. J. Abrams asked Russell to join the cast of Mission: Impossible III, and she accepted. She was screen tested for the role of Lois Lane in Superman Returns but lost the part to Kate Bosworth.
In mid-2006, Russell was chosen to be a celebrity spokeswoman for CoverGirl cosmetics. In the summer of 2007, Russell appeared in The Keri Kronicles, a reality show sitcom sponsored by CoverGirl that aired on MySpace; the show was filmed at Russell's home in Manhattan and spotlighted her life. Also in 2007, she played Melody on the NBC show Scrubs.
Russell next starred in the film Waitress, which marked the fourth time she played a pregnant woman. Her performance was positively received by critics, In 2007, Russell also completed roles in Grimm Love and The Girl in the Park.
Russell next appeared in August Rush, released in November 2007. She later appeared in Bedtime Stories. In an appearance on The View on December 15, 2008, Russell said she got the part because Adam Sandler's wife Jackie had seen her in Waitress and suggested her for the movie. Russell voiced Wonder Woman in a direct-to-video animated feature released on March 3, 2009.
Russell starred in the Tom Vaughan-helmed Extraordinary Measures for CBS Films. The drama, released on January 22, 2010, was the company's first film to go into production. Russell plays Aileen Crowley, a mother who tries to build a normal home life for her sick children while her husband and an unconventional scientist race against time to find a cure.
Russell starred in the Fox series Running Wilde from 2010 to 2011.
2013–present: The Americans and The Diplomat
thumb|Russell at the 2013 [[San Diego Comic-Con|left|alt=|upright=0.81]]
From 2013 to 2018, Russell starred in the FX drama series The Americans, playing Elizabeth Jennings, a deep-undercover Russian KGB spy living as an American in the 1980s Cold War era. She appeared opposite Matthew Rhys, who portrays her character's husband and spy partner. Russell and Rhys became partners in real life during this time. The series ended after six seasons. For her performance, she was nominated for three consecutive Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, as well as two Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. Emily St. James of Vox called her performance "gorgeously restrained".
In 2013, Russell starred in the science-fiction horror film Dark Skies and the romantic comedy film Austenland. In 2014, she starred in the science fiction action film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, a sequel to 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes. In 2016, she starred as Serena Knight in the historical U.S. Civil War film Free State of Jones.
In 2017, Russell received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2018, Russell was announced to have joined the cast of the film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which was released on December 20, 2019. The film reunited her with J.J. Abrams, with whom she had worked on Felicity and Mission: Impossible III.
In March 2019, she starred in the first Broadway revival of Lanford Wilson's play Burn This at the Hudson Theatre. Frank Rizzo of Variety wrote of her performance, "Russell, whose stage credits are slim but who's proven her chops onscreen in The Americans, creates a vivid, if less flashy, performance", adding, "Still, she's a force in her own right."
In 2023, Russell began starring in The Diplomat, a political series on Netflix from writer and producer Debora Cahn. In 2026, she received the Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for her work on the show's third season.
Personal life
In 2006, Russell became engaged to Shane Deary, a Brooklyn-based contractor she met through mutual friends. They have two children: a son born in 2007 and a daughter born in 2011. Russell and Deary separated in early 2013 and divorced in mid-2014. Since 2014, she has been in a relationship with actor Matthew Rhys, her co-star in The Americans. They have a son, born in 2016. In interviews conducted in 2021, Russell and Rhys referred to each other as husband and wife, although in an interview in 2025, Rhys said "we literally haven't got round to marriage yet".
Acting credits
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1992
| Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
| Mandy Park
|
|-
| 1998
| data-sort-value="Curve, The" | The Curve
| Emma
| Also known as Dead Man's Curve
|-
| 1999
| Eight Days a Week
| Erica
|
|-
| 2000
| Mad About Mambo
| Lucy McLoughlin
|
|-
| 2002
| We Were Soldiers
| Barbara Geoghegan
|
|-
| 2005
| data-sort-value="Upside of Anger, The" | The Upside of Anger
| Emily Wolfmeyer
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2006
| Grimm Love
| Katie
|
|-
| Mission: Impossible III
| Lindsey Farris
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2007
| August Rush
| Lyla Novacek
|
|-
| data-sort-value="Girl in the Park, The" | The Girl in the Park
| Celeste
|
|-
| Waitress
| Jenna Hunterson
|
|-
| 2008
| Bedtime Stories
| Jill Hastings
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2009
| Leaves of Grass
| Janet
|
|-
| Wonder Woman
| Diana Prince / Wonder Woman (voice)
| Direct-to-video film
|-
| 2010
| Extraordinary Measures
| Aileen Crowley
|
|-
| 2012
| Goats
| Judy
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2013
| Austenland
| Jane Hayes
|
|-
| Dark Skies
| Lacy Barrett
|
|-
| 2014
| Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
| Ellie
|
|-
| 2016
| Free State of Jones
| Serena Knight
|
|-
| 2019
| Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
| Zorii Bliss
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2021
| Antlers
| Julia Meadows
|
|-
| Adrienne
| Herself
| Documentary film
|-
| 2023
| Cocaine Bear
| Sari
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1991–1993
| data-sort-value="All New Mickey Mouse Club, The" | The All New Mickey Mouse Club
| Herself
| Main role
|-
| 1993
| Boy Meets World
| Jessica
| Episode: "Grandma Was a Rolling Stone"
|-
| 1994
| Daddy's Girls
| Phoebe Walker
| 3 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1995
| Clerks
| Sandra
| Television pilot
|-
| Married... with Children
| April Adams
| Episode: "Radio Free Trumaine"
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1996
| data-sort-value="Babysitter's Seduction, The" | The Babysitter's Seduction
| Michelle Winston
| rowspan="2" | Television film
|-
| data-sort-value="Lottery, The" | The Lottery
| Felice Dunbar
|-
| Malibu Shores
| Chloe Walker
| Main role
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1997
| Roar
| Claire
| 2 episodes
|-
| data-sort-value="Seventh Heaven" | 7th Heaven
| Camille
| Episode: "Choices"
|-
| When Innocence Is Lost
| Erica French
| Television film
|-
| 1998–2002
| Felicity
| Felicity Porter
| Main role
|-
| 2000
| CinderElmo
| Princess
| Television film
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2005
| Into the West
| Naomi Wheeler
| Episode: "Manifest Destiny"
|-
| data-sort-value="Magic of Ordinary Days, The" | The Magic of Ordinary Days
| Olivia "Livvy" Dunne
| Television film
|-
| 2007
| Scrubs
| Melody O'Harra
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2010–2011
| Running Wilde
| Emmy Kadubic
| Main role
|-
| 2013
|Arrested Development
| Widow Carr (voice)
| Episode: "Señoritis"
|-
| 2013–2018
| data-sort-value="Americans, The | The Americans
| Elizabeth Jennings
| Main role
|-
| 2017
| Secret History of Comics
| Narrator
| Episode: "The Truth About Wonder Woman"
|-
| 2018
| Running Wild with Bear Grylls
| Herself
| Episode: "Canary Islands"
|-
| 2021
| Explained
| Narrator
| Episode: "Sugar"
|-
| 2023
| Extrapolations
| Olivia Drew
| Episode: "2059 Part II: Nightbirds"
|-
| 2023–present
| data-sort-value="Diplomat, The" | The Diplomat
| Kate Wyler
| Main role; also executive producer
|}
Theater
{| class="wikitable unsortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Venue
! class=unsortable|Ref.
|-
| 2004–2005
| Fat Pig
| Jeannie
| Lucille Lortel Theatre, Off-Broadway
|
|-
| 2019
| Burn This
| Anna Mann
| Hudson Theatre, Broadway
|
|-
|}
Music videos
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Song
! Artist
|-
| 1994
| "Always"
| Bon Jovi
|}
Video games
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 2024
| Open Roads
| Opal Devine (voice)
|
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Organizations
! Year
! Category
! Work
! Result
! class="unsortable"| Ref.
|-
! rowspan="6" scope="row" | Actors Guild Awards
| align=center| 2019
| Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series
| The Americans
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2024
| Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
| rowspan=5| The Diplomat
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| rowspan="2", align=center |2025
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series |Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series
|
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in Drama Series |Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
|
|-
| rowspan="2", align=center |2026
|Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series
|
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" |
|-
|Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | Alliance of Women Film Journalists
| rowspan="2", align=center | 2007
| Best Breakthrough Performance
| Waitress / August Rush
|
| style="text-align: center;" rowspan="2" |
|-
| Best Seduction
| Waitress
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | Astra TV Awards
| align=center| 2024
| Best Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama
| rowspan=2| The Diplomat
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2025
| Best Actress in a Drama Series
|
| align=center|
|-
! rowspan="7" scope="row" | Critics' Choice Television Awards
| align=center| 2013
| Best Actress in a Drama Series
| rowspan=5| The Americans
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2014
| Best Actress in a Drama Series
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2015
| Best Actress in a Drama Series
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2016
| Best Actress in a Drama Series
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2019
| Best Actress in a Drama Series
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2024
| Best Actress in a Drama Series
| rowspan=2| The Diplomat
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2025
| Best Actress in a Drama Series
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
! rowspan="6" scope="row" | Golden Globe Awards
| align=center| 1999
| Best Actress – Television Series Drama
| Felicity
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2017
| Best Actress – Television Series Drama
| rowspan=2| The Americans
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2019
| Best Actress – Television Series Drama
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2024
| Best Actress – Television Series Drama
| rowspan=3| The Diplomat
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2025
| Best Actress – Television Series Drama
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2026
| Best Actress – Television Series Drama
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
! rowspan="1" scope="row" | Hollywood Walk of Fame
| align=center| 2017
| Television Star
| Herself
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
! rowspan="1" scope="row" | People's Choice Awards
| align=center| 2017
| Favorite Cable TV Actress
| data-sort-value="Americans, The" | The Americans
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
! rowspan="5" scope="row" | Primetime Emmy Awards
| align=center| 2016
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
| data-sort-value="Americans, The" | The Americans <small> (episode: "The Magic of David Copperfield V") </small>
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2017
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
| data-sort-value="Americans, The" | The Americans <small> (episode: "Dyatkovo") </small>
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2018
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
| data-sort-value="Americans, The" | The Americans <small> (episode: "The Summit") </small>
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2024
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
| data-sort-value="Diplomat, The" | The Diplomat <small> (episode: "Lambs in the Dark") </small>
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2025
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
| data-sort-value="Diplomat, The" | The Diplomat <small> (episode: "St. Paul's") </small>
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
! rowspan="5" scope="row" | Satellite Awards
| align=center| 2005
| Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
| data-sort-value="Magic of Ordinary Days, The" | The Magic of Ordinary Days
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2014
| Best Actress – Television Series Drama
| data-sort-value="Americans, The" | The Americans
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2015
| Best Actress – Television Series Drama
| data-sort-value="Americans, The" | The Americans
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2019
| Best Actress – Television Series Drama
| data-sort-value="Americans, The" | The Americans
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2025
| Best Actress – Television Series Drama
| data-sort-value="Diplomat, The" | The Diplomat
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
! rowspan="1" scope="row" | Saturn Awards
| align=center| 2014
| Best Actress on Television
| data-sort-value="Americans, The" | The Americans
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
! rowspan="7" scope="row" | Teen Choice Awards
| rowspan="2", align=center|1999
| Choice TV Actress
| Felicity
|
| rowspan="2" style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| Choice Breakout TV Star
|Felicity
|
|-
| align=center| 2000
| Choice TV Actress
| Felicity
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2001
| Choice TV Actress
|Felicity
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2002
| Choice TV Actress - Drama
|Felicity
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2006
| Choice Movie Actress: Drama/Action Adventure
| Mission: Impossible III
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2008
| Choice Movie Actress: Drama
| August Rush
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | Television Critics Association Awards
| align=center| 2016
| Individual Achievement in Drama
| rowspan=2| The Americans
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
| align=center| 2018
| Individual Achievement in Drama
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
! rowspan="1" scope="row" | Women's Image Network Awards
| align=center| 2013
| Outstanding Actress Drama Series
| data-sort-value="Americans, The" | The Americans
|
| style="text-align: center;" |
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | Young Artist Awards
| rowspan="2", align=center | 1993
| Best Young Actress Co-Starring in a Motion Picture
| Honey, I Blew Up the Kid
|
| style="text-align: center;" rowspan="2" |
|-
| Outstanding Young Cast in a Variety Series
| data-sort-value="All New Mickey Mouse Club, The" | The All New Mickey Mouse Club
|
|-
|}