Samantha Mathis (born May 12, 1970) is an American actress and trade union leader who served as the Vice President, Actors/Performers of SAG-AFTRA from 2015 to 2019. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in Pump Up the Volume (1990), and later co-starred or appeared in such films as FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), Super Mario Bros. (1993), The Thing Called Love (1993), Little Women (1994), The American President (1995), Jack and Sarah (1995), Broken Arrow (1996), American Psycho (2000), The Punisher (2004), and Atlas Shrugged: Part II (2012). She has also had recurring roles on The Strain as New York City Councilwoman Justine Feraldo, and on Billions as Taylor Mason Capital COO Sara Hammon.
Early life
Mathis was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of Donald Mathis and Austrian-American actress Bibi Besch. Her parents divorced when she was two years old, and Mathis was brought up by her mother. She relocated with her mother to Los Angeles, California, at the age of five.
Career
Mathis began acting professionally at the age of 16. Her first job was a commercial for "Always Slender Pads – Just for Teens". Super Mario Bros. (1993), in which she played Princess Daisy from the popular Nintendo video game, was a box-office bomb but gained a cult following since its release.
Mathis co-starred with River Phoenix in The Thing Called Love (1993). She appeared in the 1994 film adaptation of Little Women, and in How to Make an American Quilt (1995), both starring Winona Ryder. She then appeared in The American President (1995), playing the assistant to the President of the United States. Mathis costarred with Christian Slater again, along with John Travolta, in John Woo's Broken Arrow (1996). She took a little over a year off from acting after her mother died in 1996 from breast cancer. Her indie film Lebanon, PA (2010) had its world premiere at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival. She appeared in an off-Broadway production of the play, Love, Loss, and What I Wore, at New York City's Westside Theatre in October 2011.
In 2013, Mathis played psychiatrist Alice Calvert on the CBS television series Under the Dome, based on a novel by Stephen King. In 2014, she joined the cast of the FX horror drama series The Strain as Justine Feraldo, a New York City councilwoman for Staten Island.
In October 2015, Mathis was elected National Vice President, Actors/Performers of SAG-AFTRA. She was re-elected in 2017.
Her 2020 musical Whisper House was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the autopsy report the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detailed that Mathis refused several times to give more details surrounding the death of Phoenix and had told deputies at the time of Phoenix's death that she had no knowledge of his drug use. Mathis took a role in the film Jack and Sarah (1995), which was shot in London, to get out of the country after Phoenix's death because of the excessive press coverage.
Mathis spoke for the first time publicly about the death of Phoenix in an interview with The Guardian in 2018. She elaborated on the circumstances surrounding Phoenix's death: "I knew something was wrong that night, something I didn't understand. I didn't see anyone doing drugs but he was high in a way that made me feel uncomfortable...the heroin that killed him didn't happen until he was in the Viper Room. I have my suspicions about what was going on, but I didn't see anything."
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1989
|The Bulldance
|Paula
|
|-
|1990
|Pump Up the Volume
|Nora Diniro
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1992
|This Is My Life
|Erica Ingels
|Nominated—Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture
|-
|FernGully: The Last Rainforest
|Crysta
|Voice
|-
| rowspan="3" |1993
|'
|Tiffany
|
|-
|Super Mario Bros.
|Princess Daisy / The Queen
|
|-
|'
|Miranda Presley
|
|-
|1994
|Little Women
|Adult Amy March
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |1995
|Jack and Sarah
|Amy
|
|-
|How to Make an American Quilt
|Young Sophia Darling Richards
|Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
|-
|'
|Janie Basdin
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1996
|Broken Arrow
|Terry Carmichael
|
|-
|Museum of Love
|Stephanie
| rowspan="2" |Short film
|-
| rowspan="2" |1998
|Waiting for Woody
|Gail Silver
|-
|Sweet Jane
|Jane
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2000
|'
|Mae
|
|-
|American Psycho
|Courtney Rawlinson
|
|-
|Attraction
|Corey
|
|-
|2004
|'
|Maria Castle
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2005
|Kids in America
|Jennifer Rose
|
|-
|Touched
|Jeannie Bates
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2006
|Believe in Me
|Jean Driscoll
|
|-
|Local Color
|Carla
|
|-
|2009
|'
|Cassandra Parker
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2010
|Buried
|Linda Conroy
|Voice
|-
|Order of Chaos
|Jennifer
|
|-
|Lebanon, Pa.
|Vicki
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2011
|Good Day for It
|Sarah Bryant
|
|-
|Camilla Dickinson
|Rose Dickinson
|
|-
|2012
|Atlas Shrugged: Part II
|Dagny Taggart
|
|-
| 2014
| Affluenza
| Bunny Miller
|
|-
| 2016
| American Pastoral
| Penny Hamlin
|
|-
| 2017
| Ray Meets Helen
| Mary
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2018
| Being Frank
| Bonnie
|
|-
| The Clovehitch Killer
| Cindy
|
|-
| Boarding School
| Isabel
|
|-
| rowspan="1"|2023
|Pet Sematary: Bloodlines
| Kathy
|
|-
| rowspan="1"|2024
| The Exorcism
| Jennifer Simon
|
|-
| rowspan="2"|2025
| By Design
| Lisa
|
|-
| Isle Child
| Carey Miller
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| rowspan="2" |1988
|Aaron's Way
|Roseanne Miller
|Main cast; Season 1
|-
|Circle of Love
|Roseanne Miller
|Television film
|-
|1988–89
|Knightwatch
|Jacqueline 'Jake' Monroe
|Main cast; Season 1
|-
| rowspan="2" |1989
|Cold Sassy Tree
|Lightfoot McClendon
|Television film
|-
|CBS Summer Playhouse
|Mary Dunne
|Episode: "American Nuclear"
|-
| rowspan="3" |1990
|Extreme Close-Up
|Laura
| rowspan="3" |Television film
|-
|83 Hours 'Til Dawn
|Julie Burdock
|-
|To My Daughter
|Anne Carlston
|-
| rowspan="2" |1999
|The Outer Limits
|Marie Wells
|Episode: "The Shroud"
|-
|Freak City
|Ruth Ellison
|Television film
|-
|1999–2000
|Harsh Realm
|Sophie Green
|4 Episodes
|-
|2000
|Mermaid
|Rhonda
|Television film
|-
| rowspan="3" |2001
|First Years
|Ann Weller
|Main cast; Season 1
|-
|Night Visions
|Diane Ballard
|Episode: "The Passenger List/Bokor"
|-
|'
|Gwenhwyfar
|Miniseries
|-
|2002
|PBS Hollywood Presents
|Lisa Morrison
|Episode: "Collected Stories"
|-
| rowspan="2" |2003
|The Twilight Zone
|Rachel Stark
|Episode: "Into the Light"
|-
|Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
|Hilary Barclay
|Episode: "Control"
|-
|2004
|Salem's Lot
|Susan Norton
|Miniseries<br>Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television
|-
| rowspan="2" |2005
|Fathers and Sons
|Jenny
|Television film
|-
|Law & Order: Criminal Intent
|Dr. Christine Ansel
|Episode: "Saving Face"
|-
| rowspan="4" |2006
|Secrets of a Small Town
|Samantha Steele
|Episode: "Pilot"
|-
|Absolution
|Bettina Lloyd
|Television film
|-
|House
|Maria Palko
|Episode: "Clueless"
|-
|Nightmares & Dreamscapes
|Karen Evans
|Episode: "The Fifth Quarter"
|-
| rowspan="3" |2007
|Lost
|Olivia Goodspeed
|Episode: "The Man Behind the Curtain"
|-
|'
|Callie Morgan
| rowspan="2" |Television film
|-
|Mitch Albom's For One More Day
|Young Pauline 'Posey' Benetto
|-
| rowspan="2" |2009
|Grey's Anatomy
|Melinda Prescott
|3 Episodes
|-
|Royal Pains
|Amy Hill
|Episode: "Wonderland"
|-
|2010
|Unanswered Prayers
|Lorrie Beck
|Television film
|-
|2011
|Curb Your Enthusiasm
|Donna
|Episode: "The Hero"
|-
|2013
|Under the Dome
|Alice Calvert
|Recurring role; Season 1
|-
|2014
|The Good Wife
|Bonita Yarrow
|Episode: "The Line"
|-
|2014
|Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
|Catherine Summers
|Episode: "Reasonable Doubt"
|-
|2015–16
|The Strain
|Justine Feraldo
| Main cast; Seasons 2–3
|-
| rowspan="3" |2019
|Billions
|Sara Hammon
|Recurring role; Season 4
|-
|Into the Dark
|Dr. Victoria Harris
|Episode: "All That We Destroy"
|-
|Bull
|Avery Kress
|Episode: "The Flying Carpet"
|-
|2020
|Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
|Melanie Franks
|Episode: "Swimming With The Sharks"
|-
|2023
|12 Desperate Hours
|Val Jane
|Television film
|-
|2026
|Elsbeth
|Elaine McClusk
|Episode: "Murder Six Across"
|}