Elizabeth Lee McGovern (born July , ) is an American film, television,
and theater actor, and musician. She received an Academy Award
nomination for her role as Evelyn Nesbit in the film Ragtime. She is
also known for her performance as Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham,
in the British drama series Downton Abbey, for which she has been
nominated for an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award. Her other films
include Ordinary People (), Once Upon a Time in America (), The
Handmaid's Tale (), The Wings of the Dove (), and The Chaperone
().McGovern was born in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of Katharine
Wolcott (née Watts), a high school teacher, and William Montgomery
McGovern, Jr., a university professor. Her younger sister is novelist
Cammie McGovern. Her paternal grandfather was adventurer William
Montgomery McGovern, her maternal great-grandfathers were U.S.
diplomat Ethelbert Watts and Admiral Charles P. Snyder, and her
maternal great-great-grandfather was Congressman Charles P. Snyder.
During her early years, the McGovern family moved to Los Angeles,
where her father accepted a teaching position with the law school at
UCLA.Agent Joan Scott saw her performance in The Skin of Our Teeth by
Thornton Wilder, was impressed by her talent, and recommended she take
acting lessons.[citation needed] McGovern studied at the American
Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, and studied toward a Bachelor
of Fine Arts in Drama at the Juilliard School in New York City as a
member of Group from to .
and theater actor, and musician. She received an Academy Award
nomination for her role as Evelyn Nesbit in the film Ragtime. She is
also known for her performance as Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham,
in the British drama series Downton Abbey, for which she has been
nominated for an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award. Her other films
include Ordinary People (), Once Upon a Time in America (), The
Handmaid's Tale (), The Wings of the Dove (), and The Chaperone
().McGovern was born in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of Katharine
Wolcott (née Watts), a high school teacher, and William Montgomery
McGovern, Jr., a university professor. Her younger sister is novelist
Cammie McGovern. Her paternal grandfather was adventurer William
Montgomery McGovern, her maternal great-grandfathers were U.S.
diplomat Ethelbert Watts and Admiral Charles P. Snyder, and her
maternal great-great-grandfather was Congressman Charles P. Snyder.
During her early years, the McGovern family moved to Los Angeles,
where her father accepted a teaching position with the law school at
UCLA.Agent Joan Scott saw her performance in The Skin of Our Teeth by
Thornton Wilder, was impressed by her talent, and recommended she take
acting lessons.[citation needed] McGovern studied at the American
Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, and studied toward a Bachelor
of Fine Arts in Drama at the Juilliard School in New York City as a
member of Group from to .
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