Krysten Ritter Biography

Krysten Alyce Ritter (born December 16, 1981) is an American actress and former model. Ritter is known for her roles as Jessica Jones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jane Margolis on the AMC drama series Breaking Bad, and Chloe in the ABC comedy series and Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23. She has appeared in films such as What Happens in Vegas (2008), 27 Dresses (2008), Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), She's Out of My League (2010), Veronica Mars (2014), and Big Eyes (2014). She has also appeared in roles in the television series Gilmore Girls, Gossip Girl, Gravity, 'Til Death, Veronica Mars, and The Blacklist.

Early life

Ritter was born in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Kathi Taylor and Gary Ritter. She was raised on a farm outside Shickshinny, Pennsylvania, where her mother, stepfather and sister live; her father lives in nearby Benton. Ritter graduated in 2000 from Northwest Area High School.

Career

Modeling

Ritter was scouted by a modeling agent at her local shopping mall, the Wyoming Valley Mall, at the age of 15, at a modeling event. Ritter described herself at the time as "tall, gawky, awkward, and really, really skinny" to Philadelphia Style magazine. While in high school, she traveled to New York City on her days off and began modeling there and in Philadelphia. She signed with the Elite Model Management agency and then with Wilhelmina Models. Ritter moved to New York City at the age of 18 and established an international modeling career in print ads and on television. She did magazine, catalog, and runway work in Milan, New York, Paris, and Tokyo.

Acting

Ritter's acting career began when Wilhelmina placed her for an audition for a Dr Pepper television commercial. Ritter told Philadelphia Style that she felt her "outgoing and bubbly and funny" personality as a performer helped her transition into acting naturally by letting her entertain the casting people. She won several bit film roles starting in 2001, and then played a 1950s art history student in Julia Roberts' Mona Lisa Smile (2003). In 2006, she appeared in All This Intimacy, a two-act Off-Broadway play by Rajiv Joseph, at the Second Stage Theatre. Ritter signed on to star in the premiere of Zach Braff's play All New People at Second Stage Theatre. Anna Camp, David Wilson Barnes and Justin Bartha co-starred in the production under the direction of Peter DuBois.

Ritter had a number of guest starring roles on television, and appeared on the second season of Veronica Mars, playing Gia Goodman, the daughter of mayor Woody Goodman (Steve Guttenberg). Ritter guest-starred on Gilmore Girls for eight episodes from 2006 to 2007 as Rory Gilmore's friend, Lucy. She also played the first iteration of Allison Stark on the Fox sitcom 'Til Death (which eventually had four actresses play that role through its run).

Ritter continued working in film, often cast as the best friend of the lead character. In 2008, she had supporting roles in the romantic comedies What Happens in Vegas and 27 Dresses. She co-starred in the 2009 film Confessions of a Shopaholic as Suze, the best friend of Isla Fisher's character. Ritter spent three months shooting She's Out of My League in Pittsburgh in 2008. She played Patty, the cynical best friend of Alice Eve's character Molly.

Ritter was cast as a young Carol Rhodes in an episode of The CW's teen drama series Gossip Girl titled "Valley Girls", which aired May 11, 2009. The episode was a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off series of the same title, set in 1980s Los Angeles, that would chronicle the teenage years of the character Lily van der Woodsen. Ritter described her character Carol, Lily's sister, as "the outcast", and "an '80s Sunset Strip rocker" to Access Hollywood. The series was not picked up by the network for the 2009-10 season.

Ritter co-starred as Jane Margolis on the second season of AMC's drama series Breaking Bad, and starred in the film How to Make Love to a Woman (2009), based on a best-selling book by adult film star Jenna Jameson. She also co-starred with Jason Behr in the independent film The Last International Playboy (2009), as Ozzy, a drug addict. Ritter sold a television pilot that she wrote based on her experiences as a model, named Model Camp. She appeared in the comedy web series Woke Up Dead in 2009, playing Cassie alongside Jon Heder as Drex.

In 2010, Ritter starred in the television series Gravity alongside Ivan Sergei, Ving Rhames, and Rachel Hunter, playing the sharp and quirky Lily. The Starz comedy-drama centers on a group of out-patient suicide survivors. She starred opposite Ben Barnes in the 2011 comedy film Killing Bono as the manager of an Irish band. Directed by Nick Hamm, the film is based on Killing Bono: I Was Bono's Doppleganger, a book about the early days of the Irish rock band U2. Beginning in January 2010, the film's shoot lasted for six weeks and moved from Belfast to London before returning to Belfast.

Ritter starred alongside Alicia Silverstone in the comedy horror film Vamps, written and directed by Amy Heckerling. She plays a New York City socialite turned into a vampire by a vampire queen (Sigourney Weaver). She also stars in the 2011 independent comedy film Life Happens, with Kate Bosworth and Rachel Bilson. Co-written by Ritter with director Kat Coiro, the film is about two best friends dealing with the pregnancy and subsequent motherhood of Ritter's character.

In early February 2011, Ritter joined the cast of the ABC sitcom Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, playing the title role of Chloe, a New York City party girl and con artist who tries to rip off her new roommates after they move in, but who ends up befriending and "mentoring" one of the applicants. The series was canceled on January 22, 2013 after two seasons. On February 15, 2013, it was reported that Ritter would star as Nora in the NBC comedy pilot Assistance, based on Leslye Headland's play of the same name. However, it was confirmed in January 2014 that the pilot would not be picked up to series. On July 9, 2013, it was announced that Ritter would star in Jake Hoffman's directorial debut, Asthma, which centers on the indie rock scene in New York City. It was announced on February 20, 2014 that Ritter would star on NBC's astronaut-themed comedy pilot Mission Control as aerospace engineer Dr. Mary Kendricks. On October 15, 2014, NBC announced that it was no longer moving forward with the show.

On December 5, 2014, Ritter was cast to star in the Marvel Television series Jessica Jones, playing the title role, a former superhero turned private investigator in New York City. On her casting, executive producer and showrunner Melissa Rosenberg stated that Ritter "brings both the hard edge and the vulnerability the role demands". Ritter revealed that she had been reading through the comic book in preparation for the role while also expressing her delight on working with Rosenberg and women in general. All 13 episodes of the first season premiered on Netflix on November 20, 2015. Ritter will reprise the role again on The Defenders series alongside Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil, Mike Colter as Luke Cage and Finn Jones as Danny Rand / Iron Fist. January 17, 2016, Jessica Jones was renewed for a second season.

Personal life

Ritter moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 2007. She sings and plays guitar in a band called Ex Vivian. She also promotes animal rights and posed for a 2013 PETA ad campaign warning pet owners of the dangers of leaving dogs in cars during the summer.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Someone Like You	Model	Uncredited
2002	Freshening Up	Girl on couch	Short film
2002	Garmento	Poncho model
2003	'	Mara
2003	Mona Lisa Smile	Art History student
2005	Slingshot	Beth
2007	Heavy Petting	Innocent bystander
2008	'	Ozzy
2008	27 Dresses	Gina the goth
2008	What Happens in Vegas	Kelly
2009	Glock	Beretta	Short film
2009	Confessions of a Shopaholic	Suze Cleath-Stuart
2010	She's Out of My League	Patty
2010	How to Make Love to a Woman	Lauren
2011	Killing Bono	Gloria
2011	Life Happens	Kim	Also writer and co-producer
2011	Margaret	Shopgirl
2012	BuzzKill	Nicole
2012	Vamps	Stacy Daimen
2012	Refuge	Amy
2014	Listen Up Philip	Melanie
2014	Veronica Mars	Gia Goodman
2014	Asthma	Ruby
2014	Search Party	Christy
2014	Big Eyes	DeAnn
2017	'	Lucy

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Whoopi	Brynn	Episode: "The Squatters"
2004	One Life to Live	Kay	4 episodes
2004	Law & Order	Tracy Warren	Episode: "Everybody Loves Raimondo's"
2004	Tanner on Tanner	Saleswoman	2 episodes
2005	Jonny Zero	Quinn	Episode: "Pilot"
2005-06	Veronica Mars	Gia Goodman	8 episodes
2006	'	Erin Kavenaugh	2 episodes
2006-07	Gilmore Girls	Lucy	8 episodes
2006-07	'Til Death	Allison Stark	5 episodes
2006	Justice	Eva	Episode: "Christmas Party"
2007	Big Day	Ellen	Episode: "The Ceremony"
2009-10	Breaking Bad	Jane Margolis	9 episodes
2009	Gossip Girl	Young Carol Rhodes	Episode: "Valley Girls"
2010	Gravity	Lily Champagne	Main cast; 10 episodes
2011	Love Bites	Cassie	Episode: "Firsts"
2012-13	Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23	Chloe	Main cast; 26 episodes
2013	Robot Chicken	Dana Polk (voice)	Episode: "Immortal"
2013	'	Gina (voice)	Episode: "California Dreamin' (All the Cleves Are Brown)"
2013	'	Herself	Episode: "Krysten Ritter; Dominic Monaghan"
2014	'	Rowan/Nora Mills	Episode: "Lord Baltimore"
2015-present	Jessica Jones	Jessica Jones	Main cast
2016	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Herself	Episode: "Krysten Ritter Wears a Turtleneck and Black Boots"
2017	'	Jessica Jones	Main cast

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Woke Up Dead	Cassie	Main cast; 22 episodes

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist	Notes
1999	"Waffle"	Sevendust
2000	"Could I Have This Kiss Forever"	Whitney Houston	Extra

Discography

• Ex-Vivian (2012)

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2012	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Villain	Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23
2015	TVLine's Performer of the Week		Jessica Jones Episode: "AKA You're a Winner!"
2016	6th Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Actress in a Drama Series	Jessica Jones
	Dorian Awards	TV Performance of the Year - Actress
	Webby Awards	Special Achievement: Best Actress
	42nd Saturn Awards	Best Actress on Television