Today marks the 37th birthday of Elizabeth Chase Olsen. Born in 1989 in Sherman Oaks, California, Elizabeth took a noticeably different path than her famous twin sisters, Mary-Kate and Ashley. She chose formal training at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and the Moscow Art Theatre, emerging as a powerhouse performer who prioritized indie grit over child-star glamour.
As of 2026, Olsen is at a fascinating career crossroads. Fresh off the massive success of her 2025 psychological drama The Assessment and the continued rave reviews for her role in His Three Daughters, she has successfully shed the “Marvel only” label while remaining one of the most bankable stars in the industry. Whether she’s exploring the complexities of grief or the horrors of a true-crime suburban murder, Olsen remains a master of the “quietly explosive” performance.
5 Roles That Defined Her Acclaimed Career
1. Martha in Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
In one of the most legendary debut performances in modern cinema, a 22-year-old Olsen stunned the Sundance Film Festival as Martha, a young woman fleeing an abusive cult. Her ability to convey deep paranoia and fractured identity earned her a Critics’ Choice nomination and several “Breakthrough” awards. It was this role that officially signaled the arrival of a major dramatic talent, proving she was a force to be reckoned with.
2. Wanda Maximoff in WandaVision (2021)
While she had played the Scarlet Witch in several films, the Disney+ limited series WandaVision allowed Olsen to truly flex her range. Moving through decades of sitcom history while simultaneously portraying a woman drowning in grief, she delivered a performance that was as technically brilliant as it was emotionally devastating. This role earned her first Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, cementing her status as the emotional heart of the MCU.
3. Leigh Shaw in Sorry for Your Loss (2018–2019)
Often cited by critics as her most underrated work, this Facebook Watch series saw Olsen play a young widow struggling to navigate her life after her husband’s unexpected death. As both the lead and an executive producer, she portrayed the “ugliness” of grief with a staggering, uncomfortable honesty. Her performance was so resonant that it earned her a Critics’ Choice Television Award nomination and proved she could lead a prestige drama series.
4. Jane Banner in Wind River (2017)
Starring alongside her MCU co-star Jeremy Renner, Olsen played a fish-out-of-water FBI agent investigating a murder on a Native American reservation. In a gritty, neo-western setting, she brought a grounded tenacity to the role, balancing her character’s professional determination with the horrifying reality of the case. Critics praised her for holding her own in a male-dominated genre and delivering a performance full of grit and nuance.
5. Candy Montgomery in Love & Death (2023)
Taking on the infamous real-life case of a 1980s suburban housewife-turned-ax-murderer, Olsen delivered a “layered and chilling” performance. She managed to make Candy Montgomery both human and deeply unsettling, navigating the character’s internal desires and external composure. This role earned her another round of Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, further solidifying her reputation as the “queen of complex, damaged women.”