Elizabeth Banks Net Worth

What is Elizabeth Banks' Net Worth and Salary?

Elizabeth Banks is an American actress, producer, and director who has a net worth of $50 million. Elizabeth Banks graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and trained at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, graduating in 1996 before moving to New York to pursue acting in theater, film, and television.

Initially appearing in smaller roles, Banks gained recognition for playing Betty Brant in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy (2002-2007) and established herself as a versatile performer in both comedy and drama. Her film career includes notable roles in "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001), "Seabiscuit" (2003), "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" (2005), and "W." (2008), where she portrayed First Lady Laura Bush.

On television, Banks earned Emmy nominations for her guest roles on "30 Rock" as Avery Jessup and on "Modern Family." Her recurring role on "Scrubs" as Dr. Kim Briggs also showcased her comedic talents and helped expand her audience.

Banks achieved major mainstream success as Effie Trinket in "The Hunger Games" film series (2012-2015) and as commentator Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the "Pitch Perfect" franchise (2012-2017). Her involvement with "Pitch Perfect" would prove especially significant for her career trajectory.

Taking her career to new heights, Banks made her feature directorial debut with "Pitch Perfect 2" (2015), which grossed approximately $285 million worldwide and set a record for first-time directors with its $69 million opening weekend. This success established her credentials behind the camera.

Building on her directorial success, Banks went on to direct, write, produce, and star in the action comedy "Charlie's Angels" (2019) and directed the horror comedy "Cocaine Bear" (2023), which performed well at the box office, grossing $90 million on a production budget of $30-35 million.

In 2002, Banks founded Brownstone Productions with her husband, Max Handelman, establishing herself as a significant producer in Hollywood. The production company has been behind many of her successful projects.

Early Life

Elizabeth Banks was born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in February of 1974. According to Banks herself, she grew up with an "Irish + WASP + Catholic" extraction, eventually going on to graduate magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a communications degree and concentration in theater arts. Then, in 1998, she earned her master's degree in fine arts from the American Conservatory Theater.

Acting Career

Upon getting serious about acting and joining the Screen Actors Guild, Banks changed her name to the one we know today, since there was already an Elizabeth Mitchell on the SAG rolls. Later that same year, Banks made her on-screen debut in the independent film "Surrender Dorothy." A few years after that, she landed a small but memorable part in 2001's "Wet Hot American Summer," directed by David Wain and starring a cast of many future stars, including Bradley Cooper. She later reprised her role in two follow-up Netflix series based on the film. In 2002, she played the character of Betty Brant in "Spider-Man," followed in 2003 by appearances in "Seabiscuit" and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" alongside Steve Carell in 2005.

During this period, she also worked prolifically on television. She earned a recurring role as Dr. Kim Briggs on 15 episodes of "Scrubs," and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her work as Avery Jessup on "30 Rock."

In 2006, Banks appeared in "Invincible," a sports drama starring Mark Wahlberg. In 2008, she starred in "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" with Seth Rogen and director Kevin Smith and appeared in Oliver Stone's political biopic "W." as Laura Bush. Though often cast in comedies, she took on more dramatic roles as well, including a turn in the 2009 horror remake "The Uninvited."

She gained international recognition for her role as Capitol official Effie Trinket in "The Hunger Games" film series, which began in 2012. Her voice role as Wyldstyle in "The Lego Movie" and its 2019 sequel further broadened her appeal, while performances in "Love & Mercy," "Power Rangers," "The Happytime Murders," and the superhero/horror hybrid "Brightburn" continued to showcase her range.

She portrayed feminist Jill Ruckelshaus in the FX miniseries "Mrs. America," a historical drama centered on the campaign to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. In "Call Jane," she played a 1960s housewife who joins a covert network helping women access safe abortions. In the comedy-drama "The Beanie Bubble," she played a key figure in the rise of the Beanie Babies craze, and voiced the lead character Pam Mallard in the animated family film "Migration."

She starred in "A Mistake" as a skilled surgeon whose life and career are disrupted after a fatal operating room error, and in the psychological thriller "Skincare," she played a celebrity facialist whose glamorous world conceals darker truths. In the Prime Video mystery series "The Better Sister," she took on the role of one of two estranged siblings grappling with the fallout from a murder investigation. She also led the cast of "The Miniature Wife," a romantic sci-fi comedy in which a technological experiment upends a couple's dynamic when the husband accidentally shrinks his wife.

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Directing Career

While continuing to act in a variety of films and television series, Banks steadily built a reputation as a skilled director. After helming the hit sequel "Pitch Perfect 2" in 2015, which became the highest-grossing musical comedy of all time at its release, she returned to direct "Pitch Perfect 3" in 2017. In 2019, she directed and starred in a reboot of "Charlie's Angels," reimagining the iconic franchise for a new generation. Her earlier directorial credits included the short film "Just a Little Heart Attack" and a segment of the comedy anthology "Movie 43."

Her most talked-about directorial effort came with the 2023 release of "Cocaine Bear," a dark comedy thriller inspired by a real-life incident involving a bear and a drug smuggling operation gone wrong. The film's offbeat tone, genre mash-up, and surprising box office success affirmed Banks' skill behind the camera.

In addition to directing, Banks expanded her influence as a producer through Brownstone Productions. She produced the satirical high school comedy "Bottoms," a story about two queer teens who start a fight club to impress cheerleaders. She also produced and starred in the thriller "Skincare" and the comedy series "The Miniature Wife," continuing to merge her creative and business talents across mediums.

Miscellaneous Work

Banks has a few video game credits stemming from her work in the "Spider-Man" and "LEGO" movies, as well as a voice role in Legoland Florida's "The LEGO Movie: 4D – A New Adventure." She's also appeared in a handful of music videos, including "Girls Like You" by Maroon 5 feat. Cardi B and "Don't Call Me Angel" by Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Lana Del Rey for the 2019 "Charlie's Angels" movie. That same year, she made her game show host debut as the host of "Press Your Luck" on ABC.

Personal Life

She has been married to sportswriter Max Handelman since 2003. They met on her first day of school at the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. They have two children together, sons Felix and Magnus Mitchell.

Real Estate

In 2007, Elizabeth and Max reportedly paid $1.625 million for a home in Studio City, California. After 13 years, the couple listed this home for sale in May 2020 for $2.4 million. In 2018, they paid $6.85 million for a custom-built gated 1-acre hilltop property in nearby Sherman Oaks.

Brownstone Productions

Elizabeth Banks and her husband, sportswriter and producer Max Handelman, co-founded Brownstone Productions in 2002 with the goal of developing character-driven, commercially appealing stories across film, television, and digital media. What began as a boutique production outfit quickly evolved into a formidable force in Hollywood, thanks in large part to the breakout success of the "Pitch Perfect" franchise.

Brownstone's first major triumph came with "Pitch Perfect," which became a sleeper hit in 2012 and laid the groundwork for a multi-film series that combined musical comedy with smart, female-led storytelling. Banks not only starred in the films but helped guide their creative direction behind the scenes. She made her feature directorial debut with "Pitch Perfect 2" in 2015—a high-stakes sequel produced for approximately $30 million. The film went on to gross more than $285 million worldwide and shattered box office records, becoming the highest-grossing musical comedy of all time at the time of its release.

The success of the "Pitch Perfect" series solidified Brownstone Productions as a go-to studio for stylish, profitable, and female-centric content. Under Banks and Handelman's leadership, the company expanded its footprint with a range of projects spanning genres—from horror-comedy to action to romantic drama—while maintaining a consistent commitment to bold, offbeat storytelling.

In the years that followed, Brownstone continued to produce high-profile projects, including "Charlie's Angels" (2019), "Cocaine Bear" (2023), and the teen satire "Bottoms" (2023), further cementing its reputation for backing unconventional stories with commercial appeal.

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