# Emily Bergl
**Emily Bergl** (born 1975 in [Milton Keynes](https://www.edgepedia.org/milton-keynes), Buckinghamshire, England) is an English-American actress and singer whose career spans Broadway, television, film, and cabaret. She is known on television for roles including Sammi Slott on Showtime's *Shameless*, Tammi Bryant on TNT's *Southland*, Beth Young on ABC's *Desperate Housewives*, and Annie O'Donnell on ABC's *Men in Trees*, and on Broadway for her FANY Award-winning Broadway debut as Alais in *The Lion in Winter* and her Drama Desk Award-nominated performance as June Levant in *Good Night, Oscar*.[1](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/emily-bergl) • [2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/emily-bergl-31842)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1975, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, UK; birth name Emily Anne Bergl[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004749/bio/) |
| Screen breakthrough | Rachel Lang in *The Rage: Carrie 2* (1999), won by sending an audition videotape to MGM[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_bergl) |
| Broadway debut | Alais in *The Lion in Winter* (1999), opposite Laurence Fishburne and Stockard Channing; FANY Award for Best Broadway Debut[1](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/emily-bergl) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_bergl) |
| Notable TV roles | Sammi Slott (*Shameless*), Tammi Bryant (*Southland*), Beth Young (*Desperate Housewives*), Annie O'Donnell (*Men in Trees*), Tessie (*The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel*)[1](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/emily-bergl) • [5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/emily-bergl/profile/) |
| Award nomination | 2023 Drama Desk Award nominee, Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play, for *Good Night, Oscar*[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/emily-bergl-31842) |
| Cabaret | Performer at venues including Cafe Carlyle and Yoshi's; album *Emily Bergl Live at the Algonquin*, the last album recorded in the Algonquin's Oak Room[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/emily-bergl/profile/) |
| Current Broadway role | Nina Cassotto, Mary Douvan, and others in the musical *Just in Time* (opened April 26, 2025)[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/emily-bergl-31842) |
## Early life and training
Bergl was born in Milton Keynes, England, and moved to the United States with her family at the age of six, settling in Glenview, Illinois; she stopped speaking with an English accent after the move and grew up mainly in Chicago.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004749/bio/) • [6](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/emily-bergl/bio/3000200530/) She graduated from [Grinnell College](https://www.edgepedia.org/grinnell-college) in Iowa, and completed acting training at the Eugene O'Neill Center's National Theatre Institute.[6](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/emily-bergl/bio/3000200530/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_bergl) As a student she was a national champion in Poetry Reading at the 1993 National Forensic League.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004749/bio/)
## Screen career
**Breakthrough.** Bergl, who by her own account could not land a commercial in her hometown of Chicago, won the starring role in *The Rage: Carrie 2* (1999) by sending an audition videotape to MGM. It was her first job on camera. She played Rachel Lang, a tormented teenager with telekinetic powers; while the film did poorly with critics, she received favorable notice for her performance as a fed-up teen outsider with a troubled home life.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_bergl) • [5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/emily-bergl/profile/) Wary of being typecast in horror roles, she turned back to the theater to broaden her career.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_bergl)
Her subsequent film credits include *Chasing Sleep* (2000), *Happy Campers* (2001), *Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus* (2006), *Grassroots* (2012), and [Woody Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-allen)'s *Blue Jasmine* (2013), and she played adult Lisa Clarke in [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg)'s 2002 miniseries *Taken*.[1](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/emily-bergl) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004749/bio/)
**Television.** Bergl has built an extensive television resume. Recurring and regular roles include Annie O'Donnell for two seasons on *Men in Trees*, Beth Young, the suicidal housewife, on *Desperate Housewives*, Tammi Bryant on *Southland*, Sammi Slott on *Shameless*, Lilah Tanner and a judge on *American Crime*, and Tessie on *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel*.[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/emily-bergl/profile/) • [7](https://wnyc.org/people/emily-bergl/) Guest appearances span *The Good Wife*, *The Knick*, *Mindhunter*, *You*, *Dirty John*, *How to Get Away with Murder*, *Scandal*, *Grey's Anatomy*, *Gilmore Girls* (as Francie Jarvis), *ER*, *NYPD Blue*, *CSI: Miami*, *Star Trek: Enterprise*, and *Law & Order*.[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/emily-bergl/profile/) • [7](https://wnyc.org/people/emily-bergl/)
## Theater career
Bergl's Broadway debut came the day before her first screen role was released: she opened as Princess Alais, the young French mistress to [Laurence Fishburne](https://www.edgepedia.org/laurence-fishburne)'s King Henry II, in the 1999 revival of James Goldman's *The Lion in Winter*, opposite Fishburne and [Stockard Channing](https://www.edgepedia.org/stockard-channing), and won the FANY Award for Best Broadway Debut.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_bergl) • [1](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/emily-bergl) Before that she had been an understudy in [Lincoln Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/lincoln-center)'s 1998 production of *Ah, Wilderness!*, covering four roles.[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/emily-bergl-31842)
Her later Broadway credits include Lydia Languish in *The Rivals* (Vivian Beaumont Theatre, 2004), Sara Melody in *A Touch of the Poet* ([Studio 54](https://www.edgepedia.org/studio-54), 2005) opposite [Gabriel Byrne](https://www.edgepedia.org/gabriel-byrne), Mae in *Cat on a Hot Tin Roof* (2013) opposite [Scarlett Johansson](https://www.edgepedia.org/scarlett-johansson), Mary Carney as a replacement in Jez Butterworth's *The Ferryman* (2019), and June Levant in *Good Night, Oscar* (2023) opposite Sean Hayes, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play.[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/emily-bergl-31842) • [5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/emily-bergl/profile/) In 2025 she joined the original company of the Bobby Darin musical *Just in Time* at the Circle in the Square Theatre, playing Nina Cassotto, Mary Douvan, and other roles opposite Jonathan Groff.[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/emily-bergl-31842) • [8](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/emily-bergl)
Off-Broadway and regional work includes Adriana in *The Comedy of Errors* at the Delacorte Theatre, Suzanna in *Becky Shaw* and Betty McNeil in *Some Americans Abroad* at Second Stage, Abby in *Fiction* at the Laura Pels Theatre, Patricia in *Where Do We Live?* at the Vineyard Theatre, and Mary Gallagher in *Old Money* at Lincoln Center's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.[1](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/emily-bergl) Regionally she has appeared in *Our Town* and *The Country* at La Jolla Playhouse, *Romeo and Juliet* as Juliet opposite [Neil Patrick Harris](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-patrick-harris) at San Diego's Old Globe, *Proof* and *The School for Wives* at South Coast Repertory, and *Once in a Lifetime* and *The Skin of Our Teeth* at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.[7](https://wnyc.org/people/emily-bergl/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_bergl) She has also originated roles in new works by Gina Gionfriddo, Christopher Shinn, and Wendy Wasserstein.[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/emily-bergl/profile/)
## Cabaret
Bergl has developed a parallel career as a cabaret singer, performing at venues including the Cafe Carlyle in New York and Yoshi's, and touring the United States with her one-woman show *Kidding on the Square*.[5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/emily-bergl/profile/) • [6](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/emily-bergl/bio/3000200530/) She burst onto the cabaret scene in 2011, drawing praise from *The New York Times* and *The Wall Street Journal*, and recorded *Emily Bergl Live at the Algonquin*, the last album made in the [Algonquin Hotel](https://www.edgepedia.org/algonquin-hotel)'s Oak Room.[9](https://www.broadway.com/shows/emily-bergl/story/) • [5](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/emily-bergl/profile/) Her shows blend unexpected song pairings, such as [Irving Berlin](https://www.edgepedia.org/irving-berlin) with Blondie and Noel Coward with [Britney Spears](https://www.edgepedia.org/britney-spears), in what she calls a nouveau cabaret style.[9](https://www.broadway.com/shows/emily-bergl/story/)
## Awards and recognition
Bergl's honors include the FANY Award for Best Broadway Debut for *The Lion in Winter*, a Drama Desk Award nomination for *Good Night, Oscar* (2023), and Saturn Award nominations for *The Rage: Carrie 2* (2000, Best Performance by a Younger Actor/Actress) and *Taken* (2003, Best Actress in a Television Series), as well as Chainsaw Award nominations in 2000 and 2002.[1](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/emily-bergl) • [2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/emily-bergl-31842) • [6](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/emily-bergl/bio/3000200530/) Outside performing, she has volunteered with [Habitat for Humanity](https://www.edgepedia.org/habitat-for-humanity) and traveled to Haiti with the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project.[6](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/emily-bergl/bio/3000200530/)
## References
1. [Emily Bergl, L.A. Theatre Works artist profile](https://www.latw.org/artist-public-profile/emily-bergl)
2. [Emily Bergl, Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/emily-bergl-31842)
3. [Emily Bergl Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004749/bio/)
4. [Emily Bergl Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/emily_bergl)
5. [Emily Bergl Star File, Broadway.com Buzz](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/emily-bergl/profile/)
6. [Emily Bergl Biography, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/emily-bergl/bio/3000200530/)
7. [Emily Bergl, WNYC artist profile](https://wnyc.org/people/emily-bergl/)
8. [Emily Bergl On Stage, New York Theatre Guide](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/emily-bergl)
9. [Emily Bergl Story and Tickets, Broadway.com](https://www.broadway.com/shows/emily-bergl/story/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Be to B*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license