# Tyner Rushing
**Tyner Rushing** (born 1992) is an American television and film actress from Semmes, Alabama, known for playing [Emma Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/emma-smith) in *Under the Banner of Heaven*, Virginia Creel in *Stranger Things*, Liz Riley in *The Terminal List* and its prequel *The Terminal List: Dark Wolf*, and Samantha Massey in *For All Mankind*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1992; raised in Semmes, Alabama, on the Gulf Coast[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tyner-rushing/) |
| Training | Opera and musical theater at Birmingham-Southern College on a performance scholarship; began in musical theater before moving to screen roles[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/bio/) • [4](https://bookingagentinfo.com/celebrity/tyner-rushing/) |
| Breakout year | 2022: *The Contractor*, *Under the Banner of Heaven*, *Stranger Things* season 4, and *The Terminal List* all released[5](https://wegotthiscovered.com/tv/exclusive-interview-tyner-rushing-talks-the-terminal-list/) |
| Signature TV roles | Emma Smith (*Under the Banner of Heaven*, 5 episodes), Liz Riley (*The Terminal List*, 4 episodes), Samantha Massey (*For All Mankind*, 10 episodes)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/) |
| Film work | *First Man* (2018), *Respect* (2021), *The Contractor* (2022), *Jumanji: The Next Level* (2019)[6](https://filmbladet.se/personer/tyner-rushing) |
| Recent work | *The Terminal List: Dark Wolf*, *Murdaugh: Death in the Family*, and *It: Welcome to Derry*, all 2025[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/) |
## Background and training
Rushing was raised on the Gulf Coast in Semmes, Alabama, on a farm and [plant nursery](https://www.edgepedia.org/plant-nursery), by her parents Ralph and Patti Tyner Rushing, alongside her sisters Rebecca and Natalie.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/) Both parents worked as plant nursery owners and farmers.[7](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/tyner-rushing.html) She began performing at age 3, when her mother introduced her to dance, and singing followed a few years later; as a teenager she taught ballet, tap, and jazz to youngsters in exchange for dance lessons and performed voice recitals yearly.[8](https://lezwatchtv.com/actor/tyner-rushing/)
She received a singing scholarship out of high school and studied opera and musical theater at Birmingham-Southern College, a liberal arts school in [Birmingham, Alabama](https://www.edgepedia.org/birmingham-alabama).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/bio/) After college she spent a year touring the West Coast with the California Theater Center, then moved to San Francisco, where she performed in *Babes in Arms* (42nd Street Moon), *Swing!* (Cabrillo Stage), and *La Cage Aux Folles* (Broadway By the Bay).[8](https://lezwatchtv.com/actor/tyner-rushing/)
Her Alabama upbringing later fed directly into her acting work. Discussing Liz Riley in *The Terminal List*, a character written as being from Alabama, Rushing said that she grew up in rural Alabama and that playing "this awesome female country girl on-screen" felt validating to her inner child; she added that singing training from a young age led her to soften her accent.[9](https://comicbookmovie.com/tv/amazon/the-terminal-list-star-tyner-rushing-on-being-chris-pratts-right-hand-woman-exclusive-a194600)
## Screen career
**Early television and film.** Rushing's early credits include guest roles on *One Mississippi* (2017, as Pom), *The Resident* (2018, as Tilly Tyson), *Doom Patrol* (2019, as Michaela), *The Purge* (2019, as Skye), and *Lovecraft Country* (2020, as Barb).[10](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-820017/filmografia/) Her first major screen appearance came in the 2018 biographical drama *First Man*, which starred [Ryan Gosling](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-gosling); Rushing played a White House staffer.[7](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/tyner-rushing.html) • [6](https://filmbladet.se/personer/tyner-rushing) Film roles followed in *Transference* (2020, as Officer Rodriguez), *Respect* (2021, as Gloria Fisher), and *[The Contractor](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-contractor-2022-film)* (2022, as Christine Denton).[10](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-820017/filmografia/) • [6](https://filmbladet.se/personer/tyner-rushing)
**2022 breakout.** Four prominent projects featuring Rushing were released in the first half of 2022: the [Chris Pine](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-pine) action thriller *The Contractor*, the [Dustin Lance Black](https://www.edgepedia.org/dustin-lance-black) miniseries *Under the Banner of Heaven* starring [Andrew Garfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-garfield), season 4 of Netflix's *Stranger Things*, and Prime Video's *The Terminal List*.[5](https://wegotthiscovered.com/tv/exclusive-interview-tyner-rushing-talks-the-terminal-list/) In *Under the Banner of Heaven* she played Emma Smith, the wife of Joseph Smith, across five episodes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/) In *Stranger Things* she played Virginia Creel, appearing in two episodes of season 4.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/)
In *The Terminal List*, the eight-episode Prime Video series based on Jack Carr's novels, Rushing played Liz Riley, a longtime friend and confidant of [Chris Pratt](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-pratt)'s character James Reece, a Navy SEAL seeking answers after his platoon is killed on a covert mission.[5](https://wegotthiscovered.com/tv/exclusive-interview-tyner-rushing-talks-the-terminal-list/) She appeared in four episodes and described Riley as one of the only people Reece finds he can trust.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/) • [9](https://comicbookmovie.com/tv/amazon/the-terminal-list-star-tyner-rushing-on-being-chris-pratts-right-hand-woman-exclusive-a194600) In interviews around the release she said she would welcome more action scenes for the character in future seasons, noting that the weapons training she did receive was exhilarating and challenging.[5](https://wegotthiscovered.com/tv/exclusive-interview-tyner-rushing-talks-the-terminal-list/)
**For All Mankind and later roles.** In September 2022 it was announced that Rushing had joined the cast of Apple TV+'s *For All Mankind* as a series regular for season 4.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tyner-rushing/) She plays Samantha Massey, a blue-collar space worker and aspiring astronaut, and appeared in ten episodes spanning 2023 to 2024.[11](https://mooveedb.com/actor/tyner-rushing/499681) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/) Between those seasons she played Maxine "Max" Parnes in two episodes of the [Jennifer Garner](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-garner) series *The Last Thing He Told Me* (2023).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/)
In 2025 she returned to the *Terminal List* franchise as Liz Riley in the first episode of the prequel series *The Terminal List: Dark Wolf*, which centers on [Taylor Kitsch](https://www.edgepedia.org/taylor-kitsch)'s character Ben Edwards and is set about five years before the original show.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/) • [12](https://apnews.com/article/20cc9a94b8e5c92863a1c34148577da9) The same year she appeared as Laura Rutland in the miniseries *Murdaugh: Death in the Family* and as Young Ingrid Kersh in HBO's *It: Welcome to Derry*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/) Upcoming credits listed by IMDb include the series *[It's Not Like That](https://www.edgepedia.org/its-not-like-that)* (as Jenny Jeffries, six episodes) and an episode of *The Studio*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/)
## Personal life
Rushing identifies as queer, according to a 2022 interview cited in her IMDb biography.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/bio/) She lives in Los Angeles.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/) Her father named a plant cultivar after her: *Nandina domestica* 'Jaytee', from his nickname for her; her nicknames include Tiny and JT.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/bio/) In December 2023 she visited Fame Recording Studios in [Muscle Shoals, Alabama](https://www.edgepedia.org/muscle-shoals-alabama), saying that some of her favorite albums were recorded there and that she has deep ties to the state's musical heritage.[13](https://www.waff.com/2023/12/23/actress-south-alabama-stops-fame-recording-studios/)
Published sources disagree on her exact birth date: TV Insider and Famous Birthdays list a 1992 date, while IMDb lists a June birthday with no year and gives her birthplace as [Mobile, Alabama](https://www.edgepedia.org/mobile-alabama).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tyner-rushing/) • [7](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/tyner-rushing.html) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/bio/)
## References
1. [Tyner Rushing, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/)
2. [Tyner Rushing – Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/tyner-rushing/)
3. [Tyner Rushing – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7335799/bio/)
4. [Tyner Rushing Contact Info, Booking Agent Info](https://bookingagentinfo.com/celebrity/tyner-rushing/)
5. [Exclusive interview: Tyner Rushing talks 'The Terminal List', We Got This Covered](https://wegotthiscovered.com/tv/exclusive-interview-tyner-rushing-talks-the-terminal-list/)
6. [Tyner Rushing, Filmbladet](https://filmbladet.se/personer/tyner-rushing)
7. [Tyner Rushing – Age, Bio, Family, Famous Birthdays](https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/tyner-rushing.html)
8. [Tyner Rushing, LezWatch.TV](https://lezwatchtv.com/actor/tyner-rushing/)
9. [THE TERMINAL LIST Star Tyner Rushing On Being Chris Pratt's Right Hand Woman (Exclusive), ComicBookMovie](https://comicbookmovie.com/tv/amazon/the-terminal-list-star-tyner-rushing-on-being-chris-pratts-right-hand-woman-exclusive-a194600)
10. [Tyner Rushing: Filmografía, SensaCine](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-820017/filmografia/)
11. [Tyner Rushing, MooveeDB](https://mooveedb.com/actor/tyner-rushing/499681)
12. [Taylor Kitsch's 'The Terminal List' character gets an origin story in 'The Terminal List: Dark Wolf', AP News](https://apnews.com/article/20cc9a94b8e5c92863a1c34148577da9)
13. [Actress Tyner Rushing stops in to Fame Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals, WAFF](https://www.waff.com/2023/12/23/actress-south-alabama-stops-fame-recording-studios/)
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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 › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Ro to R*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 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