Cristin Milioti

Cristin Milioti (born August 16, 1985 ) is an American actress and musician. Known for her roles on stage and screen, she has received various accolades including a Grammy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, as well as nominations for an Actor Award and a Tony Award.

Milioti started her career with supporting roles on television, including as Catherine Sacrimoni in the HBO drama series The Sopranos (2006–2007). She rose to prominence for her performance as Tracy McConnell in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother (2013–2014). She earned critical acclaim for her portrayal of Sofia Falcone in the HBO crime drama series The Penguin (2024), for which she earned the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Milioti appeared in the Fox sitcom The Mindy Project (2015–2016), the second season of the FX anthology crime series Fargo (2015), the Netflix science fiction series Black Mirror (2017, 2025), the HBO Max comedy series Made for Love (2021–2022), and the Peacock comedy mystery series The Resort (2022). She also starred in films such as The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), It Had to Be You (2015), Palm Springs (2020), and Buddy (2026).

On stage, she acted on Broadway in the plays The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2006) and Coram Boy (2007) before starring in the musical Once (2011–2013), which earned her a Grammy Award as well as a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

Early life Milioti was born on August 16, 1985, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, a suburb of Philadelphia. She is of Italian descent, and calls her family "Olive Garden Italian". In middle school, she found her love of acting at Long Lake Camp for the Arts in Long Lake, New York. She graduated in 2003 from Cherry Hill High School East, where she began performing in school plays. She took acting-classes at New York University, but dropped out during her sophomore year, admitting that her dropping out was a result of her being "wildly unhappy there". She appeared in television programs such as The Sopranos and films such as Greetings from the Shore. Milioti appeared in stage performances. In 2007, she appeared on Broadway as Alice Ashbrook in Helen Edmundson's award-winning adaptation of Jamila Gavin's novel Coram Boy. In 2010, she starred in That Face, and was nominated for the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play for her work in Stunning.

2011–2019: Once and television work In 2012, she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Girl in Once, a musical in which she performed from 2011 to 2013. Of her performance, Ben Brantley of the New York Times wrote: "It's not easy playing a winsome life force with a foreign accent. But Ms. Milioti has mastered the assignment brilliantly. She brings a new confidence to her portrayal, and an enhanced mixture of wit and wisdom, which suggests a maturity in youth, a fatalism hard won during an Eastern European childhood. And together she and Mr. Kazee exude a chemistry that is all the more achingly real for being so subdued." Her Once performance, with fellow principal soloist Steve Kazee, earned the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. She also read aloud a short story for the 2011 This American Life episode "Adventure". In 2012, she appeared on several songs of Glen Hansard's debut album Rhythm and Repose.

In 2013, Milioti was cast in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother as the titular Mother, appearing for the first time in the season eight finale titled "Something New", and was promoted to a series regular for the show's ninth and final season. Milioti portrayed Jordan Belfort's first wife, Teresa Petrillo, in the 2013 Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street. In February 2014, she was cast as Zelda, the female lead on NBC's comedy A to Z which premiered that October and aired for one season of 13 episodes. In 2015, she co-starred on the second season of FX's Fargo as Betsy Solverson, the cancer-stricken wife of state trooper Lou Solverson and mother of future deputy Molly Solverson. In 2017, Milioti appeared in the fourth season of the sci-fi anthology show Black Mirror in the episode "USS Callister" as Nanette Cole, a newly employed game developer whose digital recreation becomes trapped in a virtual simulator game, a role she reprised in the 2025 seventh season episode "USS Callister: Into Infinity".

2020–present: The Penguin and acclaim In 2020, Milioti starred in the sci-fi/comedy Palm Springs, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and on Hulu in July. In 2021, she starred in the HBO Max dark comedy series Made for Love as the entrapped wife of a tech billionaire from whom she runs away.

In 2024, Milioti starred as Sofia Falcone in the HBO spin-off miniseries of The Batman titled The Penguin, opposite Colin Farrell. For her performance, she won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Personal life In February 2021, Milioti worked with PETA in a video featuring her adopted dog, Rupert, which advocated for adopting a dog over purchasing one from breeders.

Acting credits Film

Year Title Role Notes 2007 Greetings from the Shore Didi 2009 Year of the Carnivore Sammy Smalls 2012 Sleepwalk with Me Janet Pandamiglio I am Ben The Journalist The Brass Teapot Brandi 2013 Bert and Arnie's Guide to Friendship Faye The Wolf of Wall Street Teresa Petrillo 2014 The Occupants Lucy 2015 It Had to Be You Sonia 2017 Breakable You Maud Weller 2020 Palm Springs Sarah Wilder 2025 In Your Dreams Joanne Ting (voice) 2026 Buddy Grace 2027 TBA Filming

Television

Year Title Role Notes 2006 3 lbs Megan Rafferty Episode: "Bad Boys" 2006–2007 The Sopranos Catherine Sacrimoni 3 episodes 2009 The Unusuals Sketch Artist 2 episodes 2010 The Good Wife Onya Eggertson Episode: "Taking Control" 2011 30 Rock Abby Flynn / Abby Grossman Episode: "TGS Hates Women" Nurse Jackie Monica Episode: "...Deaf Blind Tumor Pee-Test" 2013–2014 How I Met Your Mother Tracy McConnell / The Mother Guest role (season 8), main role (season 9); 14 episodes 2014–2015 A to Z Zelda Vasco Main role 2015 Family Guy Andrea Cricket Voice role; episode: "Roasted Guy" Fargo Betsy Solverson Recurring role (season 2); 9 episodes 2015–2016 The Mindy Project Whitney Recurring role; 5 episodes 2016–2018 The Venture Bros. Sirena / Various voices Recurring voice role; 8 episodes 2017, 2025 Black Mirror Nanette Cole / Capt. Cole Episodes: "USS Callister" and "USS Callister: Into Infinity" 2018 No Activity Frankie Main role (season 2) 2019 Modern Love Maggie Mitchell 2 episodes 2020 Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet Bean Episode: "A Dark Quiet Death" Death to 2020 Kathy Flowers Television special 2021 Ziwe Friend Episode: "55%" The Simpsons Barb Voice role; episode: "A Serious Flanders"Death to 2021 Kathy Flowers Television special 2021–2022 Made for Love Hazel Green Main role 2022 The Resort Emma Reed Main role 2023 Bob's Burgers Alice Voice role; episode: "Radio No You Didn't" Teenage Euthanasia Juggsaw Voice role; episode: "Viva La Flappanista" 2024 Hit-Monkey Iris McHenry Voice role (season 2) The Penguin Sofia Falcone / The Hangman Limited series; main role TBA Upcoming series; main role

Theater Year Title Role Venue(s) Ref. 2006 The Lieutenant of Inishmore Mairead Lyceum Theatre, Broadway 2007 Coram Boy Alice Ashbrook Imperial Theatre, Broadway 2009 The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Mick Kelly New York Theatre Workshop, Off-Broadway Stunning Lily Lincoln Center Theater, Off-Broadway 2010 The Little Foxes Alexandra New York Theatre Workshop, Off-Broadway That Face Mia Manhattan Theatre Club, Off-Broadway 2011 Once Girl American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge New York Theatre Workshop, Off-Broadway 2012–2013 Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway 2015–2016 Lazarus EllyNew York Theatre Workshop, Off-Broadway 2017 Masha Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown After the Blast Anna Lincoln Center Theater, Off-Broadway

Awards and nominations Organizations Year Category Work Result Ref. Actor Awards 2024 Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie The Penguin Astra Film Awards 2020 Breakthrough Performance - Actress Palm Springs Astra TV Awards 2021 Best Actress in a Streaming Series, Comedy Made for Love 2025 Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV MovieThe Penguin Best Cast Ensemble in a Limited Series or TV Movie Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie Black Mirror: USS Callister: Into Infinity Critics' Choice Awards 2016 Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries Fargo 2024 Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television The Penguin Critics' Choice Super Awards 2020 Best Actress in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie Palm Springs 2025 Best Actress in a Superhero Series, Limited Series or TV Movie The Penguin Best Actress in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Limited Series Black Mirror: USS Callister: Into Infinity Dorian TV Awards 2025 Best TV Performance — Drama The Penguin Golden Globe Awards 2024 Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film Gotham TV Awards 2025 Outstanding Lead Performance in a Limited Series Grammy Awards 2013 Best Musical Theater Album Once Independent Spirit Awards 2024 Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series The Penguin Lucille Lortel Awards 2011 Outstanding Lead Actress Stunning 2012 Outstanding Lead Actress Once 2018 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play After the Blast MTV Movie & TV Awards 2018 Most Frightened Performance Black Mirror: USS Callister Online Film & Television Association 2025 Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Limited or Anthology SeriesThe Penguin Primetime Emmy Awards 2025 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Satellite Awards 2024 Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film Saturn Awards 2024 Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series Tony Awards 2012 Best Actress in a Musical Once

Discography Soundtrack album + List of soundtrack albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Once (Original Broadway Cast Recording) Released: March 13, 2012 Label: Masterworks Broadway Formats: CD, vinyl, digital download, streaming How I Met Your Music Released: September 24, 2012 Label: Fox Music Formats: CD, digital download, streaming Lazarus Original Cast Recording Released: October 21, 2016 Label: Columbia Records / RCA / Sony Music Formats: CD, vinyl, digital download, streaming

Songs + List of non-single appearances Title Year Other artist(s) Album Ref. "If You Want Me" 2012 Once: (Original Broadway Cast Recording) "The Hill" "Falling Slowly (Reprise)" Steve Kazee and the Once Ensemble "La Vie En Rose" 2014 How I Met Your Music "Changes" 2016 Lazarus (Original Cast Recording) "Absolute Beginners" The cast of Lazarus "Always Crashing in the Same Car" "Delete Delete" 2018 Boots and Run the Jewels #DARKDAZE "715 Creeks" 2021