Olivia Thirlby

Olivia Jo Thirlby (born October 6, 1986) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Leah in the comedy-drama film Juno, as Natalie in The Darkest Hour (2011) and as Judge Cassandra Anderson in Dredd (2012). In 2023, Thirlby portrayed Lilli Hornig in Christopher Nolan's biographical film Oppenheimer.

Early life Thirlby was born on October 6, 1986, in New York City, to an advertising executive mother and a contractor father. She was raised in Manhattan's East Village, attending school at Friends Seminary in the city's Gramercy neighborhood, where she graduated in a class of 57 students.

Career While in high school, Thirlby had a role in The Secret. In 2006, she made her film debut in United 93 and her television debut in Kidnapped.

In 2007, she played Leah in Juno. Around this time, she and her Juno co-star Elliot Page were slated to star as the respective title characters of Jack & Diane as two young women who fall in love which unlocked lycanthropy in one character but both dropped out before production, and the cast was replaced numerous times over. She plays Stephanie, a marijuana-smoking "popular girl" from New York City, in Sundance Audience Award-winning mid-1990s period piece film The Wackness, which was released in the U.S. on July 3, 2008, and stars opposite Josh Peck. She reunited with David Gordon Green on the animated TV pilot Good Vibes.

She made her stage debut in Farragut North, a play by Beau Willimon at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City. The Off-Broadway production ran from October 22, 2008 – November 29, 2008 with official opening on November 12 and transferred to the Geffen Playhouse in June 2009.

Thirlby appeared in the 2009 HBO series Bored to Death. She voices promotional video excerpts from the novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher which, since October 2008, have regularly been posted to YouTube. She also appeared in the 2011-released film Margaret. She was attached to star in Christmas in New York, though the film was not made, as well as For Ellen, where it appears she did not accept a role.

Thirlby starred in the Russian science-fiction film The Darkest Hour, released in 2011, directed by Chris Gorak, and produced by Timur Bekmambetov.

Thirlby starred as Judge Cassandra Anderson in the 2012 film adaptation of Judge Dredd, with Karl Urban in the title role. She next starred in the indie film Nobody Walks co-starring John Krasinski and Rosemarie DeWitt. She plays Martine, a young artist taken in a couple's home. It premiered at 2012 Sundance Film Festival. In 2016, Thirlby co-starred as the young attorney Lucy Kittridge in the Amazon Studios legal series Goliath. 2017 saw her play a main character in the thriller Damascus Cover. In 2018 she took the lead in The White Orchid. She also portrayed the main character in 2019's Above the Shadows. Thirlby featured as MCC minister Rebecca Dowery in the 2019 Showtime drama series The L Word: Generation Q. She was Hero Brown, a main character in 2021's Y: The Last Man.

Personal life In an interview with Brooklyn Magazine in 2011, Thirlby said she was bisexual. That same year Thirlby agreed to participate in iO Tillett Wright's Self-Evident Truths Project, an effort to capture the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community in the United States through photography.

She married Jacques Pienaar on December 28, 2014; she met him on the set of her 2012 film Dredd. Pienaar filed for divorce in March 2021.

In 2023, Elliot Page stated that the two were involved in a relationship while filming Juno.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2006 United 93 Nicole Carol Miller 2007 Snow Angels Lila Raybern Juno Leah Love Comes Lately Sylvia Brokeles The Secret Samantha Marris 2008 The Wackness Stephanie Squires New York, I Love You Actress Segment: "Brett Ratner" 2009 The Answer Man Anne Uncertainty Sophie Montero Breaking Upwards Erika What Goes Up Tess Sullivan Solitary Man Maureen Uncredited 2011 No Strings Attached Katie Kurtzman Margaret Monica Sloane The Darkest Hour Natalie 2012 Nobody Walks Martine Being Flynn Denise Dredd Judge Cassandra Anderson 2014 Red Knot Chloe Harrison 5 to 7 Jane Hastings Just Before I Go Greta 2015 The Wedding Ringer Alison Palmer The Stanford Prison Experiment Christina Maslach Welcome to Happiness Trudy 2016 Between Us Dianne 2017 Chappaquiddick Rachel Schiff 2018 Damascus Cover Kim Johnson The White Orchid Claire Decker Associate producer 2019 Above the Shadows Holly 2023 Oppenheimer Lilli Hornig Dumb Money Yaara Plotkin Lousy Carter Candela 2026 Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 2006–2007 Kidnapped Aubrey CainRecurring role 2009 Bored to Death Suzanne 2011 Good Vibes Jeena Voice role 2016 Goliath Lucy Kittridge Main role 2019–2020 The L Word: Generation Q Rebecca Dowery Recurring role 2021 Y: The Last Man Hero Brown Main role 2025 Law & Order: Organized Crime Detective Frances Tanner 4 episodes 2026 Wonder Man Vivian 3 episodes Cecilia Jade “CJ” Ryan Main role (season 5)

Theater Year Title Role Notes 2008 Farragut North Molly Stearns Linda Gross Theater 2012 Lonely, I'm Not Businesswoman Second Stage Theatre 2014 O.P.C. Romi Weil American Repertory Theater