• Lisa Emery is a popular American actress, known for her portrayal of Darlene Snell in the crime thriller series “Ozark”
• She was raised in Pittsburgh and attended Hollins College, then enrolled at the Circle in the Square Theatre School to work on her acting skills
• She has appeared in numerous TV series, including “Doubletake”, “Law & Order”, “Jessica Jones” and “Blindspot”
• Her notable roles in movies include “Dreamaniac”, “Roger Dodger”, “Unfaithful” and “Admission”
• Lisa has been nominated for a single award, and has a net worth estimated at over $1 million
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Who is Lisa Emery?
Lisa Emery was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA, on 29 January 1952 – her zodiac sign is Sagittarius and she holds American nationality. She is an actress who might be known best for her portrayal of Darlene Snell in the crime thriller series “Ozark”, created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams, and which stars Jason Bateman, Laura Linney and Sofia Hublitz. It follows a financial advisor who moves with his family to the Missouri Ozarks from Chicago to launder money for a drug boss. The series has been airing since 2016, and has won 13 awards and been nominated for 91 others, including two Golden Globes.
Lisa is still quite active in the film industry, and is currently shooting for an upcoming movie.
Early life and education
Lisa was raised in Pittsburgh an only child, by her father who was an advertising executive and her mother who was an actress. During her early years Lisa often watched her mother perform, which is how she became interested in acting.
She attended a local high school at which she became interested in painting, and upon matriculating in 1970, Lisa enrolled at Hollins College to study painting, however, she then became distracted by drama, and started appearing in plays performed at both college and a local theatre.
She still graduated in 1974, and then enrolled at the Circle in the Square Theatre School, working on her acting skills for a year before launching her career.
Roles in TV series
Lisa has been credited with appearing in around 45 TV series and movies and we are about to mention some of her most notable performances.
Lisa spent the following decade appearing solely in theatre plays, so it wasn’t until 1985 that she made her debut TV series appearance, with her portrayal of Brenda in the thriller drama “Doubletake” which follows the head detective Frank Janek working on a case in which two bodies were found at different locations while their heads were swapped.
The following years saw her appear in single episodes of various series such as the adventure “H.E.L.P.”, the romantic drama “As the World Turns” and the romantic comedy drama “Sex and the City”.
In 2002, she portrayed Rita Vessey in the critically acclaimed comedy drama “Ed” which starred Tom Cavanagh and Julie Bowen, and which follows a divorced lawyer from New York City who returns to his hometown in Ohio to start a new life. The series was a hit, winning eight awards while it was nominated for 23 others, including a Golden Globe. Lisa went on to portray five characters in five episodes of the mystery crime drama “Law & Order”, and was in 2011 cast to portray Karleen in the episodes “Niece” and “Joan” of the comedy drama “Louie”.
The year 2015 saw her portray Louise Thompson in four episodes of the action crime drama “Jessica Jones” which starred Krysten Ritter and Rachael Taylor, and follows Jessica who works as a private investigator in New York City. The series won 11 awards including one Primetime Emmy, and was nominated for 22 other awards.
One of her most recent roles in a TV series has been in 2019, when she portrayed Linda Weller in the episode “Everybody Hates Kathy” of the action crime drama “Blindspot”, created by Martin Gero and which starred Sullivan Stapleton, Jaimie Alexander and Audrey Esparza. It follows a Jane Doe, ie unidentified, who finds herself in Times Square with a strange tattoo and no memory – the series won one award and was nominated for nine others including three Primetime Emmys.
Roles in movies
Lisa made her debut film appearance in 1986, when cast to portray Rosie in the horror “Dreamaniac” but which received poor reviews, and a couple of her following roles were in the 1990 comedy drama “How to Be Louise”, the 1994 romantic horror “Wolf”, and the 1997 romantic comedy “In & Out”. Then in 1999 she portrayed Susan Durkin in the drama “A Map of the World”, which starred Sigourney Weaver and Julianne Moore and was a hit, winning three awards while it was nominated for six others including a Golden Globe.
In 2002, Lisa appeared in the romantic thriller “Unfaithful” starring the famous actor Richard Gere, which follows a woman cheating on her husband.
Lisa went on to appear in several critically acclaimed movies, including in the same year the comedy drama “Roger Dodger” (12 awards) and the 2009 comedy “Cold Souls” (four awards).
Her most recent role in a movie has been in the 2013 romantic comedy “Admission”, which starred Tina Fey and Paul Rudd, and follows an admissions officer at Princeton who believes she has just met the son whom she secretly gave up for adoption years ago.
Lisa has recently been cast to appear in the thriller “Catch the Fair One”.
Awards and nominations
Lisa has been nominated for a single award: her and her colleagues from “Ozark” were all nominated for a 2019 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Love life and relationships
Lisa was in a long-term relationship with a mysterious boy whom she met during her junior year at Hollins College. They moved in together after around a year of dating, but just before she enrolled at the Circle in the Square Theatre School, the two split for unknown reasons.
In 1990, Lisa married Josh Pais, a famous American acting coach and actor, known for his roles in movies “Music of the Heart”, “Motherless Brooklyn” and “I Saw the Light”. On 22 September 1993, Lisa gave birth to their son Zane Pais who is today an actor, film writer and producer, best known for his portrayal of Jon in the 2018 fantasy comedy series “Room 104”. However, in 2003 Lisa and Josh divorced for unknown reasons.
She hasn’t spoken about any men she might have been with since her divorce from Josh, so as of January 2021, Lisa appears to be single, has married once, and has one son.
Hobbies and other interests
Lisa is a huge fan of theatre, and has appeared in numerous plays over the years, including “The Matchmaker”, “What the Butler Saw” and “Relatively Speaking”. For her performances in plays, she has been nominated for three Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, two Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Featured Actress, and has won an Obie Award for Outstanding Performance.
Lisa loves to travel, and her acting career has taken her to many US states as well as several European and Asian countries. Some of her favorite cities to visit are Las Vegas in Nevada, Paris in France, and Vienna in Austria.
She has her own favorite actors and actresses, some of whom are Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep, and a couple of her favorite movies are “Titanic”, “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Devil Wears Prada”.
Age, height and net worth
Lisa’s age is 68. She has long blonde hair and blue eyes, her height is 5ft 4ins (1.6m) and she weighs around 110lbs (50kgs).
As of January 2021, her net worth has been estimated at over $1 million.
