By Neia Balao
8:05am PDT, Apr 14, 2020
In celebration of the release of Hulu's highly anticipated miniseries "Mrs. America" on April 15, 2020, Wonderwall.com is taking a closer look at all the actresses and actors who are bringing the true story of the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the streaming service. Kicking off our list is star Cate Blanchett, who plays Phyllis Schlafly, a movement conservative who campaigned against the ratification of the ERA. Keep reading to find out more about who's playing whom…
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Cate Blanchett rose to fame when she portrayed Elizabeth I in the 1998 film "Elizabeth," for which she earned a BAFTA Award for best actress and an Academy Award nomination for best actress. She's won two Oscars for best supporting actress — for her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in 2004's "The Aviator" and for her work as Jasmine Francis in 2013's "Blue Jasmine" (for which she also earned a Golden Globe Award). Cate's other Academy Award-nominated performances were in "Notes on a Scandal," "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," "I'm Not There" and "Carol." She is a three-time Golden Globe Award winner and a seven-time nominee. Among her most successful films are the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, the "The Hobbit" trilogy and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." She is next set to star in Guillermo del Toro's psychological thriller "Nightmare Alley." The Australian actress has been married to playwright Andrew Upton since 1997. The couple share four children.
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John Slattery is best known for his role as Roger Sterling on the AMC series "Mad Men," for which he earned two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He's more recently played Ben Bradlee Jr. in the 2016 Academy Award best picture-winning drama "Spotlight" and has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films "Iron Man 2," "Ant-Man," "Captain America: Civil War" and "Avengers: Endgame" as Tony Stark's father, Howard Stark. In total, he's been nominated for four Primetime Emmys and two Critics' Choice Television Awards. In 1998, he married actress Talia Balsam. The couple share a son.
Rose Byrne plays Gloria Steinem, a leader of the American feminist movement in the late '60s and early '70s.
Since making her acting debut in 1994's "Dallas Doll," Rose Byrne has gone on to star in a variety of films including "Troy," "28 Weeks Later," "Neighbors" and "Instant Family." From 2007 to 2010, she played Ellen Parsons in the thriller series "Damages," for which she earned two Golden Globe nominations and two Primetime Emmy nominations. She will next star in "Irresistible," a political comedy written and directed by Jon Stewart. She has two kids with actor love Bobby Cannavale.
Sarah Paulson plays Alice Macray, a fictional character who represents the women who supported Phyllis Schlafly in her campaign against the ERA.
Sarah Paulson is a three-time Critics' Choice Television Award winner who also has an Emmy, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe. Since breaking into Hollywood in 1994, she's been in several television shows including "American Gothic," "Jack & Jill," "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story." In 2011, she landed a role on the FX anthology horror series "American Horror Story" and has since played several characters over the show's nine seasons including on "American Horror Story: Roanoke," "American Horror Story: Cult" and "American Horror Story: Apocalypse." Aside from starring in "Mrs. America" in 2020, Sarah will appear in three more series: "Ratched," "Impeachment: American Crime Story" and the latest season of "American Horror Story." She will also appear in the forthcoming horror film "Run." Sarah has been in a relationship with actress Holland Taylor since 2015.
James Marsden plays Phil Crane, an American politician. From 1969 to 2005, he served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives and represented the 8th District of Illinois in the northwestern Chicago suburbs.
James Marsden rose to fame after landing guest-starring roles on shows like "Saved by the Bell: The New Class," "Party of Five" and "Touched by an Angel." He starred in the "X-Men" film series as Scott Summers/Cyclops and appeared in a slew of films including "Hairspray," "Enchanted," "27 Dresses," "The Notebook," "The Best of Me" and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." In more recent years, he's starred on HBO's "Westworld" and Netflix's "Dead to Me" and on the big screen's "Sonic the Hedgehog." He has three children — two with ex-wife Lisa Linde and one with ex-girlfriend Rose Costa.
Margo Martindale plays Bella Abzug, otherwise known as "Battling Bella," a U.S. representative, social activist, lawyer and leader of the women's rights movement.
Margo Martindale is a Primetime Emmy and Critics' Choice Television Award winner. For her performance as Claudia on the FX spy series "The Americans," she earned four Emmy nods. She has appeared in a slew of other projects including "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," "Million Dollar Baby," "Eye of God," "The Savages" and "August: Osage County." In 2004, Margo was nominated for a Tony Award for best featured actress for her performance in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." In 2020, she appeared in the films "Uncle Frank" and "Lazy Susan." She will also appear in the forthcoming miniseries "Your Honor" as Senator Elizabeth Guthrie. In 1986, she married Bill Boals, with whom she has one child.
Uzo Aduba plays Shirley Chisholm, an educator, politician and author. in 1968, she became the first black woman elected to the United States Congress and in 1972 became the first woman and first black woman to make a bid for the presidency.
Uzo Aduba rose to fame for her portrayal of Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren on Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black." She won an Emmy for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series in 2014, an Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in 2015 and Screen Actors Guild Awards for outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series in both 2014 and 2015. She has appeared in other films including "Tallulah," "Candy Jar" and "Beats." She also voiced Bismuth on the animated series "Steven Universe." In 2020, Uzo will appear in another miniseries, "Americanah," and in the film "Really Love."
Elizabeth Banks plays Jill Ruckelshaus, a feminist activist, head of the White House Office of Women's Programs and commissioner for the United States Commission on Civil Rights.
After making her film debut in the 1998 independent flick "Surrender Dorothy," Elizabeth Banks appeared in films like "Wet Hot American Summer," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Role Models" and "What to Expect When You're Expecting." She is also known for her portrayal of Effie Trinket in the "Hunger Games" movie franchise and as Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the "Pitch Perfect" film series (she also directed the second film). She wrote, directed, produced and starred in the 2019 "Charlie's Angels" reboot. In 2003, she married Max Handelman, with whom she shares two children.
Tracey Ullman plays Betty Friedan, an activist, feminist writer and prominent figure in the women's movement in the U.S. In 1963, she published her book "The Feminine Mystique," and in 1966, she co-founded and became the first president of the National Organization for Women.
After moving from England to the United States, six-time Emmy winner Tracey Ullman starred in the comedy series "The Tracey Ullman Show," which ran from 1987 to 1990. She also produced the HBO project "Tracey Takes On…" and the comedy series "Tracey Ullman's State of the Union." In 2016, she created and starred on the British sketch comedy series "Tracey Ullman's Show," which led to the subsequent creation of the series "Tracey Breaks the News." Her role in 2000's "Small Time Crooks" earned her a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a motion comedy or musical. In addition to appearing in "Mrs. America," in 2020, Tracey voiced Grecklin in Disney-Pixar's "Onward." In 1983, she married Allan McKeown, with whom she has two children. He died in 2013.
