Age: 43
Birthplace: Gulf Breeze, Florida, United States
Abigail Leigh Spencer (born August 4, 1981) is an American actress. She began her career on the ABC daytime television soap opera All My Children playing Rebecca Tyree from 1999 to 2001, before went to star in the short-lived Lifetime crime drama series Angela's Eyes (2006).
Spencer has appeared in films such as In My Sleep (2010), Cowboys & Aliens (2011), This Means War (2012), Chasing Mavericks (2012), The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (2013), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), and This Is Where I Leave You (2014). On television, she had the recurring roles on Mad Men, Hawthorne, and Suits. From 2013 to 2016, Spencer starred as Amantha Holden in the SundanceTV drama series Rectify, for which she received Critics' Choice Television Award nomination. In 2016, Spencer began playing the leading role in the NBC series Timeless.
Spencer was born and raised in Gulf Breeze, Florida, the daughter of Lydia Ann (Brown) and surfer Yancy Spencer III. She has two brothers, Yancy Spencer IV (born c. 1973) and Sterling Spencer (born c. 1986).
Spencer's first major acting role was playing Rebecca "Becca" Tyree on ABC soap opera All My Children from June 3, 1999 to April 10, 2001. She later starred in Lifetime Television original series Angela's Eyes, which was cancelled on December 1, 2006. In the following years she began playing guest roles on television series, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, How I Met Your Mother, Private Practice and Castle.
Spencer played the role of a blogging enthusiast in Twix advertisements, and portrayed Miss Farrell, a love interest of Don Draper's, on AMC's Mad Men in 2009. In early 2011, she landed the lead role on ABC drama pilot Grace by Krista Vernoff. Spencer had previously played the title character in another Krista Vernoff drama pilot, Introducing Lennie Rose, in 2005. Spencer appeared in a recurring role as Dr. Erin Jameson on the TNT series Hawthorne in 2010, and since 2011 has had a recurring role as Dana "Scottie" Scott, Gabriel Macht's character's old rival, on the USA Network legal drama Suits.
Spencer has appeared in several films, including In My Sleep (2010), Cowboys & Aliens (2011), This Means War (2012), and Chasing Mavericks (2012), and she played the lead role in The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia (2013). She appeared in fantasy adventure film Oz the Great and Powerful, directed by Sam Raimi, in 2013.
As of 2013, Spencer has starred as Amantha Holden in the Sundance Channel original drama series Rectify. She was nominated for Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama for her performance in the series.
Spencer played the lead role in the indie drama Beautiful Now, written by Daniela Amavia, about a passionate dancer who finds herself considering an extreme act when she reaches a crossroads in her life. She was nominated for a Madrid International Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in film. In 2014, Spencer appeared opposite Jason Bateman in This Is Where I Leave You, an ensemble comedy directed by Shawn Levy, and starred with John Travolta and Christopher Plummer in The Forger.
In October 2014, Spencer joined the cast of the second season of HBO crime drama series, True Detective.
In 2016, Spencer was cast as lead character in the NBC series Timeless.
Spencer married Andrew Pruett in 2004 and filed for divorce in February 2012. The couple have a son named Roman.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Campfire Stories | Melissa | |
2003 | Truth and Dare | Skye | |
2005 | Fathers and Sons | Clarissa | |
2005 | A Coat of Snow | Sandy | |
2006 | Hooked | Wendy | Short film |
2007 | Passing the Time | Jessica | Short film |
2007 | Jekyll | Talia Carew | |
2010 | In My Sleep | Gwen | |
2011 | Cowboys & Aliens | Alice | |
2012 | This Means War | Katie | |
2012 | Chasing Mavericks | Brenda Hesson | |
2013 | The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia | Lisa Wyrick | |
2013 | Oz the Great and Powerful | May | |
2013 | Kilimanjaro | Yvonne | |
2013 | Here and Now | Woman | Short film |
2014 | Beautiful Now | Romy | Nominated - Madrid International Film Festival Award for Best Actress |
2014 | This Is Where I Leave You | Quinn Altman | |
2014 | The Pieces | Vanessa | Short film |
2014 | The Forger | Agent Paisley | |
2015 | H8RZ | Laura Sedgewick | |
2016 | The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards | Abigail | |
2016 | The Sweet Life | Lolita |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999-2001 | All My Children | Rebecca 'Becca' Tyree | Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Female Newcomer (2000) |
2005 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Becky Lester | Episode: "Bite Me" |
2005 | Introducing Lennie Rose | Lennie Rose | TV pilot |
2006 | Killer Instinct | Violet Summers | Episode: "Love Hurts" |
2006 | Gilmore Girls | Megan | Episode: "Bridesmaids Revisited" |
2006 | Angela's Eyes | Angela Henson | Lead role, 13 episodes |
2007 | Ghost Whisperer | Cindy Brown | Episode: "Speed Demon" |
2007, 2014 | How I Met Your Mother | Blah Blah (Carol) | 2 Episodes: "How I Met Everyone Else" and "Gary Blauman" |
2008 | Welcome to the Captain | Claire Tanner | Episode: "The Letter" |
2008 | Bones | Phillipa Fitz | Episode: "The Man in the Mud" |
2008 | Moonlight | Simone Walker | Episode: "Sonata" |
2009 | Rex Is Not Your Lawyer | Lindsey Steers | TV pilot |
2009 | Private Practice | Rachel | Episode: "Ex-Life" |
2009 | Mad Men | Suzanne Farrell | Recurring Role, 6 episodes |
2009 | Castle | Sarah Reed | Episode: "One Man's Treasure" |
2010 | The Glades | Ashley Carter | Episode: "The Girlfriend Experience" |
2010 | Hawthorne | Dr. Erin Jameson | Recurring Role, 8 episodes |
2011 | Grace | Sarah Grace | TV pilot |
2011-16 | Suits | Dana 'Scottie' Scott | Recurring role, 12 episodes |
2012-13 | Burning Love | Annie | 16 episodes |
2013 | NTSF:SD:SUV | Abigail | Episode: "Comic Con-Air" |
2013-2016 | Rectify | Amantha Holden | Series regular Nominated - Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (2013) Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama (2014) |
2015 | True Detective | Gena Brune | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
2016-present | Timeless | Lucy Preston | Series regular |