Rosemarie Braddock DeWitt (born October 26, 1971) is an American actress. DeWitt played Emily Lehman in the Fox television series Standoff (2006–07), co-starring with her future husband Ron Livingston. She appeared as Charmaine Craine on United States of Tara. She also was the title character in 2008's Rachel Getting Married, garnering several awards and nominations for best supporting actress. She starred as Ryan Gosling's character Sebastian's sister Laura Wilder in the Oscar-winning movie La La Land. She also starred in the horror/thriller Poltergeist (2015), a remake of the 1982 film of the same name.
Early life
DeWitt was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, the daughter of Rosemarie (Braddock) and Kenny DeWitt. She is a granddaughter of former World Heavyweight Champion James J. Braddock, and played the role of neighbor Sara Wilson in the film Cinderella Man, which depicted James J. Braddock's life.
DeWitt lived in Hanover Township, New Jersey, and is a graduate of Whippany Park High School. She performed in several high school productions. She attended the New College at Hofstra University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in creative studies. While at Hofstra, she also joined Alpha Phi. She had additional training at The Actors Center in New York.
Career
DeWitt played the role of Rachel in the Jonathan Demme-directed movie Rachel Getting Married (2008) alongside Anne Hathaway, for which she won several critics' awards and a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress. Other film credits include Jason Reitman's Men, Women, & Children, Michael Cuesta's Kill the Messenger opposite Jeremy Renner, Gus Van Sant's Promised Land opposite Matt Damon, and Lynn Shelton's Your Sister's Sister opposite Emily Blunt and Mark Duplass. In 2016, DeWitt appeared in Damien Chazelle's musical romance La La Land opposite Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. DeWitt appeared in the indie-thriller Sweet Virginia, directed by Jamie Dagg, which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. In 2018, DeWitt starred opposite Danny McBride in Arizona.
On television, DeWitt was seen in three seasons of the Showtime comedy series United States of Tara alongside Toni Collette. In addition to her role on United States of Tara, DeWitt also recurred on the AMC series Mad Men, playing Midge Daniels, Don Draper's (Jon Hamm) bohemian mistress, in the show's first season. She appeared in the second episode in the fourth season of the British series Black Mirror for director Jodie Foster.
DeWitt has performed in numerous off-Broadway plays. Most notably, she starred in John Patrick Shanley's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea at the Second Stage Theatre; George S. Kaufman's The Butter and Egg Man at the Atlantic Theater Company; and Craig Lucas' Small Tragedy, for which the entire cast won an Obie Award. From May 4–23, 2010, DeWitt appeared in MCC Theater's Off Broadway play Family Week, written by Beth Henley and directed by Jonathan Demme. In its review of the play, the New York Times stated that DeWitt's lead performance "has many affecting moments as the beleaguered Claire."
In 2024, DeWitt starred in the Disney+ film Out of My Mind, following the story of sixth grader Melody Brooks who has cerebral palsy. DeWitt played Melody's mother, Diane Brooks. The film won a Peabody Award at the 85th Annual Ceremony.
Personal life
She was married to actor Chris Messina from 1995 to 2006. She married actor Ron Livingston, her co-star in Standoff, on November 2, 2009, in San Francisco. In May 2013, the couple announced that they had recently adopted an infant daughter. In December 2016, they made public that they had adopted a second infant daughter in 2015.
Rachel Getting Married
Santa Barbara International Film Festival: Virtuoso Award
Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated – Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated – Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated – Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Newcomer
Nominated – Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Nominated – Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor
Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
Nominated – International Cinephile Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated – New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress (3rd place)
Your Sister's Sister
Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Performance
Nominated – Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
Nominated – International Cinephile Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Rosemarie DeWitt at the Internet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
DeWitt Biography AMCTV.com Madmen