Gretchen Mole - American film, theater and television actress. The general public is best known for his roles in the films "Shuler", "Celebrity", "Sweet and Ugly", "Obscene Betty Page" and "Manchester by the Sea", as well as on the series "Underground Empire" and "Doctor Chance". All in all, she starred in fifty full-length and television projects.
Childhood and youth
Gretchen Mol was born on November 8, 1972 in Deep River, Connecticut, in a family of school teachers. The elder brother of the actress is Jim Maul, editor, cameraman, producer and director. She was fond of acting at school, participated in the productions of the school theater with Peter Lokier, a famous theater actor in the future.
After Gretchen Maul entered the American Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, graduated from William Esper's studio in New York. The young actress played in the Vermont Summer Theater, after which she worked as a movie ticketer and a cloakroom attendant in one of the city's restaurants.
Carier start
The turning point in the biography of Gretchen Mol was a meeting with a talent search agent who noticed her while working in a restaurant and helped her get a role in one of the commercials of the world famous Coca-Cola company.
In 1994, the girl was also noticed by the famous photographer David William Powell, who took several pictures of the future actress in Central Park in New York. After black and white photos, Gretchen Maul appeared on the covers of several glossy magazines, for some time she worked as a model, but left this activity for the sake of her acting career.
The first role on the big screen for the actress was the appearance in the black comedy Spike Lee "Girl No. 6". The picture showed itself poorly at the box office and received negative press reviews, however, in the girl’s resume, cooperation with a well-known director appeared.
In 1996, Maul also appeared in the mini-series Walk of the Dead and the crime drama Abel Ferrara's Funeral, which soon became a cult.
First successes
In 1997, the actress appeared in a small role in the film "Donnie Brasco." A year later, the filmography of Gretchen Mol was replenished with several notable projects. She again worked with Ferrara on the cyberpunk drama "Hotel ,, New Rose ,,", appeared with Jude Law in the romantic comedy "Music from Another Room", played the main female role in the crime drama "Shuler" and joined the ensemble of the film Woody Allen's "Celebrity". Thanks to these works, Maul became one of the most promising Hollywood actresses and was even named the industry’s main hope by the Vanity Fair magazine.
Career heyday
In 1999, the actress again worked with Woody Allen, appearing in a small role in the film "Sweet and Ugly." Gretchen also played a major female role in the science fiction film "Thirteenth Floor" and the thriller "Forever Mine."
In subsequent years, the Mall began to act less frequently, worked a lot in the theater. In 2001, she played in the film adaptation of the play “The Image of Things”, repeating her role from a theatrical production. In 2002, the actress joined the cast of the legal series "Women's Club": only nine episodes were released, after which the project was closed due to low ratings.
In 2005, a biographical film was released with Gretchen Maul starring in the title “Obscene Betty Page”, filming went on for more than two years due to funding problems. This work is considered one of the best roles of the actress.
In 2006, Mol played a central role in the romantic comedy Puccini for Beginners, and a year later appeared in the Western Train to Yuma. In the next few years, Gretchen practically did not work on the big screen, concentrating on television projects.
From 2008 to 2009, she played one of the main roles in the American remake of the British series Life on Mars. After its closure, she joined the cast of the criminal drama Underground Empire, produced by legendary director Martin Scorsese, and the actress appeared in fifty-three episodes of the series. In the first two seasons of the project, along with Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt and many others, she received the US Actors Guild Award for Best Acting Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Recent and future projects
In 2015, Gretchen Maul got a supporting role in the multi-part musical comedy "Mozart in the Jungle", appearing in eight episodes. She also returned to the feature film, playing small roles in the films "Baby" and "True Story."
In 2016, the actress played one of the main roles in the first season of the series "Doctor Chance". She also received a supporting role in the drama Manchester by the Sea, which was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Film category. In addition, Gretchen played a major role in the melodrama "The Hunter of Wall Street", which failed at the box office and was defeated by critics.
In 2018, Gretchen Mole played a supporting role in the mini-series "Seven Seconds", and also appeared as a guest actress in the Western Yellowstone. In December 2018, the premiere of the science-fiction series Flying Through the Night is planned based on a series of stories by the famous writer George R. R. Martin, in which Gretchen plays the main role.
Personal life
Since 2004, Gretchen Mole has been married to Hollywood director Tod Williams, also known as Kip Williams, who is familiar to many from the horror film Paranormal Activity 2 and the thriller Mobile. The couple has two children - son Ptolemy and daughter Winter.
After the birth of children, Gretchen refused any work in Los Angeles and decided to stay closer to home, acting only in New York. The actress is also actively involved in charity work and is the face of the foundation for the fight against neurological diseases.