Elisabeth Moss's Real Name: Elisabeth Singleton Moss

Quick answer: Elisabeth Moss's full name is Elisabeth Singleton Moss. She was born on July 24, 1982, in Los Angeles. Elisabeth Moss is her real name; Singleton is her middle name. She is best known for The West Wing, Mad Men, and The Handmaid's Tale, a run of hits that earned her the nickname "the queen of peak TV" (Library of Congress; Britannica).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress name authority files her as "Moss, Elisabeth, 1982-." A citation in the record gives her full name as Elisabeth Singleton Moss, born July 24, 1982. Another gives her birthplace as Los Angeles, California. Some older LOC data list 1983 and note that she has been credited as "Elizabeth Moss" and "Liz Moss." Britannica confirms the July 24, 1982, birth date and Los Angeles birthplace.

Britannica says Moss grew up in a musical household. Her British father was a jazz musician and manager, and her American mother played blues harmonica. She was homeschooled and began acting on television as a child in 1990. She also studied ballet and in her early teens enrolled at the School of American Ballet in New York City before choosing acting.

Career highlights

Moss made her film debut in Suburban Commando (1991) and had her first major movie role in Imaginary Crimes (1994), playing the younger daughter of a con man played by Harvey Keitel. As a child she also played Baby Louise in the TV movie Gypsy (1993) and had a recurring role on Picket Fences (1992–95). She had a supporting part in Girl, Interrupted (1999).

She gained wide notice as Zoey Bartlet, the president's daughter, on The West Wing (1999–2006). She became a star as Peggy Olson, a secretary who rises to advertising copywriter, on Mad Men (2007–15), earning six Emmy nominations. She won a Golden Globe for Jane Campion's crime series Top of the Lake (2013).

On Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, based on Margaret Atwood's novel, she played Offred. The role won her the 2017 Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a drama series, and she shared the outstanding drama series Emmy as a producer. Her films include Us (2019), The Invisible Man (2020), and Shirley (2020), in which she played writer Shirley Jackson. She also played an MI6 agent in the miniseries The Veil.

Name notes for searchers

Her first name is spelled with an "s," Elisabeth, not Elizabeth. The "z" spelling and the short form "Liz Moss" appear in some credits and catalogs. Singleton is her middle name, and Moss is her family surname.