Elizabeth Perkins gives sharp-tongued women the intelligence to make their disapproval interesting. We value her brittle wit, and wish more roles allowed her the vulnerability she can bring as readily as a sharp remark.
Fi1m perspective
Elizabeth Perkins gets two scenes as Andrew’s mother in Paul Feig’s The Housemaid (2025), and makes both count. Her imperious Mrs Winchester is the sort of woman she plays well: certain of her standing and disinclined to make anyone else comfortable. We were frustrated by how little time she was given, because that authority makes us want to watch her rather than wait for the next plot development. The film itself is uneven, with a drifting first hour before it becomes more entertaining. Perkins is a reason to pay attention, not a reason to overlook the wait.
Her film debut was About Last Night (1986), but Big (1988), playing Susan opposite Tom Hanks, was the breakthrough. Penny Marshall keeps the comedy gentle, and we recommend it despite a sweetness that makes adult life look too easily dismissed. Hanks’s convincing sense of a child’s uncertainty is central to its warmth. Perkins’s place opposite him points towards a recurring use of her talent: the intelligent supporting player who gives the lead someone substantial to act against. That can be rewarding work, provided the woman is allowed interests beyond the leading man.
Avalon (1990), directed by Barry Levinson, and June Ellis in The Doctor (1991) kept her feature work from being confined to comedy. The vulnerability and sadness of the latter are worth remembering when the sharper characters threaten to define her. Television brought a substantial part in Weeds (2005), as Celia Hodes, a status-obsessed PTA mother with ample use for Perkins’s comic timing. Here was a part suited to her ability to make a controlling woman funny without making her seem unintelligent. Some later seasons, however, left Celia underused.
We would welcome more parts that ask her to do something other than disapprove. The sadness in The Doctor is evidence enough that she has more to offer. The Housemaid gives us another effective small appearance without much room to explore what else she might do. Start with Big; approach the Feig film with patience, and do not expect a generous helping of Perkins.
Biography
Elizabeth Perkins is an American actress. Born on 18 November 1960 in Queens, New York, she trained at the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University in Chicago and began her career in theatre, including a Broadway role in Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs.
She made her film debut in About Last Night... (1986) and gained prominence with roles in Big (1988), Avalon (1990), The Flintstones (1994) and Miracle on 34th Street (1994). Other film credits include The Ring Two (2005) and voice work as Coral in Finding Nemo (2003).
On television, Perkins is known for playing Celia Hodes in the series Weeds (2005–2009), earning three Primetime Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. She has also appeared in How to Get Away with Murder and This Is Us. In 2025 she played Mrs. Winchester in the film The Housemaid.
