Margarita Levieva

Margarita Levieva
Levieva in June 2009
Born Margarita Vladimirovna Levieva
(1980-02-09) 9 February 1980
Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Occupation Actress
Years active 2004–present

Margarita Vladimirovna Levieva (Russian: Маргари́та Влади́мировна Леви́ева; born 9 February 1980) is a Russian-American actress. Born in the Soviet Union, she was a competitive gymnast before going on to star in the films The Invisible, Adventureland, and Spread. On television, she is known for her roles as the faux Amanda Clarke/real Emily Thorne on Revenge, as Gina Zanetakos on The Blacklist and most recently as Abigail "Abby" Parker opposite James Franco on the HBO series The Deuce.

Personal life

Levieva was born in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). She is from a Russian Jewish family.[1][2] At the age of three, she began training in rhythmic gymnastics.[1] When she was 11, Levieva's mother moved her and her twin brother to Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in New York City.[1]

She continued to train in rhythmic gymnastics for a few more years after emigrating to the United States and achieved success regionally but did not compete at the U.S. Championships; she did not then hold U.S. citizenship and her family were undocumented immigrants at the time.[3][4] She attended high school in Secaucus, New Jersey. Levieva received her bachelor's degree in economics at NYU and worked as a fashion buyer.[1] Her continuing interest in acting led her to be accepted into the Meisner Training Program at the William Esper Studio.

In 2009, Levieva and actor Sebastian Stan starred in the film Spread. They had been reported to be good friends leading up to 2014, when they were reported to be dating.[5]

Career

Levieva made a guest appearance on Law & Order: Trial by Jury in 2005. In 2005, New York Magazine featured her as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in New York.[6] In 2006, she starred in the Fox series, Vanished. Her feature film credits include The Invisible, the independent film Billy's Choice, and Noise starring Tim Robbins, Bridget Moynahan, and William Hurt.

In 2009, Levieva played Lisa P. in the comedy Adventureland. The same year, she made an appearance in the NBC drama Kings (in the episode "First Night") and starred in the play The Retributionists.[2] She also starred in the HBO comedy-drama series How to Make it in America. In 2011, she appeared in the thriller film The Lincoln Lawyer, with Matthew McConaughey. Her other film credits include The Stand Up, Knights of Badassdom, For Ellen, and The Loft.

From 2011 to 2013, Levieva appeared on the ABC drama series Revenge in the recurring role of the original Emily Thorne, who agreed to switch identities with Amanda Clarke (Emily VanCamp).[7] In 2012, it was announced she would join the second season of HBO's Luck in the recurring role of Sarah Israel. However, the series was canceled after its first season.[8] In 2016, Levieva also appeared as Yana in an episode of the animated TV series We Bare Bears.

In 2017, Levieva started appearing in a main role on HBO series The Deuce as Abigail "Abby" Parker, an adventurous college student who strikes up a relationship with Vincent (James Franco), the lead character on the show.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2004 Billy's Choice Julie Romano Short film
2005 English Video
2007 David's Apartment Deedee
2007 The Invisible Annie Newton
2007 Salted Nuts Alyssa
2007 Noise Ekaterina Filippovna
2009 Spread Heather
2009 Adventureland Lisa P.
2011 The Lincoln Lawyer Regina 'Reggie' Campo
2011 The Stand Up Veronica
2012 For Ellen Claire Taylor
2013 Knights of Badassdom Beth
2013 Sweating in the Night Diane Short film
2014 Skoryy Moskva-Rossiya Mila
2014 The Loft Vicky Fry
2015 The Diary of a Teenage Girl Tabatha
2015 Sleeping with Other People Hannah
2015 Boys I Used to Babysit Alice Short film
2017 It Happened in L.A. Ingrid
2018 Future World Lei
2018 Inherit the Viper Josie Riley In post-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2005 N.Y.-70 Cindy Unsold TV pilot
2005 Law & Order: Trial by Jury Stephanie Davis Episode: "Skeleton"
2006 The Prince Isabelle Unsold TV pilot
2006 What's Not to Love? Blake Unsold TV pilot
2006 Vanished Marcy Collins Main role
2009 Kings Claudia Episode: "First Night"
2010–11 How to Make It in America Julie Recurring role
2011–13 Revenge Emily Thorne (Amanda Clarke) Recurring role
2013–present The Blacklist Gina Zanetakos Recurring role
2015 Allegiance Natalie O'Connor Main role
2016–present We Bare Bears Yana 2 episodes:

"Icy Nights" and "Icy Nights II"

2017–present The Deuce Abigail "Abby" Parker Main role

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Axelrod, Nick (April 2, 2009). "Tilt-A-Whirl Girl: Margarita Levieva in 'Adventureland'". WWD Lifestyle. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Fradkin, Lori (September 14, 2009). "The Retributionists' Margarita Levieva on Jewish Revenge and Being Lisa P." New York Magazine. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
  3. ↑ Tinkham, Chris (April 8, 2009). "Margarita Levieva – An interview with Adventureland's Lisa P." Under The Radar Mag. Archived from the original on August 18, 2010.
  4. ↑ Radish, Christina (April 26, 2007). "Margarita Levieva May Hold The Key In "The Invisible"". MediaBlvd Magazine. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  5. ↑ Marquina, Sierra (July 31, 2014). "Sebastian Stan and Margarita Levieva Are Dating!". Us Weekly. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  6. ↑ "The Most Beautiful New Yorkers". Archived from the original on February 14, 2009.
  7. ↑ Masters, Megan (November 16, 2011). "Revenge Preview: The Real Emily Thorne Reveals Her Agenda! (Hint: It Involves 'Sharing')". TVLine. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  8. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (March 5, 2012). "Michael Gambon Upped To Regular On 'Luck', Margarita Levieva Joins As Recurring". Deadline Hollywood.
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