Linda Cardellini

Linda Edna Cardellini (born June 25, 1975) is an American actress. In television, she is known for her starring roles on Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000), ER (2003–2009) and Bloodline (2015–2017), as well as her portrayal of Judy Hale on Netflix's Dead to Me (2019–2022), for which she earned a nomination for the 2020 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She also appeared as Sylvia Rosen on AMC's Mad Men between 2013–2015, receiving an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. In film, Cardellini is known for her portrayal of Velma Dinkley in Scooby-Doo (2002) and its 2004 sequel. Her other credits include Legally Blonde (2001), Brokeback Mountain (2005), Return (2011), Daddy's Home (2015), The Founder (2016), Green Book (2018), A Simple Favor (2018), and The Curse of La Llorona (2019). She also played Laura Barton in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Endgame (2019) and the Disney+ miniseries Hawkeye (2021), as well as voicing Lylla in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), making her one of the few actresses to appear as two different characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Early life and education Cardellini was born and raised in Redwood City, California, the daughter of Lorraine Cardellini (née Hernan), a homemaker, and Wayne David Cardellini, a businessman. She is the youngest of four children. Cardellini is of Italian, Irish, German, and Scottish descent. She was raised Catholic. She made her first public appearance at age 10, when she sang in a school play. Subsequently, she acted in several school productions and started attending drama lessons. She graduated from nearby Mountain View's Catholic St. Francis High School in 1993, then moved to Los Angeles to seek roles in television and film. Cardellini was a contestant in a 1994 episode of The Price Is Right, winning a fireplace.