Molly Gordon

Molly June Gordon is an American actress, screenwriter and director. She is best known for her roles in the drama TV series Animal Kingdom (2016–2018), and comedy films Life of the Party (2018), Booksmart (2019), and Good Boys (2019). In 2023, she played the recurring character Claire on the FX series The Bear. Early life Gordon was born and raised in Venice, Los Angeles, to Jewish parents. She is the daughter of director Bryan Gordon and writer-director Jessie Nelson. She performed on the LA stage from a young age, and grew up with actor Ben Platt, with whom she starred in productions of Fiddler on the Roof at age four and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at age five. Along with Platt and Beanie Feldstein, another childhood friend, Gordon formed a group called the Theater Geeks of America, which often performed at local retirement homes. She regularly watched the sketch-comedy series Saturday Night Live and attended performances by comedy troupe The Groundlings, leading her to an interest pursuing comedic acting. She portrayed Dot in her high school's performance of Sunday in the Park with George when she was 17. She briefly attended New York University, leaving after two weeks due to dissatisfaction with her program, and instead enrolled in night classes and worked as hostess at Balthazar. Career Gordon's first film appearance was in Nelson's 2001 drama film I Am Sam as Callie, followed by her portrayal of a trick-or-treater in Nora Ephron's 2005 film Bewitched.