Amanda Michelle Seyfried (born December 3, 1985 in Allentown, Pennsylvania) is an American actress and former model. Before her movie career started in earnest she was known for her roles as murder victim Lily Kane in Veronica Mars and Sarah Henrickson on the HBO drama series Big Love. Filmwise, she has starred as Sophie Sheridan in the feature film Mamma Mia!, and Karen Smith in Mean Girls.
In 2009, she appeared in the supernatural horror comedy Jennifer's Body. To give you an idea of how warped that movie was, Seyfried was the Hollywood Homely best friend of Jennifer (played by Megan Fox).
In 2010, she played the title role in Chloe, by Atom Egoyan. 2011 saw her playing the lead in Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood and starring opposite Justin Timberlake in In Time. She garnered critical acclaim for her role as Cosette in the film adaptation of Les Miserables. She has collaborated with Seth MacFarlane on comedies such as Ted 2 and A Million Ways to Die in the West. She got her first Oscar nomination in 2021 for her role as Marion Davies in Mank.
She's married to fellow actor Thomas Sadoski, giving birth to their first child, a daughter named Nina, in 2017. They later had a son in September 2020.
Her films include:
- Mean Girls (2004) - Karen Smith
- Alpha Dog (2006) - Julie Beckley
- Mamma Mia! (2008) - Sophie Sheridan
- Jennifer's Body (2009) - Anita "Needy" Lesnicki
- Dear John (2010) - Savannah Lynn Curtis
- Chloe (2010) - Chloe Sweeney
- Letters to Juliet (2010) - Sophie
- Red Riding Hood (2011) - Valerie
- In Time (2011) - Sylvia Weis
- Gone (2012) - Jill Conway
- Les Misérables (2012) - Cosette
- Lovelace (2013)
- Epic (2013) - Mary Katherine (voice)
- A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014) - Louise
- Ted 2 (2015) - Samantha Jackson
- Anon (2018) - The Girl
- First Reformed (2018) - Mary
- Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) - Sophie Sheridan
- SCOOB! (2020) - Daphne Blake
- You Should Have Left (2020) - Susanna
- Mank (2020) - Marion Davies
Her television roles include:
- As the World Turns (1999 - 2001) - Lucinda "Lucy" Montgomery
- All My Children (2003) - Jodi Stafford
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2004) - Tandi McCain
- Veronica Mars (2004 - 2006) - Lily Kane
- House (2005) - Pam
- CSI (2006) - Lacey Finn
- Big Love (2006 - 2011) - Sarah Henrickson
- American Dad! (2008) - Amy (voice)
- Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014) - Marie Tharp (voice)
- Twin Peaks (2017) - Rebecca "Becky" Burnett
- Family Guy (2018) - Ellie (voice)
- When You Wish Upon A Pickle (2018) - Natalie Neptune
- The Dropout (2022) - Elizabeth Holmes
- The Crowded Room (2023) - Rya Goodwin
Tropes associated with Seyfried's works:
- Advertised Extra: Despite prominent billing in Pan, she only appears briefly at the beginning and the end.
- Casting Gag: Her real life best friend Ashley Lilley has a cameo in Letters to Juliet as Patricia - who Sophie thinks is a romantic rival but is actually Charlie's cousin.
- Covered in Gunge: She got slimed at the 2013 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards alongside Josh Hutcherson, as part of a promo for Epic.
- Dawson Casting:
- Just about in Mean Girls at barely 18 (Amanda was just shy of 18 when production started; Karen is supposed to be 16).
- 21 playing 17 in Alpha Dog.
- 22 years old playing a high school girl in Jennifer's Body.
- Starts out in The Dropout playing Elizabeth Holmes (barely 22 months older than Seyfried) as a college freshman. The Dawson Casting effect decreases as time passes and the character's age catches up.
- Dumb Blonde: She played one of the most famous modern examples in Mean Girls.
- Fake Brit: As Mary in Pan and Cosette in Les Misérables (2012); while they're not British, she invoked The Queen's Latin.
- Magnum Opus Dissonance: Her favorite role is Needy of Jennifer's Body, though the film has since been
Vindicated by History, so the dissonance isn't as prominent. - Ms. Fanservice: Her roles tend to be this, highlighting her good looks with revealing clothing (and in a couple cases, nudity or sex scenes).
- One Head Taller: While not tiny (she's 5' 3½") she is noticeably shorter than most of her onscreen love interests.
- Playing Against Type: She's normally cast as wholesome Girl Next Door types but...
- Karen Smith actually. While definitely the least bitchy member of the Plastics, she's a huge ditz.
- Alpha Dog has her as a Good Bad Girl.
- Chloe as a manipulative seductress.
- Anon (2018) as The Cracker.
- The Dropout as real-life Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of the defunct Theranos corporation.
- Pretty in Mink: She has worn a few furs in her roles, such as a white fox wrap in In Time, and a fur coat in Lovelace.
- Sci-Fi Bob Haircut: She has one (that's also red) in In Time.
- Star-Making Role: Mean Girls and Mamma Mia! both put her on the map.
- What Could Have Been:
- She was up for the role of Cady in Mean Girls. Lindsay Lohan had thought about playing Regina, but chose to be Cady. After that, Amanda then auditioned for the role of Regina, but lost it to Rachel McAdams. Amanda was then cast as Karen.
- She was offered the role of Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy but turned it down because she figured it would flop and didn't want the hit to her career. She admits she misjudged it.
