Olivia Thirlby Movies and Career Information

Olivia Thirlby (born October 6, 1986) is an American actress best known for her role as Leah, the best friend of Ellen Page's character in the 2007 film Juno. In June 2008, Thirlby was described by Vanity Fair magazine as a member of "Hollywood's New Wave", along with young performers including the cast of Gossip Girl, The Jonas Brothers, Emma Roberts, Amanda Seyfried, Kristen Stewart, Josh Peck and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Thirlby was born in New York City, to an advertising executive mother and a contractor father. She was raised in Manhattan's East Village, attending school at Friends Seminary in the city's Gramercy neighborhood, where she graduated in a class of 57 students. She also attended French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts in upstate New York. She took classes at the American Globe Theatre, and briefly at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London where she completed a stage combat course with the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat (BASSC). While still at high school, Thirlby was offered a role in The Secret. In 2006, she made her film debut in United 93 and her television debut in Kidnapped. In 2007 she starred as Leah, the best friend of the title