Elizabeth Banks (born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell; February 10, 1974) is an American actress, director, writer, and producer. Banks made her film debut in the low-budget independent film Surrender Dorothy (1998), and is known for her roles in such films as Wet Hot American Summer (2001), Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007), Seabiscuit (2003), The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), Role Models (2008), The Next Three Days (2010), Pitch Perfect (2012), The Lego Movie (2014), and The Hunger Games film series (2012–2015). In 2014, she portrayed Melinda Ledbetter, the girlfriend and later wife of the Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson, in Bill Pohlad's film Love & Mercy and made her directorial debut with Pitch Perfect 2, whose $69M opening weekend gross set a record for a first-time director.

On television, Banks had a recurring role as Avery Jessup on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, which garnered her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. She also had recurring roles on the comedy series Scrubs and Modern Family, the latter of which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. In 2015, she reprised her role as Lindsay in Wet Hot American Summer for the Netflix miniseries Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.

As of November 2016, Box Office Mojo ranked Banks as the 32nd-highest grossing actor of all time, and the sixth-highest grossing female actor.