Betty Gilpin

Gilpin began her acting career with guest starring roles in television series including Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Fringe, Medium, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Elementary. She received further recognition for her starring role as Dr. Carrie Roman in the Showtime comedy-drama series Nurse Jackie, appearing from 2013 to the series' conclusion in 2015. She has also appeared off-Broadway in productions Heartless, I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard, and We Live Here. Gilpin had supporting roles in the films Ghost Town (2008), Take Care (2014), True Story (2015), and Future '38 (2017).

Gilpin (left) with fellow GLOW actress Alison Brie in July 2018.
Her breakthrough came with her starring role as Debbie "Liberty Belle" Eagan in the Netflix comedy-drama series GLOW (2017–2019), which was inspired by the 1980s female professional wrestling league Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. She received critical acclaim and award nominations for her performance including three Critics' Choice Television Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Between 2019 and 2020, Gilpin appeared in the fantasy romantic comedy film Isn't It Romantic, the comedy-drama film A Dog's Journey, the action comedy film Stuber, and the action horror film The Hunt. In 2021, she appeared in the science fiction action movie The Tomorrow War. In the same year, Gilpin was set to star in the HBO series Blood Sugar. In 2022, she appeared as Mo Dean in the Starz political thriller limited series Gaslit. She received recognition for her role with a nomination for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries. In the same year, she appeared in an episode of the Apple TV+ anthology series Roar.

In September 2022, she published a collection of 20 essays titled All the Women in My Brain: And Other Concerns. In 2023, Gilpin starred as Sister Simone / Elizabeth Abbott, a nun who battles artificial intelligence in the Peacock science fiction series Mrs. Davis. For her performance, Gilpin received critical acclaim and was nominated for the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama. She had a main voice role as Irene in the Netflix animated adventure series Skull Island.

In 2025, Gilpin starred in the Netflix Western miniseries American Primeval with Taylor Kitsch, in which she played a woman seeking to cross the frontier with her young son amid hostilities between Mormon Militias, Indians, and the federal government. She also played Lucretia Garfield in the Netflix historical drama miniseries Death by Lightning. She made her Broadway debut taking over the role of Mary Todd Lincoln from Cole Escola in Oh, Mary!, for an eight-week engagement in early 2025.