Brit Marling

Brit Heyworth Marling (born August 7, 1983) is an American actress, screenwriter and film producer. After majoring in economics at Georgetown University, Marling moved to Los Angeles with friends Mike Cahill and Zal Batmanglij to pursue screenplay writing and acting. She first gained recognition in 2004 with the documentary Boxers and Ballerinas and later became a Sundance star with the Searchlight movies Sound of My Voice (2011), Another Earth (2011) and The East (2013) which she co-wrote in addition to playing the lead role.

Early life

Marling was born in Chicago, Illinois to property developer parents John and Heidi Marling. She was named "Brit" after her Norwegian maternal great-grandmother. She grew up in Winnetka, Illinois and in Orlando, where she enrolled in the arts program at Dr. Phillips High School. Marling was interested in acting, but her parents encouraged her to focus on academics. She graduated from Georgetown University in 2005 with degrees in economics and studio art, and was her class valedictorian.