American actress Lizzy Caplan was born on June 30, 1982 in Los Angeles, California. After appearing in school plays as a student of the Alexander Hamilton High School, she made her television debut in the short-lived series Freaks and Geeks, playing the minor role of Sara. She then made guest appearances on other shows, such as Undeclared, Once and Again and Smallville, and minor roles in films such as Hardcore Action News and Orange County, she took her first starring role, in the short-lived sitcom The Pitts.
Caplan gained attention when she starred in the 2004 film Mean Girls. She played the role of Janis Ian, the rebellious girl who becomes one of the friends of Cady Herron (Lindsay Lohan). She was then given a recurring role on Tru Calling, playing one of Tru Davies’ (Eliza Dushku) friends from medical school, Avery Bishop. In 2005, she landed another television starring role, this time as party planner Marjee in the short-lived dramedy Related.
Caplan then appeared on the CBS sitcom The Class, which first aired in 2006. She plays Kat Warbler, a photographer and twin sister of Lina Warbler (Heather Goldenhersh) whose kind intentions are usually overshadowed by her cynicism and sarcastic comments. It was cancelled after 19 episodes. She then appeared on the 2008 horror film Cloverfield, which was co-directed by J.J. Abrams; she played Marlena, the crush of Hudson Platt (T.J. Miller) who unsuccessfully escapes from a monster attacking people in New York City.
Caplan’s other credits include a starring role in the independent dramas Love is the Drug and Crashing, the television movies From Where I Sit and Everybody’s Doing It, the music video for Jason Mraz’s “You and I Both,” and a guest voice on the animated series American Dad. She is set to star in the 2008 film Crossing Over, which also stars Harrison Ford, Sean Penn and Ray Liotta.