Cristin Milioti

Cristin Milioti is an American actress and singer whose career has moved between Broadway, television, and film. Born on August 16, 1985, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, she attended Cherry Hill High School East and later studied acting at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She left NYU during her freshman year, then built her career through theater and screen roles.

Milioti received early attention for appearances in television series including “The Sopranos,” “30 Rock,” and “The Good Wife.” Her major theatrical breakthrough came with the musical “Once,” in which she played the unnamed character known as Girl. The Broadway production opened in 2012, and Milioti earned a 2013 Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She also performed on the production’s Grammy-winning cast recording.

In 2013, Milioti joined “How I Met Your Mother” as Tracy McConnell, the long-awaited mother referenced throughout the series. Although she appeared briefly near the end of the eighth season, the role became central to the show’s final season and conclusion. Her performance made Tracy recognizable despite the character’s limited screen time before the reveal.

Milioti also appeared as Teresa Petrillo in Martin Scorsese’s 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” playing the first wife of Jordan Belfort, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2020, she starred opposite Andy Samberg in the romantic science-fiction comedy “Palm Springs,” playing Sarah Wilder, a woman trapped in a repeating wedding day. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and became one of her most prominent leading roles.

Her television work includes the science-fiction episode “USS Callister” from “Black Mirror,” where she played Nanette Cole, a programmer whose digital copy is imprisoned inside a simulated spaceship. She later led the series “Made for Love” as Hazel Green, a woman escaping a controlling tech billionaire, and appeared in “The Resort” as Emma Vaughan.

In 2024, Milioti played Sofia Falcone in the HBO series “The Penguin,” a crime drama set in the world of “The Batman.” Her portrayal presents Sofia as a powerful member of Gotham’s Falcone crime family, contending with Oz Cobb, played by Colin Farrell. Across these projects, Milioti has become particularly associated with characters balancing vulnerability, sharp humor, and determined resistance to restrictive circumstances.