Emily Kinney

Emily Rebecca Kinney, born August 15, 1984, in Wayne, Nebraska, is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. The daughter of Vaughn Charles and Jeanne Kinney, she grew up alongside an older sister, Sara, and relocated frequently during her childhood, living in Nevada, Oregon, and various parts of Nebraska. After a semester at New York University, Kinney earned a Bachelor of Arts in theatre from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2006, having appeared in 20 plays over her four years there. She subsequently moved to New York City to pursue a professional career in acting and music, supporting herself by working in coffee shops, where she began making connections in both industries.

Kinney's Broadway career spanned 2006 to 2009 and included two productions. Her professional acting career began at age 21 with Spring Awakening, in which she played Anna, a young German schoolgirl. She followed that credit with August: Osage County, in which she portrayed Jean Fordham.

Following her Broadway work, Kinney transitioned into television and film. She took on guest roles in NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent, playing Jeannie Richmonds, and later returned to the Law & Order franchise in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Haley Cole. She was also cast as Emily on Showtime's The Big C before landing her most prominent role to date. In 2011, Kinney joined AMC's horror drama The Walking Dead as Beth Greene, the 16-year-old sister of Maggie, though Kinney herself was 25 at the start of production. After two seasons as a recurring character, she was promoted to series regular. Her character appeared through 2014, with a final appearance in the ninth episode of the fifth season in 2015. Kinney reprised the role through voiceover in November 2018 during Andrew Lincoln's final episode, and returned to the series again in 2022. She also contributed to The Walking Dead: Original Soundtrack – Vol. 1, collaborating with Lauren Cohan on the single "The Parting Glass."

After her departure from The Walking Dead, Kinney accumulated a range of television credits. She appeared in a starring role in the sixteenth episode of ABC's Forever, titled "Memories of Murder," and co-starred in the eighteenth episode of The CW's The Flash, titled "All-Star Team-Up," playing Brie Larvan, also known as Bug-Eyed Bandit. She reprised that character on Arrow on March 30, 2016. Kinney also held recurring roles on Cinemax's The Knick and Showtime's Masters of Sex, the latter spanning four episodes. In 2016, she co-starred alongside Hayley Atwell in the ABC series Conviction, playing Tess Larson, a paralegal described as extremely bright but occasionally naive. That same year, she played the lead in the Hallmark Channel film Love On The Sidelines. In 2017, she joined the cast of ABC's Ten Days in the Valley alongside Kyra Sedgwick, portraying Casey, a young assistant to the show's central character.

Parallel to her acting career, Kinney has maintained an active presence as a recording artist. She released the EP Expired Love in 2013, which was reissued in 2014 with two additional tracks. Her studio album This Is War followed on October 2, 2015, featuring singles including "Rockstar," released December 9, 2014, and "Birthday Cake." She supported the album with the This Is War Tour in 2015. Her next studio album, Oh Jonathan, was released August 24, 2018, and included the single "Boy Band Hero." Kinney toured in support of that release as well, marking her second concert tour. Her additional discography includes the EP Blue Toothbrush (2011), and the albums The Supporting Character (2021) and Swimteam (2023). She also appeared in the music video for the Train song "Bulletproof Picasso."