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Beth Riesgraf is an American actress, best known for her role of Parker on Leverage.

Biography[]

Beth Riesgraf was born in Belle Plaine, Minnesota, of German, Irish, and French decent, and has five older sisters. She is an actress, photographer, and filmmaker, who is also interested in getting more involved with music so one day she can score her own short films.

Riesgraf grew up watching a lot of comedy (“I Love Lucy”, “The Carol Burnett show”) and became interested in drama as a child when her grandmother would take her to the local theater. She first became fascinated with the stage and visual arts at the age of five while attending a performance of Hansel and Gretel at The Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but her first memory of acting was when she was in kindergarten, when she dressed up like Peter Cottontail and sang.

After the family moved to Las Vegas, she attended Cimarron-Memorial High School, where she was student body president, senior prom queen, and a member of the photography club, was voted "Most Admired Senior," and graduated with honors.

Currently a resident of Los Angeles, she originally came out west to model and learn more about photography, but then started booking commercials and her acting career took off from there.

She started out doing photography in high school, and is inspired by the masters and pioneers like Brassai, Bresson, Atget, Man Ray, Munkacsi, Helmut Newton, Dorothea Lang, and Lee Miller.Her photographs have been published in a variety of magazines including Mean Magazine, Anthem, Angeleno, Nylon, GQ, Jane, Men's Journal, and Backstage and have been exhibited in London, New York and Los Angeles. Currently she is involved with WeSC, and takes part in their group art shows.

Her previous television credits include the Showtime pilot "Insatiable" as well as recent guest-starring roles on "Without a Trace," "Big Shots," "My Name is Earl" and "How I Met My Mother." From 2007 is her role as a mother in the supermarket in the movie Alvin and The Chipmunks, and the next year gave her the female lead role of the TV show Leverage", Parker, a skillful cat burglar expert in breaking and entering, then stealthily disappearing. Being a show with short seasons has allowed her to book other guest roles during the breaks, and in 2012 allowed her to get the recurring character of Reid's Mysterious Girlfriend in the hit series Criminal Minds.

Riesgraf used to have her own production company called Niva Films, but when her acting took off she had to step back from it. She had produced Midlake's Balloon Maker, which she also appears in.

In 2001 met Jason Lee and started a relationship, from which her son was born, that lasted until 2007 when the couple broke, even though at the time they were already engaged and about to get married.

Criminal Minds[]

Riesgraf played the role of Maeve Donovan, Spencer Reid's love interest since her introduction in the Season Eight episode "God Complex". Her character appeared at first as a mysterious, faceless woman, and she was uncredited for the role. She reprised the role in the Season Eight episodes "The Lesson", where she was credited and had her face revealed to the audience, "Zugzwang", and "Alchemy", the Season Twelve episode "Red Light", and the Season Fifteen and series finale "And in the End...".

Filmography[]

  • Criminal Minds - 6 episodes (2012-2020) TV episodes - Maeve Donovan
  • 68 Whiskey (2020) - Sonia Holloway (10 episodes)
  • Lovestruck (2019) - Isabelle
  • Stranger Things (2019) - Billy's Mother (2 episodes)
  • I Hate Kids (2019) - Schyler
  • Uncanny Valley (2018) - Clone Body #1
  • SEAL Team (2018) - Cindy
  • In Search of Fellini (2017) - Sylvia
  • The Librarians (2015) - Lady of the Lake (2 episodes)
  • Vy Nguyen & Keith Jackson feat. jason chu: No Hero Now (2015) - Unknown Character
  • Complications (2015) - Samantha Ellison (10 episodes)
  • Intruders (2015) - Anna Rook
  • Impress Me (2015) - Beth Reisgraf (2 episodes)
  • Caper (2014) - Alexia (9 episodes)
  • Perception (2014) - Daisy
  • Killer Women (2014) - Jennifer Jennings
  • Let's Be Civil, Kenneth! (2013) - Marjorie
  • The Mentalist (2013) - Kira Tinsley
  • Freedom for Joe (2013) - Cindy Robinson
  • Leverage (2008-2012) - Parker (77 episodes)
  • NCIS (2011) - Maxine/ Max Destruction
  • A Standard Story (2011) (short)
  • Nobody (2009) - Edie
  • Struck (2008) (short) - Amber
  • Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) - Mother in Store
  • Without a Trace - Kelly Schmidt
  • Big Shots (2007) - James' date
  • My Name Is Earl (2007) - Natalie Duckworth (2 episodes)
  • Insatiable - (2007) TV series
  • Untitled Jason Lee Short (2006) (short)
  • The Stereo Sound Agency (2005) - Various
  • How I Met Your Mother - Purple Giraffe (2005) - Works with Carlos Girl
  • I Love Your Work (2003) - Swoosh Photographer
  • Scorcher (2002) - Krissy
  • Spin City (2001) - Waitress
  • The Summer of My Deflowering (2000) (short)
  • Undressed (1999) - Loretta

External Links[]

  • For an up-to-date filmography, see here.
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