Abigail Spencer

A prolific television actress, Abigail Spencer is best known for her dramatic roles, but also branched out into occasional quirky comedic parts. Spencer began acting on the small screen in 1999 while still her teens, playing a recurring role on "All My Children" (ABC, 1970-2011). A series of one-off appearances on primetime shows led to her casting as the lead on the procedural drama "Angela's Eyes" (Lifetime, 2006), which lasted only one season. More TV guest spots followed, and, in 2009, she finally landed a high-profile role, portraying a recurring part as Suzanne Farrell on the hit period drama "Mad Men" (AMC, 2007-15). Spencer soon started winning featured roles in Hollywood films, including the sci-fi Western "Cowboys & Aliens" (2011) and the surfing movie "Chasing Mavericks" (2012), and she subsequently starred in the 2013 horror sequel "The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia." That year proved to be a remarkably busy one, with a small part in the fantastical prequel "Oz the Great and Powerful," a role on the online reality-TV spoof "Burning Love" (Yahoo!, 2013), and a regular gig on the well-received drama "Rectify" (Sundance 2013-16) all reinforcing Spencer's notable versatility. Her breakout role came with her star turn in the time travel drama "Timeless" (NBC 2016- ).

Born and raised in Florida, Spencer grew up in a Gulf Coast surfing family, with her father, Yancy Spencer III, renowned as a legendary local surfer. With her dark hair and strikingly attractive looks, she easily recalled a younger Madeleine Stowe, making acting a natural calling for her. A recurring part from 1999 to 2000 as Rebecca Tyree on the soap opera "All My Children" proved to be her first television role, but she wasn't able to build upon this momentum until years later, when she won guest spots on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS, 2000-15) and "Gilmore Girls" (WB, CW, 2000-07) in relatively quick succession. In 2006, Spencer won the coveted main role on the Lifetime crime series "Angela's Eyes," starring as keenly perceptive FBI agent Angela Henson. However, the show wasn't renewed past its initial 13-episode run. While the program's cancellation was a setback, she soldiered on as a guest on various major series, and her persistence paid off when she won the recurring role of Suzanne Farrell, a schoolteacher seduced by the considerable charms of Don Draper (Jon Hamm) on the popular 1960s-set show "Mad Men." After another guest stint, this time on the medical drama "Hawthorne" (TNT, 2009-2011), Spencer made the leap to big-budget studio movies, appearing in the high-concept adventure film "Cowboys & Aliens," starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, and the action-oriented comedy "This Means War" (2012), opposite Tom Hardy. Spencer's family life overlapped significantly with her professional one when she joined the cast of the surfing movie "Chasing Mavericks," playing the wife of surfer Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler). She subsequently took on her first lead in a feature film as Lisa Wyrick, a woman troubled by spirits and her own supernatural abilities in the somewhat perplexingly named horror sequel "The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia" (2013). In stark contrast to this project, Spencer also furthered her comedy resume with dozens of episodes on the cheeky dating series "Burning Love" and a guest spot on the law-enforcement spoof show "NTSF:SD:SUV" (Adult Swim, 2011-13). Rounding out 2013, she also turned up briefly in Sam Raimi's magical epic "Oz the Great and Powerful," reprised an earlier role on the legal drama "Suits" (USA, 2011- ) and signed on as a cast member for the enigmatic series "Rectify" (Sundance 2013-16). After that series wrapped up following its third season, Spencer landed her first starring role as government agent Lucy Preston in time travel drama "Timeless" (NBC 2016- ).