Zoe Lister-Jones

Actress/writer/producer Zoe Lister-Jones earned a substantial fanbase among independent film and theater aficionados for her one-woman show "Co-dependence is a Four Letter Word" (2004) and the features "Breaking Upwards" (2009) and "Lola Versus" (2012), all of which took a refreshingly different and mature look at romantic relationships. The daughter of artists, Lister-Jones broke into the New York theater world with the critically praised "Co-dependence," which led to roles in episodic television and independent features. With her real-life significant other Daryl Wein, Lister-Jones co-wrote and starred in "Breaking Upwards," a comedy about a couple who experiment with an open relationship. It received largely excellent reviews, which led to minor roles in major features like "State of Play" (2008) for the actress. In 2012, she and Wein oversaw "Lola Versus," another romantic comedy-drama with indie "it" girl Greta Gerwig. The picture firmly established her place in the arthouse film community while her acting career moved closer to the mainstream with series regular roles in the sitcoms "Whitney" (NBC 2011-2013) and "Friends with Better Lives" (CBS 2014). Lister-Jones' abundant gifts, which granted her keen insight into the complexities of relationships as well as the comic timing to win over primetime audiences, marked her as a talent on the rise in two very distinct mediums.

Born September 1, 1982 in Brooklyn, New York, Zoe Lister-Jones was the daughter of Canadian-born video artist Ardele Lister and photographer/media artist Bill Jones. After graduating with honors from the Tisch School of Arts at New York University, Lister-Jones studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts before debuting her one-woman show, "Co-dependence is a Four Letter Word" at New York's Performance Space 122 in 2004. The production, which saw Lister-Jones play ten different characters, was soon followed by roles in independent short films and on television shows, most notably several episodes of the "Law & Order" (NBC 1990-2010) franchise. For much of the 2000s, Lister-Jones divided her time between festival and arthouse favorites like Chris Eigeman's "Turn the River" (2007) and "Explicit Ills" (2008), episodic television and appearances on the New York stage, including a run on Broadway in "The Little Dog Laughed" (2006) and Off-Broadway in "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" for the Roundabout Theater Company in 2008. The following year, Lister-Jones and her real-life boyfriend, actor/director Daryl Wein, wrote, produced and starred in "Breaking Upwards" (2009), an micro-budgeted indie drama about a couple (played by Lister-Jones and Wein) who decide to shake up their stagnant relationship by exploring other romantic options while still remaining together. Produced for less than $15,000 with a cast and crew that largely donated their time and talent, "Breaking Upwards" drew positive reviews and established Lister-Jones as a significant new voice in independent films. It also led to minor roles in major features, including the political drama "State of Play" (2009) and the action films "Salt" (2010) with Angelina Jolie and "The Other Guys" with Will Ferrell and Mark Walhberg (2010). The following year, she landed her first television role as a series regular on the sitcom "Whitney" (NBC 2011-2013), which cast her as best friend to star Whitney Cummings. While working on "Whitney," Lister-Jones and Wein reteamed to pen "Lola Versus" (2012), an independent romantic comedy directed by Wein and starring Greta Gerwig as a young woman attempting to rebuild her life after a breakup. The film earned headlines in the entertainment press for its negative critical response from several male reviewers, who were subsequently accused of sexism. After "Whitney" ran its course in 2013, Lister-Jones was cast in the CBS sitcom "Friends with Better Lives" (2014) as a tart-tongued career woman with terrible luck at dating.