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Ella Beatty is about to make her mark. The 26-year-old actor is taking on her first lead role as acquitted murder suspect Lizzie Borden in the Netflix series Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, premiering September 17.
Lizzie was accused of killing her parents, Andrew and Abby Borden, in a brutal hatchet attack in 1892. She was found not guilty by an all-male jury the following year.
“I am so excited for viewers to experience our exploration of Lizzie Borden’s story and the questions that her life animates to this day,” Beatty told Netflix’s Tudum in August. “It has been a dream come true to investigate this complicated person’s psychology and to examine an American crime that feels almost mythic in proportion. … I cannot wait to share it with the world.”
A relative newcomer to acting, Beatty previously appeared in the 2024 series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, as well as the Oscar-nominated film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (2025).
Here’s what else you should know about the rising star.
Ella Beatty has famous parents
Hailing from Hollywood icons, Ella Beatty is the youngest child of actors Annette Bening and Warren Beatty. Born on April 8, 2000, the Los Angeles native, who has three siblings, is also the niece of another acting legend: Her paternal aunt is Shirley MacLaine.
Ella Beatty with her parents Annette Bening and Warren Beatty in 2016.Stefanie Keenan – Getty Images
“I totally acknowledge that there is an inherent privilege and exposure that comes from having well-known actors as parents,” she told Vogue in 2024. “And I really hope that I can offer something meaningful.”
She always knew she wanted to act
Growing up in such an artistic family, Beatty spent her childhood on film sets and in dressing rooms, so it’s no wonder she “always” wanted to be an actor.
“Playing pretend, make-believe, that was the way that I contextualized the world,” she recalled to Interview magazine in June 2025. “I think there was a part of me that thought everybody did that.”
As a kid, Beatty was heavily involved in community theater, appearing in productions of the musicals Annie, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid. She also attended summer camp every year, which put on biweekly plays.
She graduated from Juilliard
Despite her family’s connections, Beatty didn’t become a professional child actor. Instead, she went on to study drama at The Juilliard School.
During her time there, Beatty appeared in a number of stage productions and student films, including Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. She graduated in 2022.
Beatty made her screen debut in FX’s Feud
Shortly after graduating, she landed her first professional role as Kerry O’Shea in the FX anthology series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, about writer Truman Capote and his inner circle of female socialites.
Telling Women’s Wear Daily she was honored to play the part, Beatty revealed her favorite part of the show, which premiered in 2024, was working with director Gus Van Sant. “I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful person to work with on my first job,” she said at the time.
Beatty also said she “tried to steal numerous things” from the set of Feud to commemorate her time on show, but was mostly unsuccessful. “I didn’t get to keep any costumes,” she explained. “Truman gives Kate a beautiful notebook and a pen and I got to keep them.”
She’s already a Broadway star
Ella Beatty takes her first Broadway bow at The Belasco Theatre in March 2024.Bruce Glikas – Getty Images
Now a credited actor, Beatty’s next stop was Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in March 2024, appearing in the Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins play Appropriate. She took over the role of River Rayner, replacing Elle Fanning. It was during this run that Beatty met her close friend Sarah Paulson, who is also set to appear in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.
Beatty later returned to the stage for the off-Broadway productions of Ghosts and Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes. She also appeared on screen in the 2025 Oscar-nominated comedy-drama If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, starring Rose Byrne.
She’s set to appear in The Bell Jar
Beatty already has next project lined up. After her stint as Lizzie Borden in Monster, she will star in the film adaptation of The Bell Jar, based on the book by Sylvia Plath. The upcoming film, which recently wrapped production, also stars Billie Eilish, Carey Mulligan, and Heated Rivalry‘s Connor Storie. Beatty will play Joan, the college acquaintance of protagonist Esther Greenwood (Eilish).
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