Emily Bett Rickards

Emily Bett Rickards (born July 24, 1991)[1] is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as Felicity Smoak on The CW series Arrow, her first television credit. She has also reprised the role in the Arrowverse shows The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl and voiced the character on the animated web series Vixen.

Emily Bett Rickards
Rickards in 2017
Born (1991-07-24) July 24, 1991
British Columbia, Canada
OccupationActress
Years active2009–present
Signature

Early life and career

Rickards was born and raised in British Columbia. Her mother is Dr. Diane Greig, a dream psychotherapist in Vancouver.[2][3][4]

At a young age, she was introduced to musical theatre and dance. Graduating early from high school, she attended the Vancouver Film School, completing their acting essentials program. Following completion, she attended an open call audition, gaining an agent.[5] She studied at the Alida Vocal Studio in Vancouver.[6] Rickards made her first professional appearance in 2009, starring in the video for the Nickelback single "Never Gonna Be Alone".[7]

Career

Arrowverse

Rickards was nominated for multiple Teen Choice and Leo Awards for the role, and in 2016, her character was placed at number 15 in a list of 50 favorite female characters, in a poll conducted by The Hollywood Reporter.[8]

She also played the role in the spin-off series known collectively as the Arrowverse: The Flash,[9] Legends of Tomorrow[10] and Supergirl,[11] as well as providing the voice for the animated show Vixen.[12] In 2013, she also portrayed Felicity in the web-based series, Blood Rush.

Film

In March 2014, Rickards was cast in the sequel to Cowgirls 'n Angels, entitled Cowgirls 'n Angels: Dakota's Summer, as Kristen Rose, the sister of the film's protagonist, Dakota, portrayed by Haley Ramm. The film premiered at the 2014 Dallas International Film Festival.[13]

In 2015, she had a supporting role in the Oscar nominated film Brooklyn.[14] In 2016, she appeareed in Slumber in 2016, starring Darby Stanchfield and Meaghan Rath. Filming took place in Los Angeles in May 2016.[15] She also appeared in Axis.[16] The film won the prize for outstanding achievement, feature film at the 2017 Newport Beach Film Festival.[17][18] She also appeared in the super-hero themed short film Sidekick, directed by Arrowverse alum Jeff Cassidy.[19]

In 2017, she appeared in the comedy, Funny Story.[20] It was runner-up at the Slamdance Film Festival in January 2018,[21] in the festival's 'Beyond' programme.[22] It won the Stolman audience award for best American indie at the 2018 Sonoma International Film Festival; [23] the audience award for best narrative feature at the Vero Beach Wine and Film Festival;[24] best feature at the Santorini Film Festival;[25] and the grand jury prize at the Barcelona Film Festival.[26] At the Southampton International Film Festival, Rickards was nominated for leading actress in a feature.

In May 2019, she appeared in the indie film, We Need to Talk,[27] co-starring James Maslow, and written and directed by Todd Wolfe. It was an official selection at the FirstGlance Film Festival in Philadelphia, in November 2020[28] and Rickards was named best actress in a feature.[29]

Stage and other work

In early 2016, she appeared in the Canadian web-series Paranormal Solutions, which was launched online in April of the same year.[30] In June, she appeared in an episode of the fifth season of IFC comedy Comedy Bang! Bang!.[31]

In May 2018, appeared in Reborning for Reality Curve Theatre Group, at the Annex Theatre in Vancouver.[32] The production premiered on June 20, 2018.[33] In April 2019, she reprised her role in Reality Curve's Off-Broadway production at New York's SoHo Playhouse, in July and August of the same year.[34][35]

In September 2018, she narrated an audiobook of The Wicked Ones, originally published as part of the Ghosts of the Shadow Market anthology.[36]

Philanthropy

In 2016, Rickards launched a T-shirt campaign in support of the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) through the crowd funding merchandise site Represent.com, with all proceeds going to the charity.[37]

During season four of Arrow, her character was paralyzed from the waist down following a shooting incident, later regaining the ability to walk through the use of a prototype microchip. Rickards filmed a PSA in conjunction with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation advocating for advancements in the treatment of spinal injuries.[38]

In February 2019, the Vancouver Film School announced the "Emily Bett Rickards Acting Scholarship", a partnership between the school and Rickards, to fund a full scholarship for the school's acting programs, as well as partial funding of $250,000 for other students. She will select the scholarship recipients.[39]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2012 Bacon and Eggs Dite Short film
2012 Flicka: Country Pride Mary Malone Direct-to-video
2012 Random Acts of Romance Young wife
2014 Cowgirls 'n Angels: Dakota's Summer Kristen Rose
2015 Normal Doors Meg Short film
2015 Brooklyn Patty McGuire
2016 Sidekick Emma / The Princess Short film
2017 Axis Caitlin Voice
2018 Funny Story Kim
2018 The Clinic Stevens
2020 We Need to Talk Amber [28]
2023 Autumn and the Black Jaguar Filming[40]
2023 Queen of the Ring Mildred Burke Filming[41]

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2012–2020 Arrow Felicity Smoak / Overwatch Recurring role (season 1), main role (seasons 2–7), special guest role (season 8)[42]
2013 Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story Lauren Phillps Television film
2014–2017 The Flash Felicity Smoak Recurring role, 8 episodes
2016–2017 Legends of Tomorrow Felicity Smoak Recurring role, 4 episodes
2016 Comedy Bang! Bang! Becky Simmons Episode: "Joe Jonas Wears a Maroon and Gold Letterman Jacket with White Sneakers"
2016 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Herself Episode: "Emily Bett Rickards"
2016 Superhero Fight Club 2.0 Felicity Smoak Short promo video
2017 Supergirl Felicity Smoak Episode: "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 1"

Web
Year Title Role Notes
2013 Soldiers of the Apocalypse Fourty Main role, 8 episodes
2013 Blood Rush Felicity Smoak Main role, 6 episodes
2015 Very Mallory Herself (voice) Episode: "Emily Bett Rickards"
2015–2016 Vixen Felicity Smoak (voice) 2 episodes
2016 Paranormal Solutions Inc. Genevieve Kreme 8 episodes

Music video
Year Song title Role Artist
2009 "Never Gonna Be Alone" Woman Nickelback

Stage
Year Title Role Venue Refs
2018 Reborning Kelly Annex Theatre, Vancouver [32]
2019 SoHo Playhouse, New York [34]

Discography
Year Title Role Author Notes
2018 The Wicked Ones Narrator Cassandra Clare and Robin Wasserman Released for digital download in September 2018.
Part of The Mortal Instruments series.

Awards and nominations

Film
Year Nominated work Award Category Result Refs
2018 Funny Story Southampton International Film Festival Leading Actress in a Feature Nominated [43]
2020 We Need To Talk FirstGlance Film Festival Philadelphia Best Actress (Feature Film) Won [29]
Best Ensemble Cast (Feature) Won

Television
Year Nominated work Award Category Result Refs
2013 Arrow UBCP/ACTRA Awards Best Newcomer Nominated [44]
2014 Leo Awards Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series [45]
Teen Choice Awards Female Breakout Star [46]
2015 The Flash Leo Awards Best Guest Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series [47]
Arrow Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series
MTV Fandom Awards Ship of the Year (with Stephen Amell) Won [48]
Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress – Fantasy/Sci-Fi Nominated [49]
Choice TV Liplock (with Stephen Amell)
2016 Leo Awards Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series [50]
MTV Fandom Awards Ship of the Year (with Stephen Amell) Won [51]
Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress – Fantasy/Sci-Fi Nominated [52]
Choice TV Liplock (with Stephen Amell)
2017 Leo Awards Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series [53]
Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress – Action [54]
2018 Choice TV Actress – Action [55]
Choice TV Ship (with Stephen Amell)
2019 Choice TV Actress – Action [56]

References
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  2. Wilkerson, Richard C. (June 18, 2017). "2017 IASD Conference Photos". Retrieved June 28, 2017.
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  24. @FunnyStoryMovie (June 11, 2018). "🏆 WINNER! 🏆 "Funny Story" won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at Vero Beach Wine & Film Festival! 🎬🎉🥂Thank you so much!! More festivals coming soon! Get updates: www.funnystorymovie.com #funnystorymovie #vbwff" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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