Cobie Smulders


Jacoba Francisca Maria "Cobie" Smulders is a Canadian actress and model. She is best known for her starring role as Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films The Avengers, ', ', ', ', and '.
Smulders' other films include Safe Haven, They Came Together, Results, and '. She stars as Dex Parios in the ABC crime drama series Stumptown.

Early life

Smulders was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to a Dutch father and a British mother. She was raised in White Rock, British Columbia and later moved to the affluent West Point Grey neighborhood in Vancouver to attend high school at Lord Byng Secondary School. She was named after her great-aunt, from whom she gained the nickname "Cobie." Smulders describes herself as "a fluent listener" of French. She has four sisters: Melissa, Amy, Fiona and Julie.
Smulders worked in modelling, which she later said she "kind of hated", adding that the experience made her hesitant about pursuing acting as a career: "You know you go into these rooms, and I've had the experience of people judging you physically for so long and I was over that. But then it was like, 'Oh no, I have to actually perform. I have to do well, and I have to have a voice, and I have to have thoughts now.'
In her youth, Smulders aspired to be a marine biologist. Describing her transition to her eventual professions, she said,
Smulders was also a member of the Girl Guides of Canada as a child, participating as a Brownie.

Career

Smulders' first acting role was as a guest in the Showtime science fiction series Jeremiah, and she has appeared in several television series since, including a recurring role on The L Word. Her first permanent series role was in the short-lived ABC series ', which ran for one season. After the cancellation of Veritas, Smulders was cast as television reporter Robin Scherbatsky on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother in 2005, remaining on the show for its entire nine-season run.
In June 2010, Smulders made her Off-Broadway debut in Love, Loss, and What I Wore at the Westside Theatre.
Smulders played Maria Hill in the 2012 film The Avengers. She received training from a Los Angeles SWAT team trainer to handle guns in order to portray the character. Smulders reprised the role in three episodes of the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and in the films ', ', ', ', and '. Joss Whedon has suggested he had considered her for the role of Wonder Woman in his draft of the eponymous film, which did not go into production. Smulders did voice a Lego version of Wonder Woman in the 2014 animated film The Lego Movie. It was the first time the Wonder Woman character had a theatrical film appearance.
, Smulders, Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler in 2014
In 2013, Smulders had a supporting role in the romance film Safe Haven. She also starred in the comedy-drama Delivery Man and They Came Together. In July 2015, it was reported that Smulders had exited the made-for-TV film Confirmation because she had broken her leg; Zoe Lister-Jones was then confirmed to replace her in the role of Harriet Grant.
In 2016, she appeared in the comedy-drama The Intervention and with Tom Cruise in the action adventure film . In 2017, she played the recurring character "Mother" in the Netflix series A Series of Unfortunate Events.
From 2017 to 2019, she starred in the Netflix original series, Friends from College, in the main role of Lisa Turner. She currently stars as Dexedrine "Dex" Parios, a PTSD-stricken military veteran turned private detective, in the ABC crime drama Stumptown, which premiered on September 25, 2019.

Personal life

Smulders became engaged to Taran Killam in January 2009 after meeting him at a mutual friend's party four years prior. They married on September 8, 2012, in Solvang, California. The couple reside in Pacific Palisades, California. They have two daughters together: Shaelyn Cado, born on May 16, 2009, and Janita, born January 4, 2015.
In 2015, Smulders revealed she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 25, while shooting season three of How I Met Your Mother in 2007. She had surgery to remove two tumors from her ovaries, but the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, resulting in the need for multiple operations over the course of two years. In August 2019, Smulders revealed she is in remission.

Charitable endeavours

Smulders filmed a public service announcement with Oceana, an international ocean conservation organization, in 2014.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2004Walking TallExotic Beauty
2004Ill FatedMary
2005The Long WeekendEllen
2006EscapePsychotic BrunetteShort film
2006Dr. MiraclesMrs. PetersonShort film
2007The Storm AwaitsAnabella DeLorenzoShort film
2009The Slammin' SalmonTara
2012The AvengersMaria Hill
2012GrassrootsClair
2013Safe HavenCarly Jo Wheatley
2013Delivery ManEmma
2014The Lego MovieWonder Woman
2014They Came TogetherTiffany Amber Thigpen
2014'Maria Hill
2015UnexpectedSamantha Abbot
2015ResultsKat
2015'Maria Hill
2016The InterventionRuby
2016'Major Susan Turner
2017Literally, Right Before AaronAllison
2017Killing GuntherLisa McCalla
2018'Maria HillCameo
2018Alright NowJoanne Skye
2019'Wonder Woman
2019'Maria HillCameo
2019Maria Hill / Soren

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2002Special Unit 2ZoeEpisode: "The Wish"
2002JeremiahDeborahEpisode: "Thieves' Honor"
2003Tru CallingSarah WebbEpisode: "Brother's Keeper"
2003Juliet DroilMain role; 13 episodes
2004SmallvilleShannon Bell / Eve AndrewsEpisode: "Bound"
2005AndromedaJillian Rhade2 episodes
2005The L WordLeigh Ostin4 episodes
2005–2014How I Met Your MotherRobin ScherbatskyLead role; 208 episodes
2010How to Make It in AmericaHayleyEpisode: "Pilot"
2013–2015Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.Maria Hill3 episodes
2013Comedy Bang! Bang!HerselfEpisode: "Cobie Smulders Wears a Black & White Strapless Dress"
2015Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick HarrisHerselfEpisode: "Tyler Perry"
2016Animals.Anni Episode: "Flies."
2017A Series of Unfortunate EventsMother / Mrs. QuagmireRecurring role; 8 episodes
2017Nature CatNature Dog Episode: "Ocean Commotion"
2017–2019Friends from CollegeLisa TurnerMain role; 16 episodes
2019Arrested DevelopmentYoung Lucille Bluth3 episodes
2019–presentStumptownDexadrine "Dex" PariosLead role; 18 episodes
2019Room 104Marian WallaceEpisode: "The Specimen Collector"
2020The SimpsonsHydrangea Episode: "Bart the Bad Guy"

Theatre

Awards and nominations