Michelle Monaghan is an American film and television actress best known for her role in Mission: Impossible III (2006). She gained widespread recognition through performances in major Hollywood productions, successfully transitioning between action, drama, and romantic comedy genres.

Michelle Lynn Monaghan was born on March 23, 1976, in Winthrop, Iowa, United States. Her mother, Sharon Hamel, and father, Robert L. Monaghan, raised her alongside two older brothers. After graduating from high school in Iowa, Monaghan studied journalism for three years at Columbia College Chicago.

In 1999, she moved to New York City to pursue a modeling career. During this period, she worked internationally, participating in fashion shows in Milan, Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. Her experience in modeling eventually led her toward acting opportunities.

Monaghan gained early attention with supporting roles in films such as Unfaithful (2002) and The Bourne Supremacy (2004). In 2005, she appeared as Gwen in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, starring alongside Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The same year, she starred in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, sharing the screen with Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer.

Her major breakthrough came in 2006 when she portrayed Julia Meade in Mission: Impossible III, directed by J.J. Abrams. In the film, she starred opposite Tom Cruise, alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Laurence Fishburne, Keri Russell, Maggie Q, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Simon Pegg.

In 2007, Monaghan appeared in Ben Affleck’s critically acclaimed crime drama Gone Baby Gone, acting alongside Casey Affleck, Morgan Freeman, and Ed Harris. In 2008, she starred with Shia LaBeouf in Eagle Eye, produced by Steven Spielberg.

She continued to expand her range with films such as Due Date (2010), starring Zach Galifianakis, Robert Downey Jr., and Jamie Foxx, as well as leading roles in Source Code (2011) opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Machine Gun Preacher (2011) alongside Gerard Butler.

Monaghan received critical acclaim for her performance as Maggie Hart in the HBO television series True Detective (2014). In 2015, she appeared in the science-fiction comedy Pixels, sharing the screen with Adam Sandler, Kevin James, and Peter Dinklage.

In August 2005, Monaghan married Australian graphic designer Peter White. The couple has two children: a daughter, Willow Katherine White (born 2008), and a son, Tommy Francis White (born 2013).

Filmography and Television Work:
Actor:
2015 – Pixels (Feature Film)
2014 – The Best of Me (Amanda Collier) (Feature Film)
2014 – True Detective (Maggie Hart) (TV Series)
2014 – Fort Bliss (Maggie Swann) (Feature Film)
2014 – Better Living Through Chemistry (Feature Film)
2014 – A Many Splintered Thing (Feature Film)
2013 – North of the Sun (Sara) (Feature Film)
2013 – Gus (Andie) (Feature Film)
2012 – Tomorrow You're Gone (Florence Jane) (Feature Film)
2011 – Source Code (Christina Warren) (Feature Film)
2011 – Machine Gun Preacher (Lynn) (Feature Film)
2010 – Due Date (Christine Highman) (Feature Film)
2010 – Somewhere (Feature Film)
2008 – Trucker (Diane Ford) (Feature Film)
2008 – Eagle Eye (Rachel Holloman) (Feature Film)
2008 – Made of Honor (Hannah) (Feature Film)
2007 – The Heartbreak Kid (Miranda) (Feature Film)
2007 – Gone Baby Gone (Angie Gennaro) (Feature Film)
2006 – Mission: Impossible III (Julia Meade) (Feature Film)
2005 – North Country (Sherry) (Feature Film)
2005 – Constantine (Ellie) (Feature Film)
2005 – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Harmony Faith Lane) (Feature Film)
2005 – Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Gwen) (Feature Film)
2004 – The Bourne Supremacy (Kim) (Feature Film)
2004 – Suspect Zero (Stacey) (Feature Film)
2003 – It Runs in the Family (Peg Maloney) (Feature Film)
2002 – Unfaithful (Lindsay) (Feature Film)
2001 – Perfume (Henrietta) (Feature Film)
2000 – Boston Public (Kimberly Woods) (TV Series)

Source: Biyografiler.com