Sarah Steele is an American actress. She is known for her role as Marissa Gold on the CBS legal drama series The Good Wife (2011–2016) and its CBS All Access spinoff series The Good Fight (2017–2022) and Elsbeth.
Early life Steele was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her mother, Katherine A. High, is a hematology oncology physician at the University of Pennsylvania, and her father, George Steele, is an internal medicine physician specializing in nutrition who was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Steele graduated with the class of 2006 from The Episcopal Academy, a private school in southeast Pennsylvania. She graduated from Columbia University in 2011 with a B.A. in English.
Career Steele had her breakout role as Bernice in the 2004 comedy drama film Spanglish. Steele went on to appear in an episode of the crime drama series Law & Order; the dark comedy film Mr. Gibb, which co-stars Hayden Panettiere, Tim Daly and Dan Hedaya; and the drama film Margaret, which co-stars Matt Damon, Matthew Broderick, Anna Paquin, Mark Ruffalo, and Allison Janney.
Steele appeared in the Off-Broadway production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which ran in September 2006 to December 2006 at the Acorn Theater. From 2007 to 2008, she appeared in the Off-Broadway play Speech & Debate. From January to March 2012 she appeared in the Off-Broadway play Russian Transport at the Acorn Theatre, playing the role of Mira. In late 2014, Steele made her Broadway debut in The Country House by Donald Margulies, playing the granddaughter, Susie, opposite Blythe Danner. In 2015, she appeared in the play The Humans, first Off-Broadway and then on Broadway."Sarah Steele Off-Broadway" lortel.org, accessed September 16, 2016 She has also appeared in other Off-Broadway and regional productions.
In 2009, Steele appeared on Gossip Girl as Kira Abernathy, Jenny Humphrey's rival at Cotillion and Eric van der Woodsen's friend. Steele appeared in three episodes of The Good Wife in 2011 as Marissa Gold, the daughter of Eli Gold (Alan Cumming). She reprised the role from 2014 to 2016 in the show's later seasons, appearing in a total of 22 episodes. She went on to reprise the role of Marissa Gold in the Good Wife spinoff series The Good Fight, which premiered on CBS All Access in 2017, and in CBS's Elsbeth. In December 2025, it was announced that Steele will recur in the second season of NBC's Brilliant Minds.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes2004SpanglishBernice "Bernie" Clasky2006Mr. GibbAmber Jinx2008ManMaggieShort film2008Girl with Jacket2008Old DaysCarlaShort film2009My Father's WillNancy Curtis2010Please GiveAbby2010MonkeywrenchGirlShort film2011MargaretBecky2012Last Kind WordsKatie2013Wendy2013Song OneiPod Autograph Girl2014Sarah2014RelicsShelleyShort film2014Adult BeginnersSarah2014All RelativeBeth2014SymposiumEllieShort film2014StagFrancescaShort film2016Nancy Curtis2017Speech & DebateDiwata Jones2017PermissionStevie2018Ask for JaneDonna2020Viena and the FantomesLoona 2023 You Hurt My Feelings Frankie
Television Year Title Role Notes2006Law & OrderKatie WhiteEpisode: "Cost of Capital"2008Law & Order: Criminal IntentTessa NobileEpisode: "Legacy"2009Gossip GirlKira Abernathy2 episodes2011–2016Marissa Gold22 episodes2011Harry's LawSela VinsonEpisode: "Queen of Snark"2013Lady BusinessJackieEpisode: "The Intern"2013Blue BloodsRebeccaEpisode: "Men in Black"2013Nurse JackieHannah Cohen2 episodes2014GirlsRebeccaEpisode: "Flo"2016BullEllen HuffEpisode: "Unambiguous"2017–2022Marissa GoldMain role; 58 episodes2020–2022Shelly3 episodes2022 Would I Lie to You?Herself Episode: "Allowance PowerPoint"2023PetraEpisode: "The Princess and the Plea"2025ElsbethMarissa Gold2 episodes2025Brilliant MindsSofia2 episodes
Theatre Year Title Role Venue Notes2006The Prime of Miss Jean BrodieMonicaOff-Broadway / Acorn Theater2007Speech & DebateDiwataOff Broadway / Roundabout Underground2011All-AmericanNatasha GordonOff-Broadway / The Duke on 42nd Street2012Russian TransportMiraOff-Broadway / Acorn Theater2012SlowgirlBeckyOff-Broadway / Claire Tow Theater2014The Country HouseSusie KeeganBroadway / Samuel J Friedman Theatre2015The HumansBrigid BlakeOff-Broadway / Laura Pels Theatre2016Broadway / Helen Hayes TheatreDrama Desk Award winner for Outstanding Ensemble Performance2018Tour / Ahmanson Theatre (Los Angeles)Original Broadway cast replaced tour cast for the final tour stop in LA2023I Can Get It for You WholesaleBlanche BushkinOff-Broadway / CSC Theatre
Awards and nominations Year Association Category Work Result2004Phoenix Film Critics Society AwardsBest Performance by Youth in a Leading or Supporting Role – FemaleSpanglish2005Young Artist AwardsBest Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress2010Gotham AwardsBest Ensemble PerformancePlease Give2011Dorian AwardsRising Star of the YearIndependent Spirit AwardsRobert Altman Award2016Drama Desk AwardsOutstanding Ensemble PerformanceThe Humans
References
External links
BroadwayWorld.com interview with Sarah Steele, November 1, 2007