Bess Wohl

Acting · Writing · Directing · Production

Born September 7, 1975, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Bess Wohl (born 7 September 1975, Brooklyn, New York City) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard (BA in English, 1996) and earned an MFA in Acting from the Yale School of Drama. She is best known for Liberation (2025–2026), which won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, the Drama League Award, and the Hull-Warriner Award, making her only the fourth female playwright to win the Tony for Best Play. Her other plays include Small Mouth Sounds (2015, Drama Desk Sam Norkin Award), Grand Horizons (2020, Tony-nominated), and Make Believe (2019). She directed and wrote her feature film debut Baby Ruby (2022). In acting she has appeared in Flightplan (2005) and The Shaggy Dog (2006), and has guest roles on Law & Order, CSI: NY, Bones, and Cold Case. Small Mouth Sounds is returning to Broadway in spring 2027 directed by Joe Mantello.

Filmography

• 2023Baby Ruby — Director, Writer
• Extrapolations — Writer
• 2018Irreplaceable You — Executive Producer, Writer
• 2013Siren — Agnes Tobin
• 2010Coach — Gretchen
• Private Practice — Amy Larson
• Shark — Natalie Burke
• 2006The Shaggy Dog — Dr. Gwen Lichtman
• Bones — Amy Hollister
• 2005Flightplan — Katerina
• Ghost Whisperer — Anna Fowler
• 2005Heights — Juilliard Lady Macbeth
• 2005Must Love Dogs — Rebecca
• Numb3rs — Laura Stirling
• CSI: NY — Kendall Novak
• Cold Case — Sara Lowell (1981)
• Law & Order — Gia Whitchurch
• Liberation — Writer