Allison Tolman

{{Infobox person

| name = Allison Tolman

| image = Allison Tolman (15476804677).jpg

| caption = Tolman in 2014

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| yearsactive = 2004–present

| alma_mater = Baylor University (BFA)

| occupation = Actress

}}

Allison Tolman is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Molly Solverson in the first season of the FX television series Fargo,{{Cite news |title=SNOWBOUND: The Minnesota noir of Fargo |date=June 23, 2014 |url=http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/television/2014/06/23/140623crte_television_nussbaum |first=Emily |last=Nussbaum |magazine=The New Yorker|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827200032/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/06/23/snowbound-2 |url-status=live |archive-date=August 27, 2014}} earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, and Alma Fillcot in the second season of the Paramount+ anthology series Why Women Kill.

Early life and education

Allison Tolman was born to Valerie (née Clohecy) and Davis Nichols Tolman, a petroleum geologist.{{cite news |last1=Sewing |first1=Joy |title=Missouri City volunteer devoted to animals and helping students succeed |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/about/houston-gives/article/Missouri-City-volunteer-devoted-to-animals-and-13396400.php |access-date=27 November 2024 |work=Houston Chronicle |date=21 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121135929/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/about/houston-gives/article/Missouri-City-volunteer-devoted-to-animals-and-13396400.php |archive-date=November 21, 2018 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Allison Tolman |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/allison-tolman/bio/3000229419/ |website=TVGuide.com |access-date=27 November 2024 |language=en}} Tolman has two older brothers and a younger sister. Her family moved to England when she was a few months old and stayed until she was four years old. She spent the next five years in Oklahoma and West Texas, before moving to Sugar Land, Texas. She started taking acting classes when she was 10 years old at the Fort Bend Community Theatre. She attended Clements High School, graduating in 2000.{{Cite news |title=Clements grad stars in 'Fargo' |date=April 11, 2014 |url=http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/fortbend/news/article/Clements-grad-stars-in-Fargo-5396294.php |last=Maines |first=Don |newspaper=Houston Chronicle}}

She graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatrical performance. After college, she moved to Dallas, where she was one of the founding members of Second Thought Theatre.{{Cite news |title='Fargo' the place to be for Chicago's Allison Tolman |date=April 14, 2014 |url=http://voices.suntimes.com/arts-entertainment/the-daily-sizzle/fargo-the-place-to-be-for-chicagos-allison-tolman |first=Mike |last=Thomas |newspaper=Chicago Sun Times |access-date=August 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419114621/http://voices.suntimes.com/arts-entertainment/the-daily-sizzle/fargo-the-place-to-be-for-chicagos-allison-tolman/ |archive-date=April 19, 2014 |url-status=dead}}

In 2009, she moved to Chicago, Illinois, to study performance at The Second City Training Center.{{cite news |last=Metz |first=Nina |date=April 28, 2014 |title=Allison Tolman is breakout star on Fargo on FX |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-04-28/entertainment/ct-allison-tolman-fargo-20140428_1_allison-tolman-noah-hawley-molly-solverson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429145420/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-04-28/entertainment/ct-allison-tolman-fargo-20140428_1_allison-tolman-noah-hawley-molly-solverson |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 29, 2014 |access-date=April 30, 2014}}{{Cite web |last=Schwindt |first=Oriana |date=April 16, 2014 |title=Fargo Star Allison Tolman Will Thaw Your Icy Heart |url=http://www.tvguide.com/News/Fargo-Allison-Tolman-1080565.aspx |work=TV Guide}}

Career

In 2014, Tolman starred in the first season of the FX black comedy crime series Fargo. Inspired by the 1996 Coen brothers film of the same name, Fargo starred veteran actors Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman and Bob Odenkirk. Tolman received accolades for her performance as Minnesota police officer Molly Solverson, with Vanity Fair writing that she "calmly and assuredly stole the entire show". For her role, she won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries and received Best Actress nominations at the Emmy Awards and for the Golden Globes.{{cite news |last1=Robinson |first1=Joanna |title=How Fargo Alum Allison Tolman "Tricked" Hollywood into Thinking She Was an Ingenue |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/05/downward-dog-allison-tolman-fargo |access-date=October 28, 2017 |work=Vanity Fair |date=May 17, 2017}}

The same year, it was also announced Tolman would have a two-episode guest role on The Mindy Project as Abby Berman, a romance novelist.{{cite web |last1=Eakin |first1=Marah |title=The Mindy Project recruits Shonda Rhimes and Fargo's Allison Tolman |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-mindy-project-recruits-shonda-rhimes-and-fargo-s-al-1798271643 |website=The A.V. Club |date=August 29, 2014 |publisher=The A.V. Club |access-date=August 30, 2014}} In 2015, she had a supporting role in Michael Dougherty's comedy horror film Krampus.{{cite web |last1=La Vigna |first1=Christopher |title=Actors to Lead Dougherty's "KRAMPUS" Flick |url=http://www.fangoria.com/new/piranha-3d-cheap-thrills-actors-to-lead-doughertys-krampus-flick/ |website=Fangoria |access-date=August 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150307030311/http://www.fangoria.com/new/piranha-3d-cheap-thrills-actors-to-lead-doughertys-krampus-flick/ |archive-date=March 7, 2015 |url-status=dead }}

Following her breakout role on Fargo, Tolman declined several supporting parts as mothers, wives and best friends, looking for a more unusual role. In 2017, Tolman starred in ABC's Downward Dog, based on the Animal Media Group web series, which was canceled after one season.{{Cite magazine |last=Holloway |first=Daniel |date=June 23, 2017 |title='Downward Dog' Canceled by ABC |url=https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/downward-dog-canceled-by-abc-1202477490/ |magazine=Variety |access-date=July 8, 2017}}

She starred in the ABC drama series Emergence, which premiered on September 24, 2019, and was cancelled after one season on May 21, 2020. She also guest starred in NBC's Good Girls.{{cite web |last=Fallon |first=Kevin |title=Allison Tolman Is Writing Her Own Rules for TV Stardom |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/emergences-allison-tolman-how-the-fargo-breakout-conquered-tv-stardom-on-her-own-terms |website=The Daily Beast |access-date=October 4, 2019 |date=September 24, 2019}}

In 2021, she starred as Alma Filcott in the second season of the drama series Why Women Kill,{{Cite web |title=Allison Tolman |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/allison_tolman |access-date=September 10, 2021 |website=Rotten Tomatoes}} and played Natalie Green in The Facts of Life portion of the third edition of Live in Front of a Studio Audience.{{cite web |last1=Cordero |first1=Rosy |title=Jennifer Aniston, Gabrielle Union, Kathryn Hahn, & Allison Tolman Join 'Live In Front Of A Studio Audience: Facts Of Life' |url=https://deadline.com/2021/11/jennifer-aniston-gabrielle-union-kathryn-hahn-allison-tolman-live-in-front-of-a-studio-audience-facts-of-life-1234881847/ |website=Deadline |access-date=November 30, 2021 |date=November 29, 2021}}

In the fall of 2024, Tolman joined the NBC sitcom St. Denis Medical as a leading actress, portraying the character Alex in a main role.

Personal life

In 2022, when Tolman spent months helping her mother care for her ill father, she watched sitcoms with her mother to cheer her up. Afterward, Tolman commented that getting the St. Denis Medical role “just seemed like kismet”.{{cite web |last=Soloski |first=Alexis |date=2024-11-11 |title=Allison Tolman of ‘St. Denis Medical’ Knows Her Worth |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/11/arts/television/allison-tolman-st-denis-medical.html |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=The New York Times}}