Ashlie Atkinson (1977–)

Ashlie Atkinson is a character actress who has worked extensively in film, television, and theater, including appearances on Broadway. She is widely known for her role as socialite Mamie Fish on The Gilded Age, a hit streaming series on HBO/MAX that began its run in 2022.

Ashley Elizabeth Atkinson, who adopted the spelling Ashlie for her first name, was born in Little Rock (Pulaski County) on August 6, 1977. She was the youngest of three siblings in a family that has lived in Arkansas for several generations. Atkinson’s father, Dr. W. E. (Bill) Atkinson Jr., was a leading pathologist, and her mother, Beth Atkinson, was a nurse. In 1995, Atkinson graduated from Little Rock’s Pulaski Academy before briefly attending Barnard College of Columbia University in New York City. In 1996, she moved back to Arkansas, transferring to Hendrix College in Conway (Faulker County). She had previously attended a summer program in drama at Hendrix through Arkansas Governor’s School. In 2001, Atkinson graduated from Hendrix with a degree in theater arts.

She returned to New York City in 2003, attending the prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. While a student at the Neighborhood Playhouse, she was performing in a showcase when she was noticed by Jace Alexander, director of such television shows as Burn Notice, Rescue Me, and Law & Order. Atkinson was booked for a 2004 guest appearance on Law & Order and six episodes on Rescue Me. She came back to the Law & Order franchise with appearances on Law & Order: Criminal Intent in 2007 and again in 2011, along with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2011.

In the world of theater, Atkinson appeared in the 2004 Off-Broadway production of Fat Pig, a play in which she starred as a plus-sized woman. The performance earned Atkinson a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Debut as well as nominations for both a Lucille Lortel Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award. Making it to Broadway in 2007, Atkinson appeared in a revival of The Ritz that starred Rosie Perez. Outside New York, Atkinson’s onstage appearances have included roles in 2011’s The Book Club Play at the Arena Stage in Washington DC; January Joiner: A Weight Loss Horror Comedy in 2013 at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven; and a 2014 production of Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Nora and Delia Ephron at the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, California.

Highlights of Atkinson’s television career include HBO’s Boardwalk Empire in 2012, the Syfy channel comedy-drama Happy! in 2018–2019, and the acclaimed FX mini-series Fosse/Verdon in 2019, in which she played Mrs. Fosse. That same year, Atkinson also appeared on Emergence, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the Netflix movie Juanita, and Mr. Robot, in the latter playing the character of Janice, described as a chatty taxidermist with a peculiar sense of humor. Beginning in 2022, Atkinson was part of the cast of the Sex and the City sequel And Just Like That… for HBO/MAX.

Atkinson’s major film work includes Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), which appeared on several critics’ “best of the year” lists, and Spike Lee’s Academy Award–winning BlacKkKlansman (2018). She has appeared in dozens of movies, such as Inside Man (2006), Margot at the Wedding (2007), Quid Pro Quo (2008), The Invention of Lying (2009), Eat Pray Love (2010), Compliance (2012), Cold Comes the Night (2013), Lyle (2014), Bridge of Spies (2015), Certain Women (2016), The Outcasts (2017), Adam (2019), and Before/During/After (2020). By the time of her April 2025 High Profile piece in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Atkinson had earned ninety-four acting credits in twenty-five years.

In the early 2000s, Atkinson was a member of the five-time world champion Gotham Girls Roller Derby team. She skated under the name Margaret Thrasher (Prime Minister of Your Demise). In 2004, Atkinson appeared in a Kings of Leon music video for the song, “Four Kicks.” The year 2016 found Atkinson featured as part of the video game Watch Dogs 2 as Lenni, and the following year, she starred as Dakota “Dak” Prentiss in a multi-episode run on the podcast Steal the Stars, a noir science fiction audio thriller.

Atkinson’s alma mater Hendrix College recognized her with a 2014 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and in 2024, she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award in the category of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for her work on The Gilded Age.

On May 9, 2015, Atkinson married Leon William Chase, a musician and filmmaker, at Little Rock’s White Water Tavern. They settled in Brooklyn, New York. Atkinson has stated that she enjoys serving as a guest bartender at happy hour in clubs around New York whenever possible, with her hours and location posted on social media.

For additional information:
“Ashlie Atkinson.” Internet Movie Database. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1534700/ (accessed August 2, 2025).

Ford, Kody. “A Face in the Crowd.” Idle Class, June 18, 2022. http://idleclassmag.com/ashlie-atkinson/ (accessed August 2, 2025).

Franco, Cheree. “On a Role.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 9, 2015, pp. 1E, 6E. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/jun/09/on-a-role-20150609/ (accessed August 2, 2025).

Grear, Daniel. “Nearly Two Decades on Screen: A Q&A with Actor Ashlie Atkinson.” Arkansas Times, June 22, 2023. https://arktimes.com/rock-candy/2023/06/22/nearly-two-decades-on-screen-a-qa-with-actor-ashlie-atkinson (accessed August 2, 2025).

Lybarger, Dan. “Arkansan Atkinson No Stranger to Racism.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, August 24, 2018, pp. 1E, 3E. Online at https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2018/aug/24/arkansan-atkinson-no-stranger-to-racism/ (accessed August 2, 2025).

O’Neal, Rachel. “Ashlie Elizabeth Atkinson.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April 27, 2025, pp. 1D, 7D. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2025/apr/27/ashlie-elizabeth-atkinson/ (accessed August 2, 2025).

Topich, Al. “Atkinson Recalls Role in ‘BlacKKKlansman.’” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 23, 2023, pp. 1E, 6E. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/jun/23/atkinson-recalls-role-in-blackkklansman/ (accessed August 2, 2025).

Nancy Hendricks
Garland County Historical Society