Elizabeth Banks was born and raised in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Banks grew up a bit of a Christian mutt. The best we have to go on regarding her religious upbringing is in a little article she wrote about her favorite cocktail (The Negroni, by the way) where she said:
Do I know much about cocktails? Well, I grew up Irish + WASP + Catholic. No further qualifications are necessary…[1]
So, one can only assume one of her parents was some kind of Protestant and the other was a Catholic.
However, interestingly, Banks didn't stick with it. She converted to Judaism shortly before marrying her husband, Max Handelman–a Jew. Apparently, her mother didn't object and even sewed the traditional Jewish chuppah, or wedding canopy, for the ceremony.[2] She explained that before the wedding, she was as good as Jewish as she was essentially practicing the faith with her husband. She said:
No religion meant as much to me as Judaism meant to my husband.
Politics of womanhood
Banks is a registered Democrat.[3] She was a passionate Obama supporter during the 2012 election. She made a video in support of the incumbent, her number one priority being Planned Parenthood and women's health issues. She said about the opposition's plan to cut Planned Parenthood funding, arguing that 95% of what Planned Parenthood does in non-controversial:
For that little 5 percent that Mitt Romney decides he doesn't agree with, he's going to take away cancer screenings. What is he doing? He's going to take away people's access to health care close by. We're talking about working-class ladies who need health care. That's it. That's Planned Parenthood.[4]
But that doesn't mean she's shy about the controversial stuff. She thinks sex needs to be more widely discussed in American society–for health reasons:
I really think that we do a disservice to young people in America by not being more open about sex. Abstinence programs do not work. It's a natural, physical thing having sex.[5]
Despite the liberal, Democrat thing, Banks did play Laura Bush in Oliver Stone's film about George W. Bush, W, and she displayed remarkable class, saying she wanted to do the former first lady justice with her role.[6]
She seems to be a well-put together woman that knows what is important to her. Fantastic.
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