CARRIE PRESTON - Do What You LOVE

The star of CBS'hit mystery series Elsbeth shares her journey

- Jim Colucci

As attorney-turned-unconventional detective Elsbeth Tascioni, Carrie Preston, the star of the mystery series Elsbeth, carries a couple of big bags everywhere she goes. “We started thinking of her as somebody who was constantly filling her bags with whatever she might need for whatever case,” Carrie tells Closer. “It shows her as somebody who can juggle a lot of things, but maybe not always successfully. I think it’s fun that we don’t see what’s in her bags, because we don’t see what’s in her brain either.”

The Georgia-born actress first brought quirky Elsbeth to life on The Good Wife in 2010. After more than a dozen appearances on that drama (and an Emmy win!), Carrie carried the character over to its Paramount+ spinoff, The Good Fight. Finally, she’s the star of her own series, Elsbeth, which recently returned for a second season.

How did you get into acting?

Oh, I’m a lifer. I started doing plays when I was in fourth grade in Georgia. My brother was doing plays, and I wanted to be like him. I was the kid who would sit in aisles or backstage and memorize the entire play. And then, if a kid was absent from rehearsal, I would be like, “I’ll do it!” I knew that acting was something that I wanted to do. Thankfully, I had a wonderful mentor in my hometown who ran the theater and was very encouraging. As were my parents. My brother is a professional theater actor still.

My parents didn’t try to talk us out of it, like a lot of parents do.

How did you get your break?