Martha Plimpton Biography: Ex-boyfriend, Net Worth, Age, Height, Movies, Awards

Martha Campbell Carradine, professionally known as Martha Plimpton, is an acclaimed American actress, singer, and activist who has built a distinguished career across film, television, and Broadway.

She is best known for her breakout roles in The Goonies and Running on Empty, her Emmy Award-winning performance as Patti Nyholm in The Good Wife, and her starring role as Virginia Chance in the sitcom Raising Hope.

Renowned for her sharp wit, emotional depth, and remarkable versatility, Plimpton has earned three consecutive Tony Award nominations and is widely regarded as one of her generation’s most accomplished character actresses.

Martha Plimpton
Wiki Facts & About Data
Real Name:	Martha Campbell Carradine
Stage Name:	Martha Plimpton
Born:	November 16, 1970 (age 55 years old)
Place of Birth:	New York City, New York, United States
Nationality:	American
Ethnicity:	White American
Height:	1.65m
Religion:	Christianity
Parents:	Keith Carradine and Shelley Plimpton
Siblings:	Cade Carradine and Sorel Carradine
Occupation:	Actress, Singer
Net Worth:	$5,000,000

Early Life and Education

Martha Plimpton was born on November 16, 1970, in New York City, where she was raised primarily by her mother, Broadway performer Shelley Plimpton, while maintaining a close relationship with her father, Oscar-winning actor Keith Carradine.

She also grew up alongside her half-siblings, Cade and Sorel Carradine. Immersed in Manhattan’s vibrant theater scene from an early age, she began her stage career at nine and later modeled for Calvin Klein before completing her secondary education at the Professional Children’s School.

She is of White American heritage, comes from a distinguished acting family, and was raised within the Christian faith.

Career

Martha Plimpton commenced her professional screen journey as a young teenager in the early 1980s, making an impactful cinematic appearance in The River Rat before capturing global pop culture immortality as the assertive Stef Steinbrenner in the 1985 adventure classic The Goonies.

She steadily gathered massive artistic momentum throughout her youth, earning critical reverence for her raw, emotionally vulnerable performances opposite River Phoenix in the acclaimed dramas The Mosquito Coast and Running on Empty.

Her exceptional knack for alternative character studies allowed her to transition seamlessly out of teen stardom, establishing a formidable reputation on the New York stage where she secured three consecutive Tony Award nominations for her brilliant work in Broadway’s The Coast of Utopia, Top Girls, and Pal Joey.

The actress achieved remarkable television growth when she pivoted into network comedies and prestige programming, landing a recurring role as a cunning attorney in CBS’s The Good Wife, which won her a Primetime Emmy Award, and anchoring all four seasons of the beloved Fox sitcom Raising Hope.

She successfully sustained her widespread industry influence into the streaming era, drawing immense critical praise for her devastatingly layered performance in the independent drama film Mass and starring in HBO’s The Regime and the drama series Task.

Through her fierce dedication to boundary-pushing independent theater, long-term ensemble involvement with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and recent appearances in the 2025 biographical crime thriller film Sovereign, she has cemented a lasting legacy as a multi-disciplinary icon who masters complex human storytelling.

Awards and Nominations

• Independent Spirit Awards – Nominated for Best Supporting Female for Running on Empty (1989)
• Primetime Emmy Awards – Won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for The Good Wife (2012)

Social Media

• Instagram Handle: @marthaplimpton
• Facebook Handle: @MarthaPlimptonOfficial
• Twitter Handle: @marthaplimpton

Personal Life

Martha Plimpton is currently 55 years old and stands at a height of 1.65m.

She has never been married, has no children, and is currently single, though her highly publicized early relationship and deep bond with the late actor River Phoenix during the late 1980s remains a fondly remembered aspect of her young adult years.

After relocating to London, England, Martha Plimpton has devoted much of her time to writing and traveling across the country in her Airstream trailer with her dogs.

She is also a vocal advocate for women’s reproductive rights and co-founded the reproductive freedom organization “A Is For.”

Net Worth

Martha Plimpton commands an estimated net worth of $5,000,000. The major portion of her financial portfolio has been systematically generated from her lucrative, multi-decade contract salaries as a leading sitcom star on major network television, alongside steady creative fees from prestige cable networks and feature films.

Additionally, her personal income streams are securely reinforced by recurring global television syndication residuals, international voiceover contracts, and Broadway theatrical salaries.

Filmography

• The River Rat (1984)
• The Goonies (1985)
• The Mosquito Coast (1986)
• Running on Empty (1988)
• Parenthood (1989)
• Stanley & Iris (1990)
• Samantha (1991)
• Inside Monkey Zetterland (1992)
• I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
• Beautiful Girls (1996)
• Music from Another Room (1998)
• 200 Cigarettes (1999)
• The Good Wife (2009–2013)
• Raising Hope (2010–2014)
• The Real O’Neals (2016–2017)
• Frozen II (2019)
• Mass (2021)
• Sprung (2022)
• The Regime (2024)
• Sovereign (2025)
• Task (2025)