Emily Bett Rickards (born July 24, 1991) is a Canadian actress.
She is known for her role as Felicity Smoak on The CW series Arrow, her first television credit.
She has also reprised the role in the Arrowverse shows The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl and voiced the character on the animated web series Vixen.
Rickards was born and raised in British Columbia.
Her mother is Dr. Diane Greig, a dream psychotherapist in Vancouver.
At a young age, she was introduced to musical theatre and dance.
Graduating early from high school, she attended the Vancouver Film School, completing their acting essentials program.
Following completion, she attended an open call audition, gaining an agent.
She studied at the Alida Vocal Studio in Vancouver.
2009
Rickards made her first professional appearance in 2009, starring in the video for the Nickelback single "Never Gonna Be Alone".
2012
Rickards breakthrough role came in 2012 with her first television casting, as Felicity Smoak in the CW television series Arrow, which is based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow.
Originally signed as a one-episode guest star, positive reaction from her co-star, show-lead Stephen Amell, and from Warner Brothers executive Peter Roth as well as from journalists at preview screenings, led to Rickards being signed as a recurring star for the rest of the show's first season.
The success of the character saw her signed as a series regular from the second season onwards.
2013
Speaking in 2013 about that decision, Arrow Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim stated "we were very lucky that we cast Emily Rickards, who just lit up the screen."
In 2013, she portrayed Felicity in web-based promotional tie-in series Blood Rush, sponsored by Bose, which also featured the characters of Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) and Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne).
2014
In March 2014, Rickards was cast in the sequel to Cowgirls 'n Angels, entitled Cowgirls 'n Angels: Dakota's Summer, as Kristen Rose, the sister of the film's protagonist, Dakota, portrayed by Haley Ramm.
The film premiered at the 2014 Dallas International Film Festival.
2015
In 2015, she had a supporting role in the Oscar nominated film Brooklyn.
2016
In 2016, she appeareed in Slumber in 2016, starring Darby Stanchfield and Meaghan Rath.
Filming took place in Los Angeles in May 2016.
She also appeared in Axis.
In early 2016, she appeared in the Canadian web-series Paranormal Solutions, which was launched online in April of the same year.
In June, she appeared in an episode of the fifth season of IFC comedy Comedy Bang! Bang!.
2017
The film won the prize for outstanding achievement, feature film at the 2017 Newport Beach Film Festival.
She also appeared in the super-hero themed short film Sidekick, directed by Arrowverse alum Jeff Cassidy.
In 2017, she appeared in the comedy, Funny Story.
2018
It was runner-up at the Slamdance Film Festival in January 2018, in the festival's 'Beyond' programme.
It won the Stolman audience award for best American indie at the 2018 Sonoma International Film Festival; the audience award for best narrative feature at the Vero Beach Wine and Film Festival; best feature at the Santorini Film Festival; and the grand jury prize at the Barcelona Film Festival.
At the Southampton International Film Festival, Rickards was nominated for leading actress in a feature.
In May 2018, appeared in Reborning for Reality Curve Theatre Group, at the Annex Theatre in Vancouver.
The production premiered on June 20, 2018.
In September 2018, she narrated an audiobook of The Wicked Ones, originally published as part of the Ghosts of the Shadow Market anthology.
2019
In March 2019, Rickards announced that she would be leaving Arrow at the end of the show's seventh season.
In November 2019 Rickards was confirmed as a guest star for Arrow's series finale.
Throughout the series run, Rickards received praise for her performance in the role, often described as the show's "fan favourite" See:
Rickards also portrayed the character in the spin-off shows to the series (collectively known as the Arrowverse) The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl, as well as providing the voice for the character on animated show Vixen.
In May 2019, she appeared in the indie film, We Need to Talk, co-starring James Maslow, and written and directed by Todd Wolfe.
In April 2019, she reprised her role in Reality Curve's Off-Broadway production at New York's SoHo Playhouse, in July and August of the same year.
2020
It was an official selection at the FirstGlance Film Festival in Philadelphia, in November 2020 and Rickards was named best actress in a feature.
In 2024, Rickards reunited with Arrow co-star Stephen Amell in the western Calamity Jane, a fictionalised story based around the life of Martha Jane Canary, known as Calamity Jane.
