This Is Us's Chrissy Metz's Career, From Entourage to Stay Awake (2024)

Anyone who's watched even a single episode ofThis Is Usis likely to have a soft spot in their heart for Chrissy Metz. Her character in the show, Kate Pearson, is one of the central "Big Three" triplets whose lives unfolded before viewers for six seasons.

But before she was starring alongside Justin Hartley(as Kevin Pearson), Mandy Moore(as Rebecca Pearson), and Sterling K. Brown(as Randall Pearson) in the hit family drama, Metz had already begun to carves out a name for herself in Hollywood — and has since done so in Nashville.

Here is a full timeline of her career, from television appearances to movie roles.

Where Is Chrissy Metz From?

In her autobiography, This Is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today,Metz detailed her early childhood, revealing that she moved to Japan as an infant and Japanese was her first language. When her parents divorced, Metz's mother moved her and her siblings to Florida, where she spent the rest of her childhood.

After college, Metz taught preschool in Florida for a short time before deciding to pursue a career in the performing arts. A talent agent saw her audition in Gainesville and encouraged her to move to Hollywood, where she ultimately became an assistant at a talent agency while simultaneously auditioning for parts.

Chrissy Metz's First Television Roles

Metz's first credited television role was for the showEntourage in 2005, when she made an appearance as a "Counter Girl" in Season 2 Episode 7 ("The Sundance Kids"). The same year, she also had a one-episode appearance in Season 3 ofAll of Us,a family sitcom produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.

After those roles, she went on to play a character named "Chunk" inMy Name Is Earlin 2008, appearing in the show's fourth season (Episode 6, "We've Got Spirit") and one named Shoshanna in the teen show Huge, about a weight-loss camp.

Chrissy Metz's This Is UsRole

In 2016, the family dramaThis Is Uspremiered on NBC, and viewers were hooked. Metz played main character Kate Pearson for 106 episodes and was nominated for the Outstanding Supporting Actress Emmy in 2017. Metz said that she had 81 cents in her bank account when she booked the role, and had been planning to move home to Florida after struggling to find work in Los Angeles post-AHS:FS.

Kate was the only daughter of Rebecca and Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia)and was working as an assistant for her brother, Kevin, at the beginning of the show. Throughout the six seasons, fans watched Kate fall in love with her complicated first husband Toby Damon (Chris Sullivan) and then her second major love interest, Phillip (Chris Geere), who was her boss.

The other major themes in Kate's six-season character arc were weight loss, family ties, and motherhood. She suffered a miscarriage and then went into premature labor that left her first child, Baby Jack, blind. Kate and Toby thereafter decided to adopt a second child, Hailey.

Chrissy Metz's Movie Roles

The success ofThis Is Usopened a lot of doors for Metz. In 2018, while Seasons 2 and 3 of the show were airing, she starred in the Netflix movieSierra Burgess Is a LoseroppositeStranger Thingsstar Shannon Purser. Metz's character, Trish, was the strange, overbearing mother to the show's central mean girl, Veronica (Kristine Froseth), giving audiences a look at an entirely new set of acting skills from Metz.

In 2019, Metz starred in the filmBreakthrough,which was based on a true story. Metz played Joyce Smith, the mother to 14-year-old John (Marcel Ruiz); at the beginning of the film, John fell through a frozen lake and was unconscious for 15 minutes underwater, leading medical professionals to believe there was nothing that could resuscitate him. Joyce and her pastor (Topher Grace) prayed over John and the results were nothing short of a miracle.

Metz landed another major movie role for the 2022 filmStay Awake,also playing a complicated mother figure.Stay Awakeaddressed the opioid crisis head-on by showing Metz's character, Michelle, in the midst of a battle with addiction. Her two teenage sons, Ethan (Wyatt Olef) and Derek (Fin Argus) check her into multiple rehabilitation centers, and the film shows their own coming-of-age through the lens of their love for their mother.

Stay Awakewas successful in the film festival circuit upon its release. It premiered at the72nd Berlin International Film Festival, where it won theGerman Art House Cinema award.

RELATED:Chrissy Metz's Next TV Show Sounds So Good—This Is Us Fans, Take Note

Chrissy Metz's Singing Career

Kate Pearson isn't the only one with great pipes: Metz has been a singer for most of her life, and even auditioned forAmerican Idolin 2007 with theDream Girlssong "Heavy Heavy."

Metz sang "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper and "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac forThis Is Us,and made her live singing debut at the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards in 2019. She sang the song “I’m Standing with You” for her film Breakthrough alongside famous country music artists like Carrie Underwood and Maddie Tae.

Chrissy Metz's Relationship History

Metz was married to British screenwriter Martyn Eaden for seven years, beginning in her mid-20s, according toOprah Daily. She later datedThis Is Uscrew memberJosh Stancil, telling reporters that it was funny to film love scenes for the show in front of her actual partner.

Currently, Metz is dating Bradley Collins, with who she co-wrote her children's book. The couple has been together since 2020, when they went on their first date during quarantine.

In May 2023, Metz posted some adorable couple photos to Instagram in celebration their third anniversary and wrote, "Look at us just loving each other and creating together. Growing and learning from one another. You are a dream to me."

See Chrissy Metz as Kate Pearson in all seasons ofThis Is Uson NBC.com.