Molly Ephraim (born May 22, 1986) is an American actress who has appeared in films, television, and Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theater productions. She is known for her role as Mandy Baxter in the ABC sitcom Last Man Standing during its original run (2011–2017). Ephraim has also appeared in a number of other TV series including Brockmire (2017), Halt and Catch Fire (2017), and Casual (2018). Most recently, Ephraim portrayed Irene Kelly in The Front Runner (2018).^[1]

Ephraim was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ^[2] and grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She performed in shows at the Bucks County Playhouse as a child and in professional productions at the Prince Music Theater and Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia as a teenager.^[3] Ephraim is of Jewish ethnicity.^[4]

In 2008, Ephraim graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in Religious Studies. At Princeton she was a member of the Triangle Club and performed in and choreographed various shows for Princeton University Players and Theatre Intime.^[3]

Ephraim made her Broadway debut as Little Red Riding Hood in the Broadway revival of Into the Woods in 2002, receiving a Drama League Award nomination. She later played Bielke in a Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof (2004).^[5] Off-Broadway, Ephraim played Rachel Stein in End Days at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in 2009.^[6] She played Olive in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Barrington Stage Company in 2008, in a remounting of the production with new direction by Jeremy Dobrish, and at the North Shore Music Theatre. In 2010, she played Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank at the Westport Country Playhouse.^[7]

In 2015, Ephraim appeared as "Daphna Feygenbaum" in Joshua Harmon's Bad Jews at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.^[8]

Ephraim appeared as a series regular in the role of Mandy Baxter, daughter of series' lead Mike Baxter (portrayed by Tim Allen), on the ABC sitcom Last Man Standing, which premiered on October 11, 2011 and originally ended in March 2017, canceled after six seasons.^[9] The series was revived by Fox in May 2018, but Ephraim opted not to return for the show's seventh season,^[10] with the role being recast.

Ephraim has appeared in other television series including Royal Pains (2009), Law & Order (2008), the Michael J. Fox-produced pilot Hench at Home (2003), the HBO pilot The Wonderful Maladys (2009), and has had recurring roles on Brockmire (2017), Halt and Catch Fire (2017), and Casual (2018).

Ephraim portrayed Wendy Greenhut in the film College Road Trip (2008)^[11] and Ali Rey in the film Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)^[12] and the spin-off film Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014).^[13][9] Ephraim most recently appeared in a supporting role in the 2018 biographical political drama The Front Runner, portraying Irene Kelly. She also played Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s attorney in The Act on Hulu.