Makenzie Leigh

Makenzie Leigh (born August 8, 1990) is an American actress, noted for playing the protagonist's romantic interest Faison Zorn in Ang Lee's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016).

Makenzie Leigh
Leigh in 2016
Born	(1990-08-08) August 8, 1990 (age 34) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actress, director, producer, writer
Years active	2011–present
Children	1

Early life

Leigh was born in Dallas, Texas on August 8, 1990. When she graduated high school she moved to New York to dance ballet; she enrolled at New York University to study writing, then took an acting class to better understand characters, which ultimately led to her becoming an actress.^[1]

Career

Leigh's first major role came as Liza in the first season of the Batman prequel television series Gotham (2014–2015). She was also featured in a regular role as the babysitter in the 2015 television miniseries The Slap, a remake of the Australian series of the same name.^[2]

Leigh played a supporting role opposite Christopher Abbott in the film James White (2015)^[1] and played a small part in the Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle.^[3]

Leigh had a prominent role as Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Faison Zorn, Billy Lynn's romantic fixation, in the Ang Lee-directed film Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016).^[2]

On August 30, 2021, it was announced that Leigh will appear as Susan Norton in an adaptation of Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot for Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema.^[4]

Personal life

In October 2023 Leigh shared via an Instagram post that she and her partner of five years got engaged.^[5] In December 2024 Leigh shared that she and her partner had their first baby.^[6]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Girls Against Boys	Crying Girl
2015	James White	Jayne
2016	Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk	Faison Zorn
2018	The Vanishing Princess	The Princess	Short film; also director, co-producer and writer
2019	The Assistant	Ruby
2019	Light Years	Em
2024	'Salem's Lot	Susan Norton

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Lana Mills	Episode: "Double Strands"
2013	Deception	Young Vivian	3 episodes
2013	The Good Wife	Rainey Selwin	Episode: "Rape: A Modern Perspective"
2013	Unforgettable	Celine Emminger	2 episodes
2014–2015	Gotham	Liza	Recurring role
2014	Mozart in the Jungle	Addison	2 episodes
2015	The Slap	Connie	Main cast
2015	The Knick	Amy O'Connor	2 episodes
2019	The Code	First Lieutenant Ella Stein	Episode: "Molly Marine"