- Graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania (1996), where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta Sorority and was elected to the Friars Senior Society. She was the first in her family to graduate from college.
- In a 2012 interview with Slate, she said that she considered her role in the independent movie Surrender Dorothy (1998) to be one of the worst mistakes in her career, so far. She also said that it was instrumental in her decision to attend drama school, so that she could receive training that would enable her never to have to be in this type of movie again.
- One of only three women to have won the Razzie Award for Worst Director. (The other two being Elaine May for Ishtar (1987) and Jennifer Lynch for Boxing Helena (1993).) Banks was actually one of several directors cited for Movie 43 (2013).
- Got the role in Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) after Rosario Dawson turned it down.
- Became a mother for the first time at age 37, when her son, Felix Handelman, was born in March 2011 via surrogate. Child's father is her husband, Max Handelman.
- Became a mother for the second time at age 38, when her son, Magnus Mitchell Handelman, was born in November 2012, via surrogate. Child's father is her husband, Max Handelman.
- Her stage name, Banks, was made up (it's not in her family tree) as there was already another actress named Elizabeth Mitchell in the Screen Actors Guild. She chose it because it fits her image.
- Enjoys fantasy football as a hobby.
- Dated her husband Max Handelman for eleven years before marrying. She and her husband founded the production company Brownstone Productions (2002). She met him on her first day at the University of Pennsylvania (1992).
- Bad Santa (2003) is her favorite holiday movie.
- Was considered for the role of Susan Storm/Invisible Girl in Fantastic Four (2005), as was Fernanda Romero. The role went to Jessica Alba.
- Met President George W. Bush when Seabiscuit (2003) was screened at the White House. In Oliver Stone's W. (2008), she plays the role of Laura Bush, the president's wife.
- Her father, Mark Mitchell, was a factory worker for General Electric and her mother, Ann Mitchell, until recently, worked in a bank.
- Turned down a role in The Crazies (2010) because the role was too similar to her character in Slither (2006), and she didn't want to repeat herself.
- Her ancestry is English, Irish and Scottish. Through her English connection, she has a Colonial American lineage, with deep roots in Massachusetts.
- She went through most of the process of conversion to Judaism when marrying her husband, and said in 2013, "I've been essentially a Jew for like 15 years".
- Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist (1982) was the scariest movie she has ever seen. She saw it, with her sister, when she was eleven.
- Oldest of four children in a divided house (Her mother was for the Boston Red Sox and her father was for the New York Yankees.).
- Received her Master of Fine Arts degree from American Conservatory Theater's Advanced Training Program in San Francisco, California (1998).
- Attended and graduated from Pittsfield (Massachusetts) High School (1992).
- In 2012, she threw her support behind President Barack Obama in a highly personal video testimonial on the importance of federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
- Taking a course on flying the trapeze with a girlfriend (2008).
- Returned to work two months after the birth of her son Felix in order to begin filming The Hunger Games (2012).
- Ranked #83 in the 2011 FHM list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".
- Ranked #39 in the 2010 FHM UK list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".
- Is a major fan of David Letterman.
- In September 2020, Banks, along with Zoe Saldana, Rory O'Malley, Amy Schumer and Amber Heard, used her social media to participate in the VoteRiders #IDCheck Challenge to help spread the word about voter ID requirements for the 2020 United States presidential election.
- College friends with Todd Lieberman.
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