Elliot Page claimed in his new memoir Pageboy that he had sex “all the time” with his Juno costar Olivia Thirlby.
Thirlby appeared in the film as Leah, the title character’s best friend who stood by her after she got pregnant in high school. DailyMail.com has reached out to the actress’ representatives for comment.
Although the 36-year-old performer has starred in numerous films in the late 2000s and 2010s, her career has slowed down in recent years.
Thirlby hasn’t appeared in a feature film since 2019, though she may be poised for a career resurgence with her role in Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated biographical drama Oppenheimer.
Below, DailyMail.com takes a look at Thirlby’s varied career after she returned to the spotlight.
Shocking claim: The actress Olivia Thirlby, 36, is back in the news after Elliot Page claimed the two had sex “all the time” while filming their 2007 hit movie Juno; seen in 2021 in LA
In the Ensemble: Thirlby had a supporting role in the film as the title character’s best friend, helping Page’s character through a high school pregnancy; seen together in 2008
Thirlby, who was born in New York City, was ready for an acting career after attending performing arts programs.
She and her family were even committed enough to send her to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
She enrolled in a stage combat class at the school while taking a summer Shakespeare class.
Thirlby got off to a promising start in 2006 when she made her feature film debut in United 93, a thriller about the hijacking of United Arlines Flight 93, one of four planes taken over by terrorists on September 11, 2001, though it was the only one of the group which failed to reach its intended target after passengers rioted.
The film was directed by Paul Greengrass of The Bourne Supremacy and received critical acclaim and two Academy Award nominations.
She next appeared in the 2007 movie Snow Angels and appeared in multiple episodes of the TV series Kidnapped before scoring her breakout role in Juno.
The dramedy, which also starred Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman and Allison Janney, was a huge commercial success. It grossed about $232 million against a paltry budget of $6–7 million.
The film earned four Oscar nominations, including for her costar Elliot Page, and won a single Oscar for screenwriter Diablo Cody.
Slow start: The hit film helped raise Thirlby’s profile, but apart from a few leading roles, she continued to play supporting roles in small films and independent productions; seen in The Wackness (2008)
Strong start: Thirlby’s feature film debut was in the critically acclaimed United 93. One of her highest-rated TV appearances was for HBO’s Bored To Death; depicted in Being Flynn (2012)
It is on that film that Page – who presented herself as a woman at the time – claims his relationship with Thirlby began.
The Inception actor wrote that he was instantly attracted to Thirlby after meeting her on set.
‘I was stunned when I saw Olivia Thirlby. She seemed so much older, skilled and centered,” he recalled. ‘Sexually open, a long way from where I was then. But the chemistry was palpable, it drew me in.’
Page claimed it was Thirlby who made the first move by confessing that she was “really attracted” to him, leading to the two “sucking faces.”
“It was on,” he continued. “I had an all-encompassing longing for her, she made me long in a way that was new, hopeful.”
Page even wrote that Thirlby was reportedly the first person to give him an orgasm.
In 2011, Thirlby would reveal she was bisexual in an interview with Brooklyn magazine.
Although Juno Page rocked to stardom, it didn’t have the same effect on Thirlby, even though she had a major role in the film.
Critically acclaimed: Some of the best reviews of her career were for the 2012 comic book adaptation Dredd, starring Karl Urban (pictured)
Work Romance: In 2014, she married Jacques Pienaar, whom she met on the set of the dark action film when he acted as a microphone operator; pictured together in an anniversary post
Same company: He has continued to work in the industry as a boom operator and sound engineer
In the years following the 2007 film, she continued to appear mainly in small films and independent films, most of which received poor to mediocre reviews.
She also continued to play supporting roles in many of the films, though her filmography is peppered with some leading roles.
Thirlby would go on to become a recurring character on HBO’s Bored To Death, starring Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, and Zack Galifianakis, and she had a supporting role in the critically acclaimed arthouse film Margaret, starring Anna Paquin, Mark Ruffalo, Matt Damon, and a trio of future Succession stars: J. Smith-Cameron, Jeannie Berlin and Kieran Culkin.
The movie was released in 2011, but was filmed in 2005, before her escape from Juno.
Also in 2011, she appeared in the hit romantic comedy No Strings Attached, starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher.
In 2012, she appeared with A Quiet Place star and director John Krasinski in Nobody Walks, as well as the critically acclaimed sci-fi comic book adaptation Dredd.
Dredd not only got great reviews but also helped her find love.
In 2014, she married Jacques Pienaar, whom she met on the set of the dark action film when he acted as a boom microphone operator.
He has continued to work in the industry as a boom operator and soundman.
Busy back? Thirlby is about to revive her career when she appears in Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated film Oppenheimer.
In Good Company: Her role has not yet been revealed, but the film features an incredible cast that includes Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Gary Oldman, Rami Malek and many others; seen in January 2020
Olivia appeared with Kate Mara – whom Page also claimed to have been dating – in 2017’s Chappaquiddick, about the death of Mary Jo Kopechne after the late Senator Ted Kennedy crashed the car they were driving into a tide pool after driving off a bridge .
But the movies mostly seemed to get smaller after that. Thirlby’s last was in the quickly canceled Y: The Last Man, but she hasn’t appeared in a feature film since 2019.
But that’s about to change, as she has three movies in post-production, along with a short film, according to the Internet Movie Database.
Thirlby joins the cast of Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Gary Oldman, Rami Malek and many more in Nolan’s highly anticipated film Oppenheimer, about the architect of the atomic bomb. revealed.