While Elizabeth McGovern is widely known for her role as the strong and steadfast Lady Cora, McGovern’s present-day life couldn't be more 21st-century. Living in London with her husband, director/producer Simon Curtis, and their two children, she also fronts the country/folk rock band Sadie & the Hotheads, touring in support of their new album, "How Not to Lose Things."

McGovern's professional acting career began when, studying at the Julliard School in New York City, the Illinois native was offered a part in her first film, Robert Redford's Ordinary People. The following year she earned an Academy Award nomination for her role in Ragtime. She went on to star with Robert De Niro in the 1984 cult gangster movie Once Upon A Time In America, and later opposite Mickey Rourke in Johnny Handsome.

Of her Season 3 return to Downton Abbey, McGovern says, "There's nothing like that first journey up to those front doors. It's just the most beautiful vista known to man. On the third time round, I'm finding there's a kind of peace and feeling of trust and mutual respect that only comes from working on something for a really long time. It's a job that I really love. I love the cast and I like the ritual of it. It's not an over-the-top intimacy, but just a feeling of trust and respect that you can only earn after an amount of time working on something."