A Child Of Two Worlds | With Mireille Enos

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Imagine a map of the world...zoom in on the horn of Africa. In between Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia lies the country of Djibouti. This small country has become the center of Rachel Pieh Jones' world, one that looks nothing like her Minnesota roots.

Mireille Enos — you may recognize her voice from shows like "Big Love," "The Catch" and "The Killing" — reads us Jones' essay "A Child of Two Worlds."

Voices in This Episode

Mireille Enos has quickly risen to the top of a short list of sought after female actors, now joining the ranks of Shonda Rhimes’ leading ladies, being cast in the starring role of the ABC drama “The Catch,” which premiered its second season in March 2017.

She received a Golden Globe, an Emmy and a Critic’s Choice Award nomination for her role as detective Sarah Linden on AMC’s “The Killing.” As the first female lead in an AMC drama, the press praised her performance in what The Hollywood Reporter called her “breakout role.”

Soon, she will reprise her role as Karin Lane, the female lead opposite Brad Pitt, in the sequel to the blockbuster hit "World War Z." In addition, she has completed three indie feature films including "You Were Never Here," a thriller in which she stars opposite Sam Shepard, "Behold My Heart," opposite Marisa Tomei, Charlie Plummer and Timothy Olyphant, and "Katie Says Goodbye" opposite Olivia Cooke, Jim Belushi , Christopher Abbott and Mary Steenburgen, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September.

In 2014, Enos starred opposite Ryan Reynolds in the psychological thriller "The Captive," directed by Atom Egoyan, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. In addition, she had two other films released that year including "If I Stay for MGM," opposite Chole Moretz, based on the best-selling young adult novel, as well as "Sabotage," directed by David Ayer, starring Sam Worthington, Terrence Howard and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In 2013, Enos starred opposite Colin Firth and Reese Withersoon in the Atom Egoyan directed "Devil's Knot,"  which premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. She could also be seen in the Warner Bros. crime drama "Gangster Squad," for director Ruben Fleischer, starring Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn and Emma Stone. Enos garnered praise for the warmth and emotion she brought to the role. The Huffington Post proclaimed “some of the best work comes from Mireille Enos as Brolin’s wife…Enos has genuine chemistry with not just Brolin, but with Gosling in their terrific scene together.”

From 2007-2010, Enos starred in the HBO drama “Big Love.” Impressed by her range and versatility, producers gave Enos a double role to play as twins Jodean and Kathy Marquart. Critics have commended Enos on her finely nuanced performance, calling her “luminous” and heralding her as “the actress who best captured the out-of-time otherness of compound life.”

In 2009, Enos returned to the stage starring opposite Annette Bening, David Arquette and Julian Sands in Joanna Murray-Smith’s comedy "The Female of the Species" at the Geffen Playhouse. “Mireille Enos nearly steals the show as Bening’s wonderfully distraught daughter,” touted The Hollywood Reporter.

In 2005, Enos won the role of Honey in the Broadway revival of "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" opposite industry veterans Bill Irwin and Kathleen Turner. It opened to glowing reviews and earned her a Tony nomination for “Best Featured Actress in a Play.” Enos joined the original cast when the play was transferred to London’s West End in 2006.

Born to an American father and French mother, Enos was raised in Houston where she attended schools for the dramatic arts. While studying acting during her third year at Brigham Young University, she was invited to join a two-month project at the Classic Stage Company in New York City. She bought a one-way bus pass and the rest, as they say, is history.

In 2003, Rachel Pieh Jones left her native Minnesota and moved to Somalia where her husband taught Physics and English at Amoud University in a northern village. Since then, she has also lived in Kenya, France, and Djibouti.

Along with her husband, she founded and now runs the International School of Djibouti, a Preschool through 12th grade English-based, American curriculum, internationally accredited school.  Her family has now lived in Djibouti for fourteen years.

When not working at ISD, you can find her writing, running, cooking, hanging out with my kids, or visiting local friends.  She blogs at DjiboutiJones.com