Henstridge made her professional acting debut in the 2010 short film
Easy Under the Apple Bough and the 2011 short film
And the Kid. She made her television debut in 2011, appearing as
Emily Alexander in the long-running British soap opera
Hollyoaks. Henstridge was cast in the lead role of the 2012
The CW pilot
Shelter, which was not picked up to series. She went on to co-star in the horror film
The Thompsons (2012), the crime drama film
Gangs of Tooting Broadway (2013), and the ensemble drama film
Reach Me (2014). In November 2012, Henstridge was cast as Agent
Jemma Simmons, a series regular character in the
ABC superhero action drama series
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which was set within the
Marvel Cinematic Universe. The series was ordered on 10 May 2013, and premiered on ABC on 24 September 2013. For her role in
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., she gained further recognition and acclaim from critics. In 2015, Henstridge received positive reviews for her performance in "
4,722 Hours", the fifth episode of the third season of
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. In contrast to the ensemble nature of the series, the episode contained none of the main cast (except
Iain De Caestecker) and was centered around Henstridge's character. The episode's positive critical response focused praise on the
bottle episode nature and Henstridge's performance. It was later named one of the best television episodes of 2015 by
The Atlantic. In 2016, Henstridge reprised the role of Jemma Simmons in animated form in an episode of the
Disney XD superhero series
Ultimate Spider-Man. That same year, she was cast as
Abigail Folger in the horror film
Wolves at the Door, loosely based on the infamous
Manson Family's
murders. The film was released Direct-to-DVD in the United States on 18 April 2017. In 2019, Henstridge starred as Jessica Cooper in the
Hallmark Channel Christmas romantic comedy film
Christmas at the Plaza. In March 2020, it was announced that she was cast in a leading role in the
Apple TV+ drama thriller series
Suspicion, alongside
Uma Thurman. Henstridge plays Tara, a junior research fellow at Oxford and one of the suspects in the Leo Newman case. As well as this, Henstridge has also starred in the short film
The Imperfect Picture as Anna, and has done more directing. A short film she directed,
Air, is now debuting in the festival circuit. In 2019, it was revealed that she was involved in an untitled superhero film that she starred, directed, wrote and produced. In October 2024, ahead of
Superman and Lois's final season, it was announced that she is set to play
Lex Luthor's daughter Elizabeth Luthor, who is loosely based on the second
Lena Luthor. She is also credited with directing many episodes from the series since 2022. ==Personal life==