NEED TO KNOW
Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks star as twisted sisters in the mysterious thriller, The Better Sister.
The Prime Video limited series follows Chloe Taylor (Biel) and Nicky Macintosh (Banks) as they reunite to solve who murdered Chloe’s husband, Adam Macintosh (Corey Stoll) — who Nicky was married to before Chloe.
As the show unfolds, Chloe and Nicky’s dark history comes to the surface while Chloe’s son Ethan (Maxwell Acee Donovan) — who is Nicky’s biological son — winds up as a prime suspect.
Throughout the film, Detective Nancy Guidry (Kim Dickens) is also trying to get to the bottom of the murder mystery and the family’s confusing past.
While the show centers around hidden family secrets and dark truths, in reality, many of the lead actors have been in drama-free relationships for years. In the show, Banks and Biel were both married to the same man, but in real life, Biel is married to Justin Timberlake, while Banks has been with husband Max Handelman since college.
Here’s everything to know about the real-life loves of The Better Sister cast.
Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake
Jerritt Clark/Getty
Jessica Biel, who plays high-strung widow Chloe Taylor, and Justin Timberlake have been living out their love story since 2007.
The Total Recall actress and the “Mirrors” singer dated for four years and briefly split in 2011 before getting married in October 2012.
“I think having a partner who understands this industry and adjacent industries like music industry has been really deeply important and profound for my life and for our partnership because he just understands when I’m working crazy long hours,” she told InStyle in May 2025, while adding, “He’s also my best friend.”
In 2015, the couple became parents for the first time when they welcomed son Silas Timberlake in April. They welcomed their second son, Phineas Timberlake, in January 2021.
Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman
Araya Doheny/FilmMagic
Elizabeth Banks is Nicky Macintosh, Chloe’s sister who has struggled to stay sober. In real life, Banks has been married to her college sweetheart, Max Handelman, since 2003.
The Hunger Games actress and the producer met in 1992 when they were students at the University of Pennsylvania. Banks reflected on their relationship in a whole circle moment while giving the school’s 2025 commencement speech.
“I found the love of my life at this place on 40th and Spruce on a steamy evening in 1992,” she said. “I’ve compared every potential partner to him since, and well, he just keeps winning. He is my true safety net, and that’s my relationship advice — find the person who gives you the confidence to do it all scared.”
They tied the knot 10 years after meeting in July 2003 and later welcomed son Felix in 2011 and Magnus in 2012. In addition to raising their children, they also work together on their production company, Brownstone Productions.
Corey Stoll and Nadia Bowers
Jamie McCarthy/WireImage
Corey Stoll, who plays Chloe’s husband and Nicky’s ex-husband Adam Macintosh, is married to fellow actress Nadia Bowers. The couple got engaged in 2014, tied the knot the following year and welcomed their son in October 2015.
Both Bowers and Stoll studied at New York University but didn’t meet until they each attended an alumni event for the school’s graduate acting program in 2008, they told Vulture in 2019.
Bowers is also an actor and writer and has worked with Stoll on stage when they each starred in the Classic Stage Company’s production of Macbeth in 2019.
“Amazing things that you wouldn’t expect can emerge from a real couple working together,” Stoll told the outlet. “If I was coming in and meeting a new actress and trying to establish that we have this relationship, there would be this sense of, like, looking into each other’s eyes, but that’s taken for granted.”
Kim Dickens and Leisha Hailey
Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty
Kim Dickens, who plays Detective Nancy Guidry, is in a relationship with Leisha Hailey. Like Dickens, Hailey is an actress who starred in the Showtime series The L Word.
Both Dickens and Hailey frequently share photos of themselves traveling together and attending sports games and parties with other stars — including Sarah Paulson.
Maxwell Acee Donovan
Michael Loccisano/WireImage
Maxwell Acee Donovan is the youngest star in The Better Sister, portraying Ethan Macintosh, Chloe’s son suspected of killing his father.
Donovan, who previously starred in That ’90s Show and Gabby Duran & The Unsittables, has kept his love life private.
Lorraine Toussaint
Jamie McCarthy/Getty
Lorraine Toussaint plays Chloe’s friend Catherine Lancaster, who helps her with press after her husband’s death. In her own life, Toussaint has kept quiet about her dating history over her decades-long acting career.
The Orange Is the New Black actress was previously married to Robert Michael Tomlinson. In June 2019, TMZ reported that she had filed for divorce after two years.
Toussaint is a mom to daughter Samara and explained to the Huffington Post in 2014 that she’s a single mom by “design.”
“How do you date with a child? I don’t know how,” she said at the time. “I would like to date. I don’t plan to live alone the rest of my life.”
Matthew Modine and Caridad Rivera
Stefano Dalle Luche/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty
Matthew Modine, who plays Chloe’s high-society friend Bill Braddock, has been married to Caridad Rivera since 1980.
The Stranger Things actor and the makeup artist met in New York City when Modine was working as a chef in a restaurant and Rivera came in to pick up her takeout order.
“When I saw her, I was completely smitten,” he said in a 2007 interview with Artisan News. “It was love at first sight, and I couldn’t speak.”
After getting married in 1980, they welcomed two kids: son Boman Modine and daughter Ruby Modine. Both children have taken after their parents and are working in the entertainment industry.
