Marissa Bode

Marissa Bode
Bode at the Red Carpet London Premiere of Wicked: Part I
Born	August 28, 2000 (age 24 ) Mazomanie, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2004–present

Marissa Bode is an American actor who in 2024 went onto portray the supporting character of Nessarose Thropp| in Wicked: Part I, Elphaba's paraplegic younger sister.

Biography

At the age of 11, she became disabled following a car crash, and has since used a wheelchair for mobility. In 2022 it was announced she would play Nessarose, who goes onto become the Wicked Witch of the East; thus making her feature film debut. With her casting in Jon M. Chu's Wicked: Part I, and Wicked: Part II she made history for being the first wheelchair user to play the character, who also uses a wheelchair. Bode further shared her excitement for the role and for being able to represent disabled women of color in the film stating: "To be that representation for not only disabled people but disabled people of color is so exciting and so surreal". Bode's casting was announced alongside Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, Aaron Teoh and Colin Michael Carmichael respectively.

Trivia

• As part of the marketing campaign for the film, Mattel, one of the collaborating brands, released seven dolls of the main characters including Elphaba, Glinda and Nessarose with removable outfits and accessories and built in the likenesses of the actors such as Bode's with the Nessarose doll.