Marissa Bode

Marissa Bode (born 2000) is an American actress who is best known for playing Nessarose in the two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked.

Bode was born in Mazomanie, Wisconsin, in 2000 and became disabled when she was 11 after a car crash. She started acting at high school and in local productions and her first role was an orphan in The Prince and the Pauper.

She graduated from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy and currently lives in Los Angeles.

Stage: Bode has performed onstage since the age of eight in local productions such as Little Shop of Horrors, Peter Pan and Mary Poppins.

Films and television: Bode has written, directed and produced her first short in 2021, called You're Adorable.

In 2022 it was announced she would play Nessarose, Elphaba's sister and the Wicked Witch of the East, in the Wicked movies adaptation, making her feature film debut. She made history for being the first wheelchair user to play the character, who also uses a wheelchair. After auditioning for the role and thinking she was unsuccessful, Bode was called via Zoom by director Jon M. Chu and told with Ariana Grande (Glinda) and Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) present in the room.

Bode shared her excitement for the role and also for being able to represent disabled women of color in the movie: “To be that representation for not only disabled people but disabled people of color is so exciting and so surreal”.

She also was excited to find the Wicked set fully accessible for her and for it to have been designed with a wheelchair user in mind. Director Jon M. Chu stated: "One of the most enlightening and beautiful processes I've ever gone through. You need accessibility, not just when we're on set behind the scenes, but you need to present accessibility in Oz itself."

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 likings of the actors.