Melissa McCarthy

Melissa McCarthy

Melissa McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress and comedian.

She debuted in film in 1998 and continued to play character roles. From 2001 to 2007, she played Sookie St. James on the The WB television series Gilmore Girls. From 2007 to 2009 she played Dena on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who?. She currently stars in the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, for which she earned an Emmy Award.^[1] In 2011, she starred in the film Bridesmaids.

Early life

McCarthy, a cousin of actress Jenny McCarthy, was born in Plainfield, Illinois,^[2] the daughter of Sandy and Michael McCarthy.^[3] She was raised on a farm, in a "big, Irish-Catholic family".^[4] She graduated from St. Francis Academy (now Joliet Catholic Academy) in Joliet, Illinois.^[5] Her career started with stand-up comedy and includes film, television and theater.^[6] McCarthy is an alumna of The Groundlings, an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe based in Los Angeles, California.

Career

In 1997 she appeared in an episode of the NBC comedy series Jenny. From 2000 to 2003 she played supporting roles in the films Disney's The Kid, Charlie's Angels, Go, The Third Wheel and The Life of David Gale. She also did voice work in three episodes of Kim Possible, where she played DNAmy.

From 2001 to 2007 she played the role of Sookie St. James, Lorelai Gilmore's best friend on the The WB television series Gilmore Girls.

In 2007, she acted opposite Ryan Reynolds in The Nines, written and directed by John August. McCarthy played Dena on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? from 2007 to 2009. She also was a guest star in TV series Rita Rocks in 2009 and Private Practice in 2010.

In 2010, she played character roles in films The Back-Up Plan and Life as We Know It. Since 2010 McCarthy has played a leading role as Molly Flynn on the CBS hit sitcom Mike & Molly. In 2011, she received her first Emmy award (and nomination) for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Mike & Molly.

In 2011, she starred in the financially successful and critically lauded film Bridesmaids with Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper. In June, 2011, she hosted the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards.^[7]

She will play a role in the sequel to Judd Apatow's film Knocked Up - This is Forty.^[8] She will star in the upcoming film ID Theft with Jason Bateman.^[9][10] She will also appear in season 37 of Saturday Night Live.^[11][12]

During the 2011 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, McCarthy was honored with the award for Best Comedic Actress, for her performance on Mike & Molly.^[13]

Personal life

McCarthy married her longtime boyfriend, Ben Falcone, an actor and fellow alumnus of The Groundlings, on October 8, 2005.^[14][15] They have two daughters, Vivian, born May 5, 2007, and Georgette, born in March 2010.^[16][17] McCarthy's pregnancy with Vivian was written into the last season of Gilmore Girls.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1998	God'	Margaret
1999	Go	Sandra
2000	Charlie's Angels	Doris
	Drowning Mona	Shirley
	Auto Motives'	Tonnie
	The Kid	Sky King Waitress
2002	Pumpkin	Cici Pinkus
	The Third Wheel	Marilyn
	White Oleander	Paramedic
2003	The Life of David Gale	Nico the Goth Girl
	Chicken Party	Tot Wagner
	Kim Possible: The Secret Files	DNAmy	voice
2006	Cook-Off!	Amber Strang
2007	The Nines	Margaret / Melissa / Mary
	Shooter	Night Store Clerk	uncredited
	The Captain	Fran
2008	Just Add Water	Selma
	Pretty Ugly People	Becky
2010	The Back-Up Plan	Carol
	Life as We Know It	DeeDee
2011	Bridesmaids	Megan	Nominated— Teen Choice Awards for best Scene Stealer Female
2012	This is Forty		spin-off of 2007's Knocked Up, Filming
	ID Theft		Pre-production
2013	Untitled Melissa McCarthy Project		Pre-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Jenny	Melissa	Episode: "1.5"
2000	D.C.	Molly	Episode: "Justice" Episode: "Blame"
2000-2007	Gilmore Girls	Sookie St. James	153 episodes
2001	The Lost World	Billy	Episode: "Mark of the Beast"
2002-2005	Kim Possible	DNAmy	voice Episodes: "Downhill", "Partners" and "Gorilla Fist"
2004	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Saleswoman	Episode: "The Surrogate"
2007-2009	Samantha Who?	Dena	35 episodes
2009	Rita Rocks	Mindy Boone	Episode: "Why Can't We Be Friends?"
2010	Private Practice	Lynn McDonald	Episode: "Best Laid Plans"
2010-present	Mike & Molly	Molly Flynn	Lead role Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (2011)
2011	Saturday Night Live	host	Episode: "Melissa McCarthy"[18]

References