Early life

Mullally was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Martha (née Palmer) and Carter Mullally, Jr., an actor who was a contract player with Paramount Pictures in the 1950s. Mullally moved to her father's native Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at the age of six. She is of Irish ancestry on her father's side. She studied ballet from the age of six and performed at the Oklahoma City Ballet during high school, also studying at the School of American Ballet in New York City.

Following her graduation from Casady School, she attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she studied English Literature and Art History, and subsequently became active in Chicago theatre.

Career

Television

Mullally moved to Los Angeles in 1985. Two weeks later, she was signed by the William Morris Agency. One of her first acting spots was on a McDonald's commercial that also featured John Goodman. She made her series debut in 1986 in The Ellen Burstyn Show. She subsequently guest starred on sitcoms such as Seinfeld, Frasier, Wings, Ned and Stacey, Mad About You, Caroline in the City and Just Shoot Me!. She played a central character in a season-five episode of Murder, She Wrote, "Coal Miner's Slaughter", recalling in 2012, "I hadn't gotten a job for so long, and I was in a complete panic because I didn't know how I was going to pay my rent. So I get a call one day from my agent that I'd gotten offered a guest role, and it paid $5,000. I literally fell down onto my knees and testified and wept. I played some former protégée of Jessica Fletcher. It's one of my favorite things I've ever shot."

In 1989, Mullally tested for the co-starring role of Elaine Benes on Seinfeld. Mullally in 1998 landed the role of Karen Walker, Grace Adler's sarcastic, pill-popping assistant, in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in both 2000 and 2006, and was nominated in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. She won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series three times, in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and with cast members Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, and Sean Hayes, she shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2001. She is the first of only two actresses to win a SAG Award three years in a row. She was nominated each year from 2000 until 2003 for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

In 2005, Mullally saw comedian and actor Bill Hader performing with his Second City class in Los Angeles, and shortly thereafter brought Hader to the attention of Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. Also in 2005, Mullally was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award "in recognition of her innovation in creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television".

Following Will & Grace, Mullally hosted her own talk show, The Megan Mullally Show from 2006 to 2007. She has hosted Saturday Night Live, guest-hosted the Late Show with David Letterman, hosted the 2006 TV Land Awards, and been a featured performer twice on the Tony Awards. She has been featured in advertisements for M&M's, Old Navy, and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.

Mullally guest-starred on the Season Three premiere of NBC's hit show 30 Rock. Other appearances include Kathy Griffin: My Life on The D-List, Campus Ladies, director/actor David Wain's "Wainy Days", an episode of HBO's Funny or Die, and the Funny or Die web video "That's What She Said".

Mullally has guest-starred six times as Tammy Swanson on the NBC series Parks and Recreation, in the episodes "Ron and Tammy" "Ron & Tammy: Part Two", "Li'l Sebastian", "Ron and Tammys", "The Trial of Leslie Knope", and "Ron and Diane". Mullally plays the role of the second ex-wife of the character Ron Swanson, played by her real-life husband, Nick Offerman. Offerman also had a part on one episode of Mullally's show Will & Grace where he played a plumber that came to Will's mother's house while Will, Karen, Grace, and Jack were visiting.

Mullally co-starred in 2010 as Lydia on the Starz ensemble series Party Down. Mullally co-starred as "Chief" on the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital. In 2011, Mullally began a recurring role as Dana Hartz, the mother of Penny (Casey Wilson), on the ABC sitcom Happy Endings. The following months, Fox announced Mullally would join the series Breaking In when the show returned for a second season on March 6, 2012.

Theater

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Mullally made her Broadway debut as Marty in the 1994 revival of Grease, and subsequently appeared as Rosemary in the hit 1995 revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying opposite Matthew Broderick. In 2007, Mullally starred as Elizabeth in Mel Brooks' original Broadway musical, Young Frankenstein. She can be heard on the cast albums of all three productions.

In 1996, she starred in You Never Know at the Pasadena Playhouse. Mullally appeared in 2000 as Pamela in the multiple award-winning production of Chuck Mee's The Berlin Circle, for which she won both the LA Weekly Theatre Award and the Backstage West Garland Award. Mullally starred as Beverly in the acclaimed production of Adam Bock's The Receptionist at the Odyssey Theatre (notably, the longest sold-out run of a show in that theatre's history), for which she was awarded the 2010 Backstage West Garland Award for Best Performance by an Actress.

Mullally currently stars alongside her real-life husband, Nick Offerman, in Annapurna at the Acorn Theatre on New York's 42nd Street Theatre Row.

Music

Mullally is a member of the band Supreme Music Program. SMP has released three albums to date, The Sweetheart Break-In, Big as a Berry and Free Again!.

Mullally and Stephanie Hunt formed the band Nancy and Beth in 2012. They went on tour in March 2013, along with Mullally's husband, Nick Offerman.

Film

Mullally has appeared in Marc Forster's Sundance competition entry Everything Put Together, Anywhere But Here with Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman, About Last Night with Demi Moore and Rob Lowe, Speaking of Sex with James Spader, and Stealing Harvard with Tom Green and Jason Lee. Mullally played a singing teacher in the 2009 film remake of Fame, and can be heard on the soundtrack recording. Additionally, Mullally sang the song "Long John Blues" (performed on-screen by Kristen Bell) in 2010's Burlesque. She played one of the leads' mothers in the 2013 indie film The Kings of Summer and Mrs Van Camp in the movie G.B.F.

Personal life

Mullally's first marriage, in the mid-1990s, was to talent agent Michael Katcher.

In 2000, Mullally met actor Nick Offerman while doing a play with him in Los Angeles. The two married in 2003. Offerman guest-starred on Will & Grace during its fourth season; Mullally then guest-starred on Parks and Recreation, in which Offerman played a lead role. Mullally played Tammy, the conniving former wife of Offerman's character Ron Swanson, in nine episodes between 2009 and 2015.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Risky Business	Call Girl
1985	Once Bitten	Suzette
1986	Last Resort	Jessica Lollar
1986	About Last Night...	Pat
1986	Blue Velvet	Louise	scenes cut
1991	Queens Logic	Dolores
1999	Anywhere But Here	Woman Buying Car
1999	Best Man in Grass Creek	Co-Worker
2000	Everything Put Together	Barbie
2001	Monkeybone	Kimmy Miley
2001	Speaking of Sex	Jennifer Klink
2002	Stealing Harvard	Patty Plummer
2004	Teacher's Pet	Adele	Voice
2005	Rebound	Principal Walsh
2007	Bee Movie	Trudy	Voice
2009	Fame	Ms. Fran Rowan
2012	Smashed	Principal Barnes
2013	The Kings of Summer	Mrs. Keenan
2013	G.B.F.	Mrs. Van Camp
2014	Ernest & Celestine	Lucienne (voice)	English dub
2014	Date and Switch	Patricia
2014	Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day	Nina
2015	Hotel Transylvania 2	Linda	Voice
2016	Why Him?		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	The Children Nobody Wanted	Sharon	Television film
1985	First Steps	Cathy	Television film
1986	Tall Tales & Legends	Posy	Episode: "Pecos Bill"
1986	American Playhouse	Lilah	Episode: "Under the Biltmore Clock"
1986-1987	Ellen Burstyn Show, TheThe Ellen Burstyn Show	Molly Brewer Ross	13 episodes
1988	Murder, She Wrote	Molly Connors	Episode: "Coal Miner's Slaughter"
1989	Almost Grown	Bride	Episode: "The Hat That Fell from Space"
1989	China Beach	Cindy	Episode: "The World: Part 2"
1990	Wings	Cindy	Episode: "There Once Was a Girl from Nantucket"
1990	Rainbow Drive	Ava Zieff	Television film
1991	Dear John	Molly	Episode: "Molly and Me"
1991	My Life and Times	Susan	6 episodes
1991-1993	Herman's Head	Yvonne (voice)	2 episodes
1992	The Steadfast Tin Soldier	Ballerina (voice)	Television film
1992	Fish Police	Pearl (voice)	6 episodes
1992	Rachel Gunn, R.N.	Becky Jo	13 episodes
1993	I Yabba-Dabba Do!	Pebbles Flintstone (voice)	Television film
1993	Seinfeld	Betsy	Episode: "The Implant"
1993	Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby	Additional voices	Television film
1993	A Flintstone Family Christmas	Pebbles Flintstone (voice)	Television film
1994	Batman: The Animated Series	Cindy (voice)	Episode: "House and Garden"
1994	Couples	Beth	Television film
1997	Ned and Stacey	Wendy	Episode: "Where My Third Nepal Is Sheriff"
1997	Frasier	Beth Armstrong	Episode: "Four for the Seesaw"
1997	Mad About You	Jane	Episode: "Guardianhood"
1997	The Naked Truth	Vanessa	Episode: "He Ain't Famous, He's My Brother"
1997	Caroline in the City	Vanessa	Episode: "Caroline and the Decanter"
1997	Extreme Ghostbusters	Additional voices	Episode: "The True Face of a Monster"
1998	Just Shoot Me!	Stephanie Griffin-Cooper	Episode: "Amblushed"
1998	Winchell	June Winchell	Television film
1998-2006	Will & Grace	Karen Walker	194 episodes
2000	3rd Rock from the Sun	Renata Albright	Episode: "Les Liaisons Dickgereuses"
2002	King of the Hill	Teresa (voice)	Episode: "Beer and Loathing"
2002	The Pact	Melanie Gold	Television film
2006	Peep and the Big Wide World	Pink Quack (voice)	Episode: "Quack Quack/One Duck Two Many"
2006	How I Met Your Mother	Barney's Mother (voice)	Episode: "Single Stamina" (Uncredited)
2006	Campus Ladies	Ms. Powell	Episode: "The Dare"
2006-2007	Megan Mullally Show, TheThe Megan Mullally Show	Herself (host)	71 episodes
2007	Boston Legal	Renata Hill	Episode: "The Bride Wore Blood"
2008	Bad Mother's Handbook	Nan	Television film
2008	New Adventures of Old Christine, TheThe New Adventures of Old Christine	Margaret	Episode: "Unidentified Funk"
2008-2013	30 Rock	Bev	3 episodes
2008-2016	Childrens Hospital	Chief	60 episodes
2009	In the Motherhood	Rosemary	7 episodes
2009-2015	Parks and Recreation	Tammy Swanson II	9 episodes
2010	Party Down	Lydia Dunfree	10 episodes
2011-2015	Bob's Burgers	Gayle / Various voices	10 episodes
2011-2013	Happy Endings	Dana Hartz	3 episodes
2012	Up All Night	Shayna Mund	2 episodes
2012	Breaking In	Veronica Mann	13 episodes
2012-2015	Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja	Mrs. Marilyn Driscoll (voice)	9 episodes
2013	Out There	Rose Stevens (voice)	10 episodes
2013	Web Therapy	Franny Marshall	3 episodes
2013-2015	Axe Cop	Anita / Various voices	13 episodes
2013-2016	Sofia the First	Miss Nettle (voice)	3 episodes
2014	Trophy Wife	Cricket	2 episodes
2015	You, Me and the Apocalypse	Leanne	7 episodes

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Megan Mullally Charities

Megan Mullally supports the following charitable causes: Women's Issues, Human Rights, Gay Youth, Breast Cancer, Alzheimer's, Cancer, Gay Rights.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]