American actress and comedian Melissa McCarthy 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. In 2011, she starred in the film Bridesmaids.

She was born on August 26, 1970 in Plainfield, Illinois, the daughter of Sandy and Michael McCarthy. Raised on a farm, in a "big, Irish-Catholic family," she graduated from St. Francis Academy (now Joliet Catholic Academy) in Joliet, Illinois. Actress Jenny McCarthy is her cousin.

Her career started with stand-up comedy and includes film, television and theater. McCarthy is an alumna of The Groundlings, an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe based in Los Angeles, California.

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 2000 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. She appeared as the host of Saturday Night Live on Saturday, October 1, 2011.

She will play a role in the sequel to Judd Apatow's film Knocked Up - This is Forty. She will star in the upcoming film ID Theft with Jason Bateman.

Personal Life

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

Source: Wikipedia

• Reference: Biographical Summaries of Notable People - SmartCopy: Jun 7 2020, 4:06:21 UTC