Christine Joan Taylor Stiller (born July 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for playing

Marcia Brady File:The Brady Bunch.jpg, 300px, Characters of ''The Brady Bunch'' (Mouse over to identify) rect 0 0 105 79 Marcia Brady rect 108 0 211 79 Carol Brady rect 216 0 320 79 Greg Brady rect 0 82 105 159 Jan Brady rect 108 82 211 15 ...

in ''

The Brady Bunch Movie ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' is a 1995 American comedy film that parodies the 1969–1974 television series ''The Brady Bunch''. The film was directed by Betty Thomas, with a screenplay by Laurice Elehwany, Rick Copp, and Bonnie and Terry Turner, an ...

'' and ''

A Very Brady Sequel ''A Very Brady Sequel'' is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Arlene Sanford (in her feature film directorial debut), with a screenplay by Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, James Berg and Stan Zimmerman, and starring Shelley Long, Gary Cole an ...

'', as well as roles in films like '' The Craft'', ''

The Wedding Singer ''The Wedding Singer'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Christine Taylor, and tells t ...

'', ''

Zoolander ''Zoolander'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the '' VH1 Fashion Awards'' television ...

'', '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'', and her television roles in ''

Hey Dude ''Hey Dude'' is an American Western comedy series that aired from July 14, 1989 to August 30, 1991 with a total of 65 half-hour episodes produced over five seasons. The show was originally broadcast on Nickelodeon. The series, aimed primarily t ...

'', ''

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

'', and '' Search Party''.

Early life

Taylor was born on July 30, 1971 in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

to Joan, a homemaker, and Albert "Skip" Taylor III, who owns a security company. She grew up in neighboring

Wescosville, Pennsylvania Wescosville is a census-designated place located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It is located between Allentown and Trexlertown in Lower Macungie Township. It is part of the Lehigh Valley, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th most ...

. She has one younger brother, Brian. Taylor was raised

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and attended St. Thomas More School and

Allentown Central Catholic High School Allentown Central Catholic High School (ACCHS) is a private, parochial school located at 301 North Fourth Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown, ACCHS predominantly serves students from the Lehigh ...

Career

Taylor began her acting career in 1989 on the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

children's television Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television show, television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during ...

series ''

'' where she played the

lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and CPR/ AED first a ...

Melody Hanson. She continued in that role through 1991 while making various guest appearances on other programs. In 1995, Taylor was cast as Marcia Brady in ''

'' and later in ''

''. Following ''The Brady Bunch Movie'', Taylor made several comedic guest appearances on the TV series ''

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress * Elle ...

'', landing the lead role in the television series ''

Party Girl A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

'', based on the 1995 film of the same name, and more guest appearances on ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'' and ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

''. She played the racist school bully Laura Lizzie in the 1996 horror film '' The Craft'', and also played

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...

's cousin, Holly Sullivan, in the 1998 comedy ''

''. In 2001, she starred alongside her husband Ben Stiller in ''

''. Later, she made television appearances as a guest star, in 2005, in two episodes of ''

'' as "Sally Sitwell" and, in 2006, in an episode of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

My Name Is Earl ''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia that aired on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and starred Ja ...

''. In July 2006, Taylor's husband

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...

announced plans to direct a

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

sitcom starring Taylor, but the series never aired. She has appeared with

Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...

in both '' Dedication'' and ''

License to Wed ''License to Wed'' is a 2007 American romantic comedy film directed by Ken Kwapis. Starring Robin Williams, Mandy Moore and John Krasinski with Christine Taylor, Eric Christian Olsen and Josh Flitter in supporting roles, the film tells the story o ...

''. In 2010, Taylor guest starred in '' Hannah Montana Forever''. In 2010, she also starred in the

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies and ...

Christmas movie ''Farewell Mr. Kringle''. In 2013, Taylor reprised her role as Sally Sitwell in two episodes of the revived ''Arrested Development''. She also guest starred on ''

Elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...

'' in 2017, playing villainess Gail Lundquist. Beginning in 2016, Taylor has had a recurring role as Gail on '' Search Party''. In 2021, Taylor joined the cast of '' High Desert'', an

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

series.

Personal life

Taylor dated actor

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...

from 1997 to 1998. Taylor married actor

, whom she first met in 1999 while they were both filming ''

Heat Vision and Jack ''Heat Vision and Jack'' is a 1999 American comedy science fiction television pilot created and written by Rob Schrab and Dan Harmon, directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Ron Silver. The pilot was originally order ...

''. Taylor and Stiller appeared together in the films ''

'', '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'', ''

Tropic Thunder ''Tropic Thunder'' is a 2008 satirical action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, who wrote the screenplay with Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen. The film stars Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, and Brandon T. Jackson as a ...

'', ''

Zoolander 2 ''Zoolander 2'' (promoted as ''Zoolander No. 2'') is a 2016 American action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller and written by John Hamburg, Justin Theroux, Stiller, and Nicholas Stoller. It is the sequel to the 2001 film ''Zoolander''. It stars ...

'' and in the TV series ''

'' and ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televisio ...

''. They lived in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

and have a daughter and a son. Both adopted a vegetarian diet for health reasons. After 17 years of marriage, Taylor and Stiller separated in 2017. The couple later reconciled after living together during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

lockdown.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Christine 1971 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown Central Catholic High School alumni American film actresses American Roman Catholics American television actresses American voice actresses