Maurissa Tancharoen () in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

)Maurissa Tancharoen
biographical information, DoctorHorrible.net. Retrieved 2008-02-21. is an American actress, producer and writer.

Career

Tancharoen's first paid script came in 2001 when she sold

Revolution Studios Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC is an American motion picture and television studio headed by Chief Executive Officer Scott Hemming. The company focuses primarily on the distribution, remake and sequel rights to titles in its librar ...

an untitled pitch in which two

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

FBI agents investigate a gang in South Central Los Angeles by working

undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

n grocery store clerks.Charles Lyons. "Revolution catches FBI pitch", ''Daily Variety Gotham'', June 11, 2001, page 6: ''" 'This is my first official gig as a screenwriter,' Tancharoen said. 'It's a break for me, and I am so grateful for the opportunity. Revolution is an amazing place to be.' "'' Her production credits include working as assistant to producer

Mark Tinker Mark Tinker (born January 16, 1951) is an American television producer and director. Tinker was an executive producer and regular director on the HBO series '' Deadwood''. Prior to ''Deadwood'', Tinker served as a director/producer on ''NYPD Blue' ...

on ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...

'' and to

William M. Finkelstein William M. Finkelstein is an American screenwriter, television producer, actor and television director. He has worked as a writer and producer on ''Law & Order'', ''Brooklyn South'', '' Murder One'', '' L.A. Law'', '' Cop Rock'', ''NYPD Blue'', a ...

on ''

Brooklyn South ''Brooklyn South'' is an American ensemble police drama television series that aired on CBS for one season from September 22, 1997, to April 27, 1998. It was aired during the 1997–98 television season. The series was co-created by Steven Boc ...

'', as well as being co-

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

of the series ''

DanceLife ''DanceLife'' (also known as ''J.Lo's DanceLife'' in the UK) is a 2007 dance-oriented reality show, featuring and produced by Jennifer Lopez. The series follows the lives of seven dancers trying to break into the world of professional dance and ...

''. As a writer and story editor Tancharoen has worked on ''

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC, based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, an ...

'',

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

series '' Spartacus: Gods of the Arena'', ''

Drop Dead Diva ''Drop Dead Diva'' is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that aired on Lifetime from July 12, 2009, to June 22, 2014. The series was created by Josh Berman and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It stars Brooke Elliott ...

'', ''

Dollhouse A dollhouse or doll's house is a toy home made in miniature. Since the early 20th century dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children, but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. English-speakers in North America ...

'' and the short-lived

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

Oliver Beene ''Oliver Beene'' is an American sitcom that premiered on Fox on March 9, 2003. The show was created by Howard Gewirtz. Set in 1962 and 1963, the show chronicled the trials and tribulations of the 11-to-12-year-old Oliver Beene (played by Grant R ...

''. She also worked on '' Spartacus: Vengeance''. In addition to writing, Tancharoen also played a brief acting role in ''Dollhouse'' as the active Kilo (like the other Los Angeles actives named from the

NATO phonetic alphabet The (International) Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used set of clear code words for communicating the letters of the Roman alphabet, technically a ''radiotelephonic spellin ...

), and co-wrote and performed lyrics for "Remains" with Jed Whedon for the ''Dollhouse'' episode "

Epitaph One "Epitaph One" is the 13th episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Dollhouse''. The episode originally aired on the Season Pass on demand service from SingTel mio TV in Singapore on June 17, 2009 and later b ...

". She co-wrote ''

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'' is a 2008 musical comedy-drama miniseries in three acts, produced exclusively for Internet distribution. Filmed and set in Los Angeles, the show tells the story of Dr. Horrible (played by Neil Patrick Harris) ...

'' and appeared onscreen as

Groupie The term groupie is a slang word that refers to a fan of a particular musical group who follows the band around while they are on tour or who attends as many of their public appearances as possible, with the hope of meeting them. The term is usu ...

#1, as well as on the DVD audio track "

Commentary! The Musical ''Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog'' is a 2008 musical comedy-drama miniseries in three acts, produced exclusively for Internet distribution. Filmed and set in Los Angeles, the show tells the story of Dr. Horrible (played by Neil Patrick Harris), a ...

", in which she sings about the scarcity of non-stereotyped roles in television and film for actors of

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

origin.Liz Shannon Miller
"''Dr. Horrible'' DVD: Yes, it's worth your money,"
NewTeeVee.com, December 10, 2008. She appeared onscreen as a singer in Joss Whedon's 2011 adaptation of

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

; provided Zelda's singing voice in the season 2 episode "The Musical" of ''

The Legend of Neil ''The Legend of Neil'' is a comedy web series distributed by Comedy Central's partner Atom.com and is a parody of the Nintendo game ''The Legend of Zelda''. Sandeep Parikh of '' The Guild'' fame directs the series. Tony Janning writes for the ...

'', a spoof based on the video game ''

The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...

''; and performed backing vocals and danced in the video for '' The Guild'' parody song "

(Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar "(Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar" is a 2009 song created and performed by the cast of the web series '' The Guild'', with lead vocals by singer-actress Felicia Day. The lyrics were written by Day and the music was written by musical composer Jed Whe ...

" released August 17, 2009. Tancharoen worked with

Jed Whedon Jed Tucker Whedon (born July 18, 1975) is an American screenwriter and musician, and the son of screenwriter Tom Whedon, grandson of screenwriter John Whedon, and the brother of screenwriter Zack Whedon and of filmmaker Joss Whedon. Career ...

and

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...

on '' The Avengers'', and was a

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

and

for ''

Personal life

Tancharoen is of

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

origin ().Exclusive: Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen
(interview), DoctorHorrible.net, July 19, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-21. (includes audio) She attended

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

, where she wrote two plays that won the Argonaut & Moore literary award. Her father, Tommy Tancharoen, is a transportation coordinator for Hollywood movies. Her brother

Kevin Tancharoen Kevin Harwick Tancharoen (born April 23, 1984) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, dancer, and choreographer. On September 29, 2011, New Line Cinema/Warner Bros. announced that Tancharoen would be helming a big-screen adaptation ...

is a director, whose feature film debut is 2009's ''Fame''. On April 19, 2009, she married fellow writer

, brother of

.Official Dr. Horrible Twitter updates
Maurissa and Jed are getting married in less than 48 hoursMaurissa Tancharoen Whedon
/ref> Their first child, a daughter, was born in 2015. In her younger years, Tancharoen was a member of the girl band Pretty in Pink. The band broke up before seeing major success and shortly after Tancharoen was diagnosed with

lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Comm ...

that required

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

Awards

In 2009, Tancharoen won a

Streamy Award The YouTube Streamy Awards, also known as the Streamy Awards or Streamys, are presented annually by Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter to recognize excellence in online video, including directing, acting, producing, and writing. The forma ...

for Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series for ''

''.

Studio album

* ''Wake Up'' (with Pretty In Pink) (

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

, 1991) Jet Magazine, 1991
/ref>

Filmography

Film

Television

Other work

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tancharoen, Maurissa 1975 births Actresses from Los Angeles American film actresses American people of Thai descent American television actresses American television writers American women television writers Hugo Award-winning writers Living people Occidental College alumni People with lupus Screenwriters from California Whedon family Writers from Los Angeles