Alanna Ubach
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alanna Ubach (born October 3, 1975) is an American actress, known for her roles as Serena McGuire in ''
Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his List of directorial debuts, feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith (writer), Kirsten Smith from ...
'' (2001) & ''
Legally Blonde 2 ''Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde'' (also referred to simply as ''Legally Blonde 2'') is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld and written by Kate Kondell. It is a sequel to the 2001 film ''Legally Blonde'' and the ...
'' (2003), Isabel Villalobos in '' Meet the Fockers'' (2004), Maria in '' Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit'' (1993), Noreen 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 ...
'' (1995), Jane in ''
Clockwatchers ''Clockwatchers'' is a 1997 American comedy-drama film directed by Jill Sprecher. It stars Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow, and Alanna Ubach as temporary office staffers in an office complex. The four become misfit friends in an offic ...
'' (1997), Naomi in '' Waiting...'' (2005) & '' Still Waiting...'' (2009),
Margarete Margarete is a German feminine given name. It is derived from Ancient Greek ''margarites'' (μαργαρίτης), meaning "the pearl". Via the Latin ''margarita'', it arrived in the German sprachraum. Related names in English include Daisy, Gre ...
in '' Being Us'' (2011),
Jeanine Pirro Jeanine Ferris Pirro (born June 2, 1951) is an American television host, author, and a former New York State judge, prosecutor, and politician. Pirro was the host of Fox News Channel's ''Justice with Judge Jeanine'' until 2022 when she became ...
in '' Bombshell'' (2019), and the voice of Mamá Imelda in '' Coco'' (2017), as well as Jo Hernandez-Frumpkis on ''
Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce ''Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce'' (also known as ''Girlfriends' Guide to Freedom'' in season 3, ''Girlfriends' Guide to Bossing Up'' in season 4, and ''Girlfriends' Guide to Ever After'' in season 5) is an American comedy-drama television series ...
'', Suze Howard on ''
Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...
'', Tessa Flores on '' Guilty Party'', Carol Atkinson on ''
The Flight Attendant ''The Flight Attendant'' is an American dark comedy drama mystery thriller television series developed by Steve Yockey based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian. It stars Kaley Cuoco in the title role and premiered on HB ...
'', and Susan Bennett on ''
Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...
''. She has provided voices for several characters in a number of animated television shows and movies, such as
Liz Allan Elizabeth "Liz" Allan, also known as Elizabeth Allan-Osborn and commonly misspelled as "Liz Allen", is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and ...
on ''
The Spectacular Spider-Man ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics. Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...
'', the title character on '' El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera'',
Lola Boa ''Brandy & Mr. Whiskers'' is an American animated television series created by sitcom writer Russell Marcus for the Disney Channel. It follows the lives of the titular characters—respectively, a pampered-yet-spunky dog and a hyperactive rabbit ...
on '' Brandy & Mr. Whiskers'', Strudel on ''
Pound Puppies Pound Puppies is a toy line that was created by Tonka in the 1980s. It later inspired an animated TV special, two animated TV series, and a feature film. Shipments of the toys over five years generated sales of $300 million in 35 countries. Toy ...
'', and four characters in the
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
-winning animated film '' Rango'' (2011). She played the first female assistant, Josie, on the television show ''
Beakman's World ''Beakman's World'' is an American educational children's television program. The program is based on the Universal Press Syndicate syndicated comic strip ''You Can with Beakman and Jax'' created by Jok Church. The series premiered on Wednesday, S ...
'', for which she was nominated for a
Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
in 1992.


Early life

Ubach was born on October 3, 1975, in
Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program. It is also the home of ...
, the daughter of Sidna ( González) and Rodolfo Ubach. Her father was from
San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...
, and her mother, raised 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' ...
, was from
Sinaloa, Mexico Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and ...
. In 1994, she received a positive review from ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' for her role as a Jewish girl in ''Kindertransport'' at the Manhattan Theatre Club. During this stage, she also landed a regular spot as Josie the assistant in the TV series, ''
Beakman's World ''Beakman's World'' is an American educational children's television program. The program is based on the Universal Press Syndicate syndicated comic strip ''You Can with Beakman and Jax'' created by Jok Church. The series premiered on Wednesday, S ...
''. Her early film roles included ''
Airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
'' (1993), '' Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit'' (1993), ''
Renaissance Man A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
'' (1994), and ''
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 ...
'' (1995). She later had roles in a series of indie films: '' Denise Calls Up'' (1995), in which she played the title character; '' Johns'' (1996), playing David Arquette's girlfriend, and in ''
Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
'' (1996) with
Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...
and
Kiefer Sutherland Kiefer William Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox drama series '' 24'' (2001–2010, 2014), for which he won an Emmy Award, a Golden Glo ...
, playing a Latina gang girl. She also played roles in more mainstream films like ''
Clockwatchers ''Clockwatchers'' is a 1997 American comedy-drama film directed by Jill Sprecher. It stars Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Lisa Kudrow, and Alanna Ubach as temporary office staffers in an office complex. The four become misfit friends in an offic ...
'' (1997) and alongside Reese Witherspoon in the two ''
Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his List of directorial debuts, feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah, Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith (writer), Kirsten Smith from ...
'' films.


Career

In 2004, Ubach starred in the movie '' Waiting...'', alongside
Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian-American actor. He is one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time, with a worldwide box-office gross of over  billion. He began his career starring in the Canadian teen ...
and
Anna Faris Anna Kay Faris (; born November 29, 1976) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her work in comedic roles, particularly the lead part of Cindy Campbell in the ''Scary Movie'' film series (2000–2006). She has appeared in a number o ...
, and landed the role of a Latina caterer in '' Meet The Fockers'' (2004). She also had recurring roles on ''
Hung Hung may refer to: People * Hung (surname), various Chinese surnames * Hùng king, a king of Vietnam People with the given name Hung include: * Hung Huynh, Vietnamese-American chef, winner of the third season of the television show ''Top Chef'' ...
'' (2009) and ''
Californication Californication may refer to: *Californication (word) ''Californication'' is a portmanteau of California and fornication, appearing in ''Time'' on May 6, 1966 and written about on August 21, 1972, additionally seen on bumper stickers in the U.S. ...
'' (2013). Ubach starred with
Lisa Edelstein Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...
as a regular cast member on
Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...
's first scripted series, ''
Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce ''Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce'' (also known as ''Girlfriends' Guide to Freedom'' in season 3, ''Girlfriends' Guide to Bossing Up'' in season 4, and ''Girlfriends' Guide to Ever After'' in season 5) is an American comedy-drama television series ...
''. Ubach portrayed Jo, who moved to Los Angeles to reinvent herself in the guest house of her newly divorced best friend from college, Abby. Ubach described the show as "fun and stylish, it's very relatable". The role of Jo was created following the exit of
Janeane Garofalo Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''. Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...
. Recent television roles include Suze Howard on ''
Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...
'', Tessa Flores on '' Guilty Party'', and Carol Atkinson on ''
The Flight Attendant ''The Flight Attendant'' is an American dark comedy drama mystery thriller television series developed by Steve Yockey based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian. It stars Kaley Cuoco in the title role and premiered on HB ...
''. In 2022, it was announced that Ubach was cast in the lead role of Susan Bennett on the Peacock series ''
Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...
'', the television adaptation of the hit movie.


Theater

In June 2008, Ubach starred in and narrated her ongoing one-woman show, ''Patriotic Bitch'', which ran at the Clurman Theatre in Theater Row. Reviewing ''Patriotic Bitch'', ''The New York Times'' described it as an "entertaining one-act series of character monologues" and noted that Ubach is "seriously talented".


Personal life

Ubach is married to record producer
Thom Russo Thomas "Thom" Russo is an American record producer, composer, engineer, mixer and songwriter.1975 births Living people Actresses from California American actresses of Mexican descent American actresses of Puerto Rican descent American child actresses American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Hispanic and Latino American actresses People from Downey, California 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses