Maria Christina Thayer is an American actress and comedian. She first earned public recognition for her portrayal of Tammi Littlenut on the

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

series ''

Strangers with Candy ''Strangers with Candy'' is an American comedy television series produced by Comedy Central. It first aired on April 7, 1999, and concluded its third and final season on October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ( ET). A pre ...

'' in 1999. Thayer has also had supporting roles in the comedy films '' Hitch'' (2005), ''

Accepted ''Accepted'' is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Steve Pink (in his directorial debut) and written by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage and Mark Perez. The plot follows a group of high school graduates who create their own fake college after bei ...

'' (2006), and ''

Forgetting Sarah Marshall ''Forgetting Sarah Marshall'' is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Nicholas Stoller and starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis and Russell Brand. The film, which was written by Segel and co-produced by Judd Apatow, was released by ...

'' (2008). She has appeared in numerous television series, including a lead role on the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

series '' Eagleheart'' (2011–2014), and a lead role as Abbey Logan on the comedy series ''

Those Who Can't ''Those Who Can't'' is an American sitcom that premiered February 11, 2016 on truTV. On December 1, 2015, the show was renewed for a second season before the first season aired. The pre-launch renewal is a first for the cable net, which ordered 12 ...

''. She played the title role in the movie ''

Night of the Living Deb ''Night of the Living Deb'' is a 2015 American romantic zombie comedy film directed by Kyle Rankin. It stars Maria Thayer, Michael Cassidy, Ray Wise and Chris Marquette. Thayer plays an awkward woman who, after a one-night stand, realizes she ...

''.

Early life

Thayer was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, and spent her early life in the small town of Boring, east of Portland, where her parents owned a bee farm. During her childhood, the family relocated to Minnesota, where she attended

Apple Valley High School Apple Valley High School is the name of two high schools in the United States: *Apple Valley High School (California) *Apple Valley High School (Minnesota) Apple Valley High School (AVHS) is a public four-year high school in the U.S. city of Ap ...

in Apple Valley, Minnesota, and was a member of the award-winning forensics program and the

National Forensic League The National Speech and Debate Association is an American student debating society. It was established in 1925 as the National Forensic League; the name was changed in 2014. It is one of four major national organizations that direct high school ...

, as well as

Homecoming Queen Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

. She studied acting at

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

in New York.

Career

In 2005, Thayer appeared in '' Hitch'' with

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

and

Eva Mendes Eva de la Caridad Méndez (, ; born March 5, 1974), known professionally as Eva Mendes, is an American actress, model and fashion designer. Her acting career began in the late 1990s, with a series of roles in films such as '' Children of the Cor ...

. In ''

'', Thayer plays a woman on holiday with a new husband, played by

Jack McBrayer Jack McBrayer (; born May 27, 1973) is an American actor and comedian, who gained national exposure for his portrayal of characters on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' and as Kenneth Parcell in ''30 Rock''. For his role in ''30 Rock'' he was no ...

. Thayer and McBrayer reunited on an episode of ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...

'' in which she portrays

Kenneth Parcell Andromakennethamblesorton "Kenneth" Ellen Parcell is a fictional character on the NBC comedy television series, ''30 Rock'', portrayed by Jack McBrayer. Originally a supporting character in the first two episodes of the series, the show's produ ...

's blind, shallow love interest. She also played

Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...

and Leo's daughter, Lila (at age 18), in

the series finale "The Series Finale" is the ninth episode and series finale of the American television miniseries ''WandaVision'', based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It follows Wanda as she tries to p ...

of ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), ...

'' (2006). In 2009, she appeared in the film '' State of Play'' as Sonia Baker, the researcher and mistress of a congressman. Thayer stars in the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

comedy series '' Eagleheart'', which began airing on February 3, 2011 on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

. She appeared as Tracey Bluth in the fourth season of ''

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 ...

'' in flashback scenes. In 2012, she was featured in the music video "Sensitive Man" by

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave, In 2014, Thayer played the sudden wife of Forrest MacNeill (Andy Daly) on the Comedy Central show ''

Review A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a content rating, ...

'' for the episode "Marry, Run, Party" of the first season. Starting in 2015, she starred in the

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that focu ...

sitcom ''

'' as an incompetent teacher at a Denver high school, alongside Ben Roy, Adam Cayton-Holland and Andrew Orvedahl (The Grawlix).

Personal life

Thayer was previously engaged to actor

David Harbour David Kenneth Harbour (born April 10, 1975) is an American actor. He has played supporting roles in films such as '' Brokeback Mountain'' (2005), '' Quantum of Solace'' (2008), '' State of Play'' (2009), '' The Green Hornet'' (2011), ''End o ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Stage

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thayer, Maria 1975 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Oregon Actresses from Portland, Oregon American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American women comedians Juilliard School alumni Living people People from Boring, Oregon 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians Apple Valley High School (Minnesota) alumni