Maria Christina Thayer (born October 30, 1975) is an American actress and comedian.[1] She first earned public recognition for her portrayal of Tammi Littlenut on the cult series Strangers with Candy in 1999. Thayer has also had supporting roles in the comedy films Hitch (2005), Accepted (2006), and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008).[1]
Maria Thayer | |
|---|---|
 Maria Thayer at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born | Maria Christina Thayer October 30, 1975 |
| Alma mater | Juilliard School |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, comedian |
| Years active | 1999–present |
She has appeared in numerous television series, including a lead role on the Adult Swim series Eagleheart (2011–2014), and a lead role as Abbey Logan on the comedy series Those Who Can't. She played the title role in the movie Night of the Living Deb.
Early life
editThayer was born in Portland, Oregon, and spent her early life in the small town of Boring, east of Portland, where her parents owned a bee farm.[1][2][3] During her childhood, the family relocated to Apple Valley, Minnesota, where she attended Apple Valley High School and was a member of the award-winning forensics program and the National Forensic League,[4] as well as 1993 Homecoming Queen.[5] She studied acting at The Juilliard School in New York.[1]
Career
editIn 2005, Thayer appeared in Hitch with Will Smith and Eva Mendes.
In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Thayer plays a woman on holiday with a new husband, played by Jack McBrayer.[6] Thayer and McBrayer reunited on an episode of 30 Rock in which she portrays Kenneth Parcell's blind, shallow love interest.[1] She also played Grace and Leo's daughter, Lila, in the series finale of Will & Grace (2006).[1] In 2009, she appeared in the film State of Play as Sonia Baker, the researcher and mistress of a congressman.[1]
Thayer stars in the Adult Swim comedy series Eagleheart,[6] which began airing on February 3, 2011, on Cartoon Network.[7] She appeared as Tracey Bluth in the fourth season of Arrested Development in flashback scenes.[8] In 2012, she was featured in the music video "Sensitive Man" by Nick Lowe.[9][10]
In 2014, Thayer played the sudden wife of Forrest MacNeill (Andy Daly) on the Comedy Central show Review for the episode "Marry, Run, Party" of the first season.
Starting in 2015, she starred in the TruTV sitcom Those Who Can't as an incompetent teacher at a Denver high school, alongside Ben Roy, Adam Cayton-Holland and Andrew Orvedahl (The Grawlix).
Personal life
editThayer was previously engaged to actor David Harbour.[11]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Kimberly | Louise | |
| 2001 | Storytelling | Amy | Segment: "Fiction" |
| 2001 | Scratch | Short film[12] | |
| 2005 | Strangers with Candy | Tamela "Tammi" Littlenut | |
| 2005 | Hitch | Lisa | |
| 2006 | Accepted | Rory Thayer | |
| 2008 | Forgetting Sarah Marshall | Wyoma | |
| 2009 | State of Play | Sonia Baker | |
| 2011 | Let Go | Beth | |
| 2015 | Night of the Living Deb | Deborah Clarington | |
| 2017 | Table 19 | Infamous Kate Milner |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | Strangers with Candy | Tamela "Tammi" Littlenut | 14 episodes |
| 2001 | Big Apple | Rosemary | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | The Education of Max Bickford | Tina | Episode: "Herding Cats" |
| 2003 | Miss Match | Chelsea Greer | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2003 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Claire Brody | Episode: "A Murderer Among Us" |
| 2004 | Comedy Lab | Jill | Episode: "12:21" |
| 2005 | Romancing the Bride | Kimmy | Television film |
| 2006 | Will & Grace | Laila | Episode: "The Finale" |
| 2006 | The Colbert Report | Jenny (voice) | Episode: "Will Power" |
| 2006 | Nip/Tuck | Transplant Consultant | Episode: "Burt Landau" |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Hope | Episode: "Infiltrated" |
| 2008 | Lipstick Jungle | Cassidy | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | 30 Rock | Jennifer Rogers | Episode: "St. Valentine's Day" |
| 2009 | House | Annie | Episode: "Both Sides Now" |
| 2010 | Important Things with Demetri Martin | Edith | Episode: "Strategy" |
| 2010 | Our Show | Television film | |
| 2011 | Traffic Light | Esme | Episode: "Credit Balance" |
| 2011 | Harry's Law | Julie Cassidy | Episode: "Purple Hearts" |
| 2011 | Annie Claus is Coming to Town | Annie | [13] |
| 2011–2014 | Eagleheart | Susie Wagner | 24 episodes |
| 2012 | Louie | Rental Car Lady | Episode: "Dad" |
| 2012 | New Girl | Amelia | Episode: "Halloween" |
| 2013 | Cougar Town | Lisa Riggs | 3 episodes[14] |
| 2013 | Portlandia | Episode: "Nina's Birthday"[6] | |
| 2013 | Family Tools | Wendy Doyle | Episode: "Now You See Me, Now You Don't"[15] |
| 2013 | Maron | Megan | Episode: "Dominatrix"[16] |
| 2013 | Arrested Development | Tracey Bluth | Episode: "It Gets Better" |
| 2014 | Review | Eliza | Episode: "Marry; Run; Party" |
| 2014 | American Dad! | Nun (voice) | Episode: "Cock of the Sleepwalk" |
| 2014 | Dads | Maria | Episode: "Baby Face" |
| 2014 | Men at Work | Bridget | Episode: "Molly" |
| 2014–2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Monica Dubinsky / Marissa Price | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Mulaney | The Doula | Episode: "The Doula" |
| 2014 | The League | Cheryl | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Man Seeking Woman | Maude | Episode: "Dram" |
| 2015 | Kroll Show | Duchess Tina | Episode: "The Time of My Life" |
| 2015 | Difficult People | Nicole | Episode: "The Courage of a Soldier" |
| 2015 | Gotham | Scottie Mullen | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Married | Kristi | Episode: "Gymnastics" |
| 2016-2019 | Those Who Can't | Abbey Logan | 3 seasons |
| 2016 | The Mindy Project | Courtney | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | The Catch | Gretchen | Episode: "The Knock-Off" |
| 2017 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Jean Munhroe | Episode: "The Venue" |
| 2018 | Robot Chicken | Julia Child, Helen, Woman (voice) | Episode: "Why Is It Wet?" |
| 2020 | Robot Chicken | Rita Repulsa, Jeffrey's Mom, Bird (voice) | Episode: "Sundancer Craig in: 30% of the Way to Crying" |
| 2020 | A.P. Bio | Molly | Episode: "Get Hoppy” |
| 2021 | Superstore | Hannah | 4 episodes |
Music videos
edit| Year | Artist | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Hospitality | "Friends of Friends"[17] | Friend in Glasses |
| 2012 | Nick Lowe | "Sensitive Man"[10] | Girlfriend |
Stage
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Necessary Targets | Nuna | Variety Arts Theatre |
| 2002 | Endpapers | Sara Maynard | Variety Arts Theatre |
| 2012 | Unscreened | Stranger in the Park | Elephant Theatre Company[18] |
| 2013 | Love's Labour's Lost | Rosaline | Delacorte Theater[19] |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Maria Thayer pictures, bio, movies". PopTower. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
- ^ Turnquist, Kristi (February 11, 2016). "TV's Maria Thayer: From a bee farm in Boring to the new sitcom, 'Those Who Can't'". The Oregonian. Oregon Live. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
- ^ In a 2016 interview with The Oregonian, Thayer states that she was born "in the hospital"—there is no hospital in Boring, and the nearest hospitals are in Multnomah County, Portland. Additionally, in a 2014 interview while on the set of Night of the Living Deb, she states "I'm from Portland, Oregon."
- ^ "Alumni Spotlight - Maria Thayer". Apple Valley High School Forensics. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
Actress Maria Thayer (Accepted, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) was honored at a Nationals Award banquet recognizing her success both during and beyond her NFL career.
- ^ Jesse Thorn and Jordan Morris (December 12, 2011). "Jordan, Jesse, Go! Episode 203: Bone Manor with Maria Thayer" (Podcast). Maximum Fun. 45:45 minutes in. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
- ^ a b c Abby Schreiber (January 3, 2013). "Our Guide To All the Celebrity Cameos on Portlandia's Third Season". Paper. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
Mike O'Brien and actress Maria Thayer (who plays Susie on Adult Swim's Walker, Texas Ranger spoof Eagleheart and Jack McBrayer's amorous wife in Forgetting Sarah Marshall) will play a young couple who are prepared to go into debt in order to attend an outlandish birthday party
- ^ "Eagleheart". Adult Swim.
- ^ Snierson, Dan (June 5, 2013). "Arrested Development: Mitchell Hurwitz on the movie -- and the Romney joke you never saw". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
- ^ Yep Roc Records (March 2, 2012). "Nick Lowe - "Sensitive Man"". Archived from the original on December 17, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b Ross Luippold (March 2, 2012). "Nick Lowe's Sensitive Man Music Video Features Marc Maron, Tim Heidecker, Other Surprise Guests". HuffPost. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
- ^ Magazine, SOMA. "SOMA Magazine » Archive » Late on the Scene". somamagazine.com.
- ^ Patrick Ciccone (April 20, 2001). "Cannes on the Hudson". Archived from the original on December 17, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
By contrast, the 16mm films on the opening Student Reel Awards night were varied and intriguing. Julia Solomonoff's Scratch, whose Maria Thayer won for lead actress, is stylistically somewhat muddled despite the story of a Kosovar immigrant in New York City that gradually emerges.
- ^ Troy Anderson (November 7, 2012). "Annie Claus is Coming to Town". Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
- ^ Ssndra Gonzalez (March 9, 2013). "Cougar Town sneak peek: Sparks fly for Bobby on the dodgeball court -- Exclusive Video". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
- ^ "ABC Medianet". ABC. April 22, 2013. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
- ^ Nicholas DeLorenzo (May 28, 2013). "MARON, "Dominatrix" episode recap". Screen Invasion. Retrieved June 12, 2013.
- ^ Merge Records (January 19, 2012). "Hospitality - Friends of Friends". Retrieved June 10, 2013 – via Vimeo.
- ^ Hetrick, Adam (January 29, 2012). "American Pie Actor Chris Klein Set for Unscreened in Los Angeles". Playbill. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
- ^ Hetrick, Adam (July 23, 2012). "Shakespeare in the Park Musical Adaptation of Love's Labour's Lost Premieres July 23". Playbill. Archived from the original on August 4, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
External links
edit
- Maria Thayer at IMDb