Christa Miller-Lawrence (née Miller; born May 28, 1964) is an American actress known for her roles in television comedies. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

sitcom ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995, to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionaliz ...

'',

Jordan Sullivan The following is a list of characters from the NBC/ABC American comedy-drama '' Scrubs''. Character appearance summary ;Legend : = Main cast (credited) : = Recurring cast (4+) : = Guest cast (1–3) Main characters John Michael Dorian ( ...

in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

comedy series ''

Scrubs Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," ...

'', Ellie Torres in the

/ TBS sitcom ''

Cougar Town ''Cougar Town'' is an American television sitcom that ran for 102 episodes over six seasons, from September 23, 2009, until March 31, 2015. The first three seasons aired on ABC, with the series moving to TBS for the remaining three seasons. AB ...

'', Liz in the

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

comedy drama '' Shrinking'', and voicing Cleopatra "Cleo" Smith and Candide Sampson in ''

Clone High ''Clone High'' is an adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Bill Lawrence for MTV. It premiered on November 2, 2002, in Canada, and January 20, 2003, in the United States. Set at a high school popu ...

''. She has also appeared in ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'', ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz that aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

'' and '' CSI: Miami''.

Early life

Miller's days as a child model were curtailed after an operation for a benign

bone tumor A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, th ...

. After attending Convent of the Sacred Heart, she returned briefly to modeling, but soon took acting lessons, and gave up modeling when she moved to Los Angeles in 1990.

Career

Miller's first role on television was in ''

Kate & Allie ''Kate & Allie'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from March 19, 1984, to May 22, 1989, starring Susan Saint James and Jane Curtin as two divorced mothers who decide to live together and raise their children in the same ...

'', which starred her real-life aunt,

Susan Saint James Susan Saint James (born 1946) is an American former actress and activist, most widely known for her work in television during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, especially the detective series ''McMillan & Wife'' (1971–1976) and the sitcom '' Kate & A ...

. She then appeared in episodes of ''

Northern Exposure ''Northern Exposure'' is an American comedy-drama television series about the eccentric residents in the fictitious town of Cicely, Alaska, that originally aired on CBS from July 12, 1990, to July 26, 1995, with a total of 110 episodes. It rec ...

'', '' Fresh Prince of Bel Air'', and ''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American teen and family drama television series created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000, with a total of six seasons consisting of 142 epis ...

''. She had a small role in the horror film ''

Stepfather III ''Stepfather III'' (also known as ''Stepfather III: Father's Day'') is a 1992 American horror film directed and written by Guy Magar. It stars Robert Wightman, Priscilla Barnes, David Tom, and Season Hubley. It is the sequel to the 1989 film '' ...

'' (1992) with

Priscilla Barnes Priscilla Barnes (born ) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Terri Alden in the ABC sitcom'' Three's Company'' between 1981 and 1984. Barnes also has appeared in films, including '' A Vacation in Hell'' (1979), ''Licence to ...

. She later appeared twice on ''

'', as two different characters. In the 1993 episode "

The Sniffing Accountant "The Sniffing Accountant" is the 68th episode of the sitcom ''Seinfeld'', being the fourth episode of the series' fifth season. It aired on NBC on October 7, 1993. In the episode, George's father gets him an interview as a brassiere salesman. ...

", she played the prospective boss of

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. She had intended to be a dramatic actress, and this role proved to be a turning point for Miller, who realized how much she enjoyed comedy. Two years later, she returned to ''Seinfeld'' in " The Doodle" to play George's girlfriend, Paula. This episode proved to be a boon to her career, as she convinced co-creator

Larry David Lawrence Gene David (born July 2, 1947) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He is known for his dry wit, portrayals of awkward social situations, and brutally honest takes on everyday life. He has received two Prim ...

to provide her with a rough-cut video of the still-unaired episode when she auditioned for ''

'', whose producers had initially thought she was too inexperienced. David's support helped Miller win over the producers of ''The Drew Carey Show'', who cast her as Kate O'Brien, whom she played from 1995 to 2002. In 2001, Miller's husband, writer-producer Bill Lawrence, conceived a new

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

, ''

''. Miller was given a guest role as Dr. Cox's (

John C. McGinley John Christopher McGinley (born August 3, 1959) is an American actor. His best known roles include Perry Cox in '' Scrubs'', Bob Slydell in ''Office Space'', Captain Hendrix in '' The Rock'', Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's ''Platoon,'' ...

) acerbic ex-wife

. Originally, the character was intended to appear in only one episode; in season 2, the role became recurring. Miller also was the voice of

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

in the short-lived animated show ''

''. She had a leading role in the 2008 two-part TV miniseries ''

The Andromeda Strain ''The Andromeda Strain'' is a 1969 novel by American writer Michael Crichton, his first novel under his own name and his sixth novel overall. It documents the outbreak of a deadly extraterrestrial microorganism in Arizona and the team of scie ...

''. She also appeared in the '' CSI: Miami'' episode ''

Divorce Party A divorce party (also known as a divorce ceremony) is a ceremony that celebrates the end of a marriage or civil union. They can involve either one or both members of the separating couple. Divorce parties have been called the final frontier in t ...

''. In 2009, Miller began starring on ''

'', a sitcom created and produced by her husband and starring

Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox (born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and producer. She rose to international prominence by playing Monica Geller in the NBC sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004) and Gale Weathers in the horror film franchise '' Scream'' ...

, with whom Miller worked in a three-part story-arc of season 8 of ''Scrubs''. She has starred as Liz on the ''

Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...

'' series '' Shrinking'' since 2023.

Personal life

Miller married Bill Lawrence in 1999. They have three children; Charlotte, William, and Henry.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Christa Living people 1964 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American female models American film actresses American television actresses Convent of the Sacred Heart (NYC) alumni Schools of the Sacred Heart alumni