Merrin Melissa Dungey (born August 6, 1971) is an American film and television actress, known for her roles on the television series ''

The King of Queens ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the sh ...

'', '' Alias'', ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctiona ...

'', '' Summerland'', ''

Conviction In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is ...

'', '' The Resident'' and '' The Fix''. She also appeared as Ursula on ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in ...

''. Since March 2022, Dungey plays series regular Kam in '' Shining Vale''.

Early life and education

Dungey was born and raised in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, * ^a "Born on August 6, 1971, in Sacramento, California..." — Pg. 125, ¶ 3. * ^b "After graduating from Rio Americano High School in 1989..." — Pg. 126, ¶ 3. the younger daughter of Don Dungey, a general services manager and Judith Dungey. As a child she was active in ballet and dance as well as piano. Dungey was also an accomplished ice skater. Dungey graduated in 1989 from

Rio Americano High School Rio Americano High School, colloquially known as Rio, is a public high school in Arden-Arcade, California, just outside Sacramento, serving students in grades 9 through 12 as part of the San Juan Unified School District. Rio Americano students c ...

in Sacramento, California. After high school Dungey earned a degree of

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

in 1993. Dungey has a sister,

Channing Dungey Channing Nicole Dungey (born March 14, 1969) is an American television executive and the first black American president of a major broadcast television network. In 2020, she was announced as the new chairwoman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television ...

who was president of

ABC Entertainment The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Califo ...

and is the CEO of

Warner Bros. Television Studios Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...

Career

Dungey had small roles in Hollywood films such as ''

EDtv ''EDtv'' is a 1999 American satirical comedy film directed by Ron Howard. An adaptation of the Quebecois film ''Louis 19, King of the Airwaves (Louis 19, le roi des ondes)'' (1994), it stars Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrelson, El ...

'' and '' Deep Impact'' and on television series such as ''

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aus ...

,'' before landing the recurring role of Kelly Palmer on the CBS television series ''

'', in which she starred from 1999 to 2007. She appeared in each season of the series except for the 2002–03 season. Dungey is also well known for her role as

Francie Calfo Francine "Francie" Calfo is a fictional character on the television series '' Alias,'' portrayed by Merrin Dungey from 2001–03 and again in 2006. Initially the best friend of lead character Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner), Francie is murdered ...

on the drama series '' Alias'' from 2001 to 2003, as well as making an appearance on the 2006

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...

episode '' All the Time in the World''. She also had a recurring role on the

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

sitcom ''

'' as Stevie's mother, Kitty Kenarban. At one point in 2001 Dungey was appearing in all three shows (''The King of Queens'', ''Malcolm in the Middle'', and ''Alias'') at the same time. Dungey portrayed Susannah in the WB drama series '' Summerland'' from 2004 to 2005. She has also guest-starred on various TV series including ''

Living Single ''Living Single'' is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Lee Bowser that aired for five seasons on the Fox network from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centered on the lives of six friends who shared personal and profess ...

'', '' ER'', ''

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for ''FYI'', ...

'', ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'', '' Friends'', ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

'', ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Televi ...

'', and ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televis ...

''. Dungey appeared in two episodes of ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into ...

'' that served as a

backdoor pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in television in the United States, United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a te ...

for ''

Private Practice Private practice may refer to: * Private sector practice ** Practice of law * ''Private Practice'' (TV series), an American medical drama * ''Private Practice'' (album), released in 1978 by Dr. Feelgood {{disambig pt:Private Practice ...

'', but was replaced by actress

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...

for the series. Dungey guest-starred on the ABC sitcoms '' Surviving Suburbia'' starring

Bob Saget Robert Lane Saget (May 17, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Saget played Danny Tanner on the ABC sitcom ''Full House'' (1987-1995), and reprised the role for its Netflix sequel '' Fulle ...

, ''

Better Off Ted ''Better Off Ted'' is an American satirical sitcom series, created by Victor Fresco, who also served as the show's executive producer. The series ran on the ABC network from March 18, 2009, to January 26, 2010. ''Better Off Ted'' focuses on t ...

'' starring

Portia de Rossi Portia Lee James DeGeneres (born Amanda Lee Rogers; 31 January 1973), known professionally as Portia de Rossi, is an Australian-American former actress. She played Nelle Porter on the American drama series '' Ally McBeal'' (1998–2002), for w ...

, ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

'' starring

Nathan Fillion Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as J ...

, and HBO's ''

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'' ...

'' starring

Thomas Jane Thomas Jane (born Thomas Elliott III; February 22, 1969) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in the films Padamati Sandhya Ragam (1987), ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), '' Deep Blue Sea'' (1999), '' The Punisher'' (2004), '' The Mist'' ...

. She portrayed Ellie on the

Nick at Nite Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite) is an American nighttime basic cable television channel that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon. It typically broadcasts Mondays to Thursday nights from 9 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. ET/ PT, Friday nights fr ...

television series '' Hollywood Heights'' in 2012 and had a recurring role as Alissa Barnes on ABC's ''

Betrayal Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. O ...

'' in 2013. In 2014 she appeared in a featured role opposite

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 ('' GoldenEye'', '' Tomorrow ...

in ''

Some Kind of Beautiful ''Some Kind of Beautiful'' (Canadian title: ''How to Make Love Like an Englishman'', UK title: ''Lessons in Love'', European title: '' Teach Me Love'') is a 2014 American romantic comedy film written by Matthew Newman, directed by Tom Vaughan, a ...

''. Also in 2014 she began portraying the recurring roles of Ursula on ABC's ''

'' and Sharon Jeffords on ''

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural Television comedy, comedy television series that aired on Fox Television Network, Fox, and later on NBC. The show aired from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for a total of eight ...

''. Dungey played investigator Maxine Bohen on the ABC legal drama ''

'' from October 2016 to May 2017. In September 2017, she joined the cast of the medical drama '' The Resident'' as Claire Thorpe. Dungey next appeared as C.J. Bernstein in the ABC legal drama '' The Fix''. In February 2021, Dungey was cast in the series regular role of Kam in the

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 consis ...

series '' Shining Vale''. The series premiered in March 2022, and was later picked up for a second season in May 2022.

Personal life

In May 2007, Dungey married Matthew Drake in a

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

-style wedding ceremony in Cancun, Mexico. She gave birth to their first daughter in June 2008, and a second daughter in 2011. Dungey and Drake separated in 2018 and divorced in 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
PopGurls 20 Questions with Merrin Dungey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dungey, Merrin 1971 births Living people Actresses from Sacramento, California University of California, Los Angeles alumni African-American actresses American television actresses American film actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses UCLA Film School alumni 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people