Michaela Watkins (born December 14, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. After several years performing with the Los Angeles comedy troupe

The Groundlings The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles, California. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improv techniques we ...

, Watkins achieved widespread attention for her brief stint as a featured player on 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 ...

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

series ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' during its 34th season between 2008 and 2009. Since leaving ''SNL'', she has starred on the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

series '' Casual'' and on the short-lived sitcoms '' The Unicorn'' and ''

Trophy Wife A trophy wife is a wife who is regarded as a status symbol for the husband. The term is often used in a derogatory or disparaging way, implying that the wife in question has little personal merit besides her physical attractiveness, requires subs ...

''. Watkins has also had recurring roles on other television series, such as '' The New Adventures of Old Christine'', '' ''Catastrophe'''', '' Enlightened'' and '' Search Party'' and appeared in films such as ''

The Back-up Plan ''The Back-up Plan'' (previously known as ''Plan B'') is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Alan Poul, starring Jennifer Lopez, Alex O'Loughlin, Eric Christian Olsen, Anthony Anderson and Linda Lavin.Siegel, Tatiana, and Michael ...

'' (2010), ''

Wanderlust Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. The term has its roots in German Romanticism. Etymology The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a chara ...

'' (2012), ''

Enough Said ''Enough Said'' is a 2013 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener. The film stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette and Ben Falcone. Louis-Dreyfus plays Eva, a divorced ...

'' (2013), '' Sword of Trust'' (2019), and '' Suze'' (2023).

Early life

Watkins was born in 1971 in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

, the daughter of former Latin teacher mother Myrna Watkins and

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

mathematician father Mark Watkins. She has two sisters, Rebecca Kent and Sarah Fitts. Watkins was raised in

DeWitt, New York DeWitt is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,074. The town is named after major Moses DeWitt, a judge and soldier. An eastern suburb of Syracuse, DeWitt also is the site of most o ...

, a suburb of Syracuse, in a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. After her parents' divorce, Watkins' mother obtained a marketing degree and relocated the family to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

when Watkins was 15. Watkins attended Moses DeWitt Elementary School in DeWitt and

Wellesley High School Wellesley High School is a public high school in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States, educating students on grades 9 through 12. The principal is Jamie Chisum, who took the position in 2014 after the departure of Andrew Keough. As of 202 ...

Wellesley, Massachusetts Wellesley () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson College, and a campus of M ...

. She graduated from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, where she studied theater and acting. Watkins auditioned for a part in a British farce at a community theater when she was 15, and got the part.

Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedienne, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona that w ...

was one of her inspirations to go into show business.

Career

Theater

After theater school, Watkins lived and worked in New York City for a year but struggled to build her career. She moved with a friend to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. She lived there from 1996 to 2000 and appeared onstage with

Portland Center Stage Portland Center Stage at The Armory is a theater company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Theater productions are presented at The Armory in Portland's Pearl District. Portland Center Stage at The Armory was founded in 1988 as the no ...

and the defunct improv group Toad City Productions. She traveled around the country doing regional theater, then decided to move to Los Angeles. She was active in Los Angeles Theatre for many years, taking on roles with

Circle X Theatre Circle X is a not-for-profit ensemble theatre company located in Hollywood, California. Circle X's productions have been described by critics as "refreshingly original and imaginative" and "consistently stellar".Portland Center Stage Portland Center Stage at The Armory is a theater company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Theater productions are presented at The Armory in Portland's Pearl District. Portland Center Stage at The Armory was founded in 1988 as the no ...

: ''Hamlet'' (1999), ''Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead'' (1999), ''Bus Stop'' (2000) * Portland Repertory Theatre: ''Arcadia'' * Artist Repertory Theatre: ''The Misanthrope,'' ''How I Learned To Drive as well as Merchant of Venice'', ''The Winter's Tale'' * triangle productions: ''Angels in America'', ''The Food Chain'' *

Improv

She became a regular performer at

, where she was discovered by ''

''. Watkins said the appeal of sketch work is that she can write her own material.

Television

''Saturday Night Live''

In November 2008, Watkins joined the cast of ''

'' (''SNL''). Watkins said (at that time) that she was the oldest woman they ever hired. Watkins has since been surpassed by Leslie Jones, who was 47 when she joined ''SNL''. Watkins made her first major appearance on the show as

Arianna Huffington Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington (; , ; born July 15, 1950) is a Greek American author, syndicated columnist and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of ''HuffPost'', the founder and CEO of Thrive Global, and the author of fifteen books. She ha ...

on the November 22nd Weekend Update. Watkins remained on ''SNL'' as a featured player throughout the rest of the 2008–2009 season, up to the season finale on May 16, 2009. However, while ''SNL'' was on summer hiatus, the news broke in early September 2009 that Watkins, along with fellow castmate

Casey Wilson Cathryn Rose "Casey" Wilson (born October 24, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. Originally known for her performances with the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe in New York City, Wilson's first major television appe ...

, were both to be let go from the show and would not be returning for the 2009–10 season.

=Recurring character on ''SNL''

= * Angie Tempura: A geeky,

iced coffee Iced coffee is a coffee beverage served cold. It may be prepared either by brewing coffee normally (i.e. carafe, French press, etc.) and then serving it over ice or in cold milk or by cold brew coffee, brewing the coffee cold. In hot brewing, sw ...

-drinking computer nerd who snarks on celebrities and movies and is the creator of the snarky website "Bitch Pleeze" (www.bitchpleeze.com, which redirects to the SNL site). Though she insults celebrities, Angie was revealed to have a crush on

Zac Efron Zachary David Alexander Efron (; born October 18, 1987) is an American actor. Efron began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence as a teen idol for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the ''High School Musical'' film ...

Later TV credits

She recurred as Lucy opposite

Hamish Linklater Hamish Linklater (born July 7, 1976) is an American actor and playwright. He is known for playing Matthew Kimble in '' The New Adventures of Old Christine'' (2006–2010), Andrew Keanelly in '' The Crazy Ones'' (2013–2014), and Clark Debussy i ...

in the sitcom '' The New Adventures of Old Christine'', as well as appearing in recurring roles in the comedy programs '' Enlightened'', ''

New Girl ''New Girl'' is an American television sitcom created by Elizabeth Meriwether and produced by 20th Century Fox Television for Fox that aired from September 20, 2011, to May 15, 2018. The series revolves around quirky teacher, Jessica Day ( Zo ...

'', and ''

Anger Management Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully.Schwarts, Gil. July 2006. Anger Management', July 2006 The Office Politic. Men's Health magazine. Emmaus, PA: ...

''. She has also made guest appearances on shows such as '' Hung'', ''

Childrens Hospital ''Childrens Hospital'' (originally titled ''Children's Hospital'' as webisodes) is an American dark comedy television and web series that parodies the medical drama genre, created by and starring actor/comedian Rob Corddry. The series began o ...

'', ''

Kroll Show ''Kroll Show'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by and starring comedian Nick Kroll. John Levenstein and Jonathan Krisel served as the show's executive producers. The series aired on the American cable television network ...

'', ''

Key & Peele ''Key & Peele'' (abbreviated to ''K&P'') is an American sketch comedy television series that ran from 2012 to 2015. It was created by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele for Comedy Central; each had previously worked on ''Mad TV.'' Each episod ...

'', ''

Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...

'', and ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American television sitcom, created by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, that aired on ABC for 11 seasons from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. The series follows the lives of three diverse but interrelated fa ...

''. Watkins also starred alongside

Malin Åkerman Malin Maria Åkerman (born 12 May 1978), often anglicised to Malin Akerman, is a Swedish actress. She first appeared in smaller parts in both Canadian and American productions, including '' The Utopian Society'' (2003) and '' Harold & Kumar Go ...

Bradley Whitford Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006), for which he ...

, and

Marcia Gay Harden Marcia Gay Harden (born August 14, 1959) is an American actress. Her accolades include an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and nominations for four Primetime Emmy Awards. Harden's breakthrough came in 1990 with the Coen brothers' film '' Miller's ...

in the short-lived, but well-received

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 series aired for one season from September 2013 to May 2014. In 2015, it was announced that Watkins would star in the

series produced by

Jason Reitman Jason R. Reitman (; born October 19, 1977) is a Canadian–American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the films ''Thank You for Smoking'' (2005), ''Juno (film), Juno'' (2007), ''Up in the Air (2009 film), Up in the Air'' (2009), ''Young ...

called '' Casual'', which would be executive produced by

Liz Tigelaar Rachel Elizabeth Tigelaar (born October 4, 1975) is an American television writer, Television producer, producer, and author. She has worked on the series ''Brothers & Sisters (2006 TV series), Brothers & Sisters'', ''American Dreams'', ''Once ...

. In 2018, she recurred on season two of the

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

series ''Catastrophe'', playing the sister of lead character Rob Norris (

Rob Delaney Rob Delaney (born January 19, 1977) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and activist. He is best known for co-creating and starring as Rob Norris in the sitcom '' Catastrophe'' (2015–2019), and Peter Wisdom in the superhero films ''Deadp ...

). From 2019 to 2021, she has co-starred on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

sitcom '' The Unicorn''.

Producing, writing

Watkins co-created (with writing partner and fellow Groundling, Damon Jones) the short-lived 2014

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

comedy series '' Benched.'' The series starred

Eliza Coupe Eliza Coupe () is an American actress, comedian and model, known for playing Jane Kerkovich-Williams in the ABC comedy series '' Happy Endings'', Denise "Jo" Mahoney in the final two seasons of the medical comedy-drama '' Scrubs'', her starring ...

and

Jay Harrington James H. Harrington III, professionally known as Jay Harrington, (born November 15, 1971) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as the title character in the ABC sitcom '' Better Off Ted'' in 2009–2010, and from 2017 to 2 ...

and premiered on October 28, 2014. Watkins and Jones were also executive producers on the show.

Film

Watkins has appeared in supporting roles in films such as ''

'', '' In a World...'', ''

Afternoon Delight "Afternoon Delight" is a song recorded by Starland Vocal Band. It was written by band member Bill Danoff. In the US, it became a No. 1 single on July 10, 1976, and earned a gold record. Background and writing The title came from the happy hour ...

'', ''

The Back-Up Plan ''The Back-up Plan'' (previously known as ''Plan B'') is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Alan Poul, starring Jennifer Lopez, Alex O'Loughlin, Eric Christian Olsen, Anthony Anderson and Linda Lavin.Siegel, Tatiana, and Michael ...

'', ''

They Came Together ''They Came Together'' is a 2014 American satirical romantic comedy film directed by David Wain and written by Wain and Michael Showalter. The film stars Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler, with supporting roles from Cobie Smulders, Christopher Meloni, Bi ...

'' and '' Lazy Eye''. In 2023, Watkins starred in '' Suze''.

Podcasts

In 2020, Watkins appeared in the supporting role of Irene O'Connor in the musical podcast '' In Strange Woods''.

Personal life

Watkins is married to Fred Kramer, who is a founding partner of Reason Ventures and General Manager of Critical Mass Studios, Inc. Kramer used to be Executive Director of the

Jewish World Watch Jewish World Watch (JWW) is a non-profit humanitarian organization dedicated to helping survivors of genocide and mass atrocities around the world. History Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis and Janice Kamenir-Reznik established Jewish World Watch ( ...

organization, a Los Angeles-based anti-genocide non-profit, focused on the situations in Sudan and Congo.

Filmography

Film

Television

Podcasts

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Michaela 1971 births Living people 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Massachusetts American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses American television writers Television producers from New York (state) American women television producers American women comedians Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni Jewish American actresses Jewish American comedians Jewish women comedians Actresses from Syracuse, New York People from Wellesley, Massachusetts American women television writers American showrunners American sketch comedians Comedians from New York (state) Comedians from Massachusetts Wellesley High School alumni Screenwriters from Massachusetts Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American Jews