Suzy Nakamura (born December 2, 1968) is an American actress and

improv Improv may refer to: *Improvisation, an act of spontaneous invention **Improvisational theatre (includes improvisational comedy) **Musical improvisation Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of im ...

comedian. She is known for her many guest appearances on sitcoms such as ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

8 Simple Rules ''8 Simple Rules'' (originally ''8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter'') is an American television sitcom originally starring John Ritter and Katey Sagal as middle-class parents Paul and Cate Hennessy, raising their three children. ...

'', ''

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 ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...

'' and her recurring role in the early seasons of the drama ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American 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 West Wing of the White House, where t ...

'' as assistant to the

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character, as well as Dr. Miura in the ABC

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

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 ...

'' and Karen in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series '' Dead to Me''. She had leading roles in the television shows ''

Dr. Ken ''Dr. Ken'' is an American multi-camera sitcom that aired on ABC from October 2, 2015, to March 31, 2017. The series was created, written, and co-executive produced by its lead actor, Ken Jeong, who based the concept on his experience as a physici ...

'' and ''

Avenue 5 ''Avenue 5'' is a science fiction comedy television series created by Armando Iannucci that premiered on HBO in the United States on January 19, 2020. It starred Hugh Laurie and Josh Gad in lead roles as captain and owner of a fictional interpl ...

''.

Early life

Nakamura was born and raised in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, to parents of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

descent. Her father was an English teacher for the

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...

.Columbia College Chicago
"Columbia Chronicle (05/6/1991)"
(May 6, 1991). Columbia Chronicle, College Publications, College Archives & Special Collections, Columbia College Chicago. Her parents died within a year of each other when she was in her twenties. She has one older brother. Nakamura attended

Lane Technical College Prep High School Lane Tech College Prep High School (often shortened to Lane Tech, full name Albert Grannis Lane Technical College Preparatory High School), is a public four-year selective enrollment magnet high school located in the Roscoe Village neighborhoo ...

. After graduation in 1985, she joined the Asian-American theater company, MinaSama-No. Nakamura studied theater at

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...

from 1987 to 1989. She would attend every other semester as she had to finance her education herself. In 1991, Nakamura was the first

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

woman to join

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise. It is the oldest improvisational theater troupe to be continuously based in Chicago, with training programs and live theaters in Toronto and New York. Since its debut in 1959, it has b ...

improvisational comedy troupe. She remained a part of the troupe for five years. Nakamura worked at

Crate & Barrel Euromarket Designs Inc., doing business as Crate & Barrel (stylized as Crate&Barrel), is an international furniture and home décor retail store headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. They employ 8200 employees across over 100 stores in the Uni ...

prior to working as an actor.

Career

Nakamura has acted in various films, television shows, commercials,

web-series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

, and stage plays throughout her career, in addition to performing

improv comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...

. She cofounded

The Second City Detroit The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise. It is the oldest improvisational theater troupe to be continuously based in Chicago, with training programs and live theaters in Toronto and New York. Since its debut in 1959, it has bec ...

in 1993. Nakamura got her first film role as a troubled teen in

Rea Tajiri Rea Tajiri is an American video artist, filmmaker, and screenwriter, known for her personal essay film '' History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige'' (1991). Early life Tajiri was born in 1958 in Chicago, Illinois. Tajiri's father, Vincent Taj ...

's Chicago-based film, ''Strawberry Fields'' (1997). It was an official selection at the

54th Venice International Film Festival The 54th annual Venice International Film Festival was held between 27 August to 6 September 1997. New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion was the Jury President of the Main Competition. The opening film was Woody Allen's ''Deconstructing Harry'', w ...

. On May 7, 2015,

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 ...

picked up Ken Jeong's ''

'' starring Jeong as a fictional version of himself and Nakamura as his wife for its 2015–16 Fall Season. Jeong had previously gotten Nakamura a role in

Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and comedian known for his work in comedy films. Apatow is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he wrote, produced, and directed his films ''The 4 ...

's ''

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'', but the scene was ultimately cut. She was an honoree at the

East West Players East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As the nation's first professional Asian American theatre organization, East West Players continues to produce works and educational programs that give ...

' 52nd Visionary Award in 2018. In August 2018, it was announced that Nakamura had joined

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's television comedy ''

'' as Iris Kimura, the assistant to

Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise and playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon''. For his role as Olaf, Gad won two Annie ...

's billionaire character, Herman Judd. The series premiered on January 19, 2020. She had a recurring role as investigative reporter Irene Abe on FX's crime drama television series ''Snowfall''.

Personal life

Nakamura was married to Harry Hannigan. They separated in 2018 and have since divorced.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theater

* ''An Infinite Ache'' * ''The Showatorium'' * ''Coptors'' * ''Shogun's Heroes'' * ''Coed Prison Sluts – The Musical'' * ''The Armando Diaz Experience'' * ''The Deconstruction Derby'' * ''The Zodiac Thrillers'' * ''The Dickie Bell Twist Dance Party'' * ''Pen to Paper'' * ''The Second City Alumni Jam'' * ''The Powerhouse Variety Show'' * ''The Redwood Curtain'' * ''Power to the People Mover'' * ''National Touring Company'' (

– Chicago) * '' POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive'' ( Shubert Theatre – Broadway) as Jean

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakamura, Suzy American actresses of Japanese descent Actresses from Chicago Living people American film actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 1968 births Comedians from Chicago American women comedians American comedians of Asian descent