Judy Greer

Greer was born Judith Therese Evans on July 20, 1975[2][3] in Detroit, Michigan. Her mother, Mollie Ann (née Greer), is a hospital administrator, and her father, Rich Evans, is a mechanical engineer.[4][5] Her mother was once a nun, who had left the convent after eight years, being "kicked out" for wild behavior, including owning a red bathing suit.[6]

Greer was raised Roman Catholic,[7] and grew up in Redford Township and Livonia.[8] She attended Churchill High School[8] where she was a part of the Creative and Performing Arts Program and graduated from The Theatre School at DePaul University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.[9] She later adopted her mother's maiden name for her stage name, as several other actresses are named Judy or Judi Evans.

Greer made her film debut in the horror film Stricken (1998), in which she played a college student involved in a fatal prank.[10] This was followed by a small role in the Chicago-filmed drama Kissing a Fool (1998). She was cast in her first major role as Fern Mayo, a nerdy teenager who uncovers her classmates' murder of their friend, in Darren Stein's black comedy Jawbreaker (1999).[11] The film went on to earn a cult following.[11] Greer followed this with small parts in the romantic comedy films What Women Want (2000)[12] and The Wedding Planner (2001), opposite Jennifer Lopez.[13] She was cast in a 2002 pilot for NBC alongside Stephen Colbert, Untitled Ken Finkleman Project (Imagine Entertainment), based on the Canadian show The Newsroom from Ken Finkleman. Colbert portrayed Finkleman and Greer played his sister.[6]

Greer had recurring role on the Fox comedy series Arrested Development (2003–2005, 2013, 2018), playing Kitty Sanchez in 10 episodes total and appearing in each of the series' three original seasons. In a 2009 interview, Greer said that she is most recognized for this role.[14] She also had supporting roles in the films Adaptation (2002), 13 Going on 30 (2004), The Village (2004), Elizabethtown (2005), 27 Dresses (2008), and Love Happens (2009), and Love & Other Drugs (2010).

Greer in 2008

Greer made guest appearances on the television series Just Shoot Me! (2003), CSI: Miami (2005), My Name Is Earl (2006), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2007, 2011), Californication (2007–2008, 2012), ER (2009), House (2009), Modern Family (2010), The Big Bang Theory (2010), How I Met Your Mother (2010), and Warren the Ape (2010). She took on a starring role in the ABC sitcom Miss Guided (2008), but it was cancelled in its first season.[15] She also starred opposite Zach Galifianakis in the indie satire film Visioneers (2008).

In April 2008, Greer appeared as a yoga instructor in the "Get a Mac" ad series featuring John Hodgman and Justin Long.[16] Greer starred in a CBS sitcom entitled Mad Love, which premiered in February 2011 as a midseason replacement.[17] The show was cancelled after the first season.[18]

Greer is also a voice actress, voicing the character of Cheryl on the animated comedy series Archer, a character which has been compared to her role on Arrested Development,[19] and the character of Wendy Park on the stop-motion animated sitcom Glenn Martin, DDS.[14] Greer has also portrayed two characters in the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men - Bridget Schmidt the ex-wife of Walden Schmidt (Ashton Kutcher) and Myra Melnick, a love interest of Charlie Harper (Charlie Sheen) and the sister of Herb Melnick (Ryan Stiles).[20]

In November 2011, Greer was honored with the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award at the Denver Film Festival, where two films featuring her were in the festival's programming, including a red-carpet screening of Alexander Payne's The Descendants and Jay and Mark Duplass' Jeff, Who Lives at Home. She is the first actress to be honored with the award.[21] In 2011, Greer began hosting an online series of workout videos called Reluctantly Healthy, adapted by Litton Entertainment in 2014 as part of their Saturday morning One Magnificent Morning block for The CW.[22]

Greer in 2014

In late 2012, Greer made her Broadway debut playing Jenny in Dead Accounts, a short-lived new comedy by Theresa Rebeck also starring Katie Holmes, Norbert Leo Butz, Jayne Houdyshell, and Josh Hamilton.[23]

She played the gym teacher Miss Desjardin in the 2013 horror remake Carrie, alongside Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore, and played female chimp Cornelia in the science fiction action film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014).[24] In 2014, Greer made her directorial debut, with a short film for AOL, Quiet Time.[25] Greer starred with Nat Faxon in the FX comedy series Married, which premiered in July 2014.[26]

In 2014, Greer released her first autobiographical collection of essays, titled I Don't Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star, which detailed her life experiences and career in the film industry.[27]

In 2015, Greer co-starred in the action-adventure films Tomorrowland, Jurassic World, and Ant-Man, among others.[28] In 2016, she debuted in the lead voice role of Beep in the Netflix children's animated programs Ask the StoryBots and StoryBots Super Songs. In 2017, she reprised her role as Cornelia in the science fiction action sequel War for the Planet of the Apes.[29]

In 2018, she again played the supporting role of Maggie Lang in the superhero film Ant-Man and the Wasp. She then co-starred as Karen Nelson, the daughter of Laurie Strode, in the 2018 horror sequel film Halloween. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning the second-best ever opening weekend of October and becoming the highest grossing film in the franchise.[30]

From 2018 to 2020, Greer starred as Jill Piccirillo in the Showtime comedy-drama series Kidding, alongside Jim Carrey. She also voiced the titular character, Luna, in the animated children's television series Let's Go Luna!, which premiered on November 21, 2018.

In 2019, Greer starred in the comedy-drama film Buffaloed, the mystery comedy-drama film Where'd You Go, Bernadette, alongside Cate Blanchett, and the family comedy film Playing with Fire. In 2020, she had film roles in the comedy-drama Uncle Frank, which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, and the musical romantic comedy Valley Girl. She also guest starred in episodes of the Hulu horror anthology series Into the Dark and the HBO Max animated comedy series Close Enough.

Greer at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2010

Greer is married to Dean E. Johnsen, an executive producer of Real Time with Bill Maher.[34] She is a stepmother to Johnsen's two children from his previous marriage.[35] The couple resides in Los Angeles.[7]

Greer grew up Catholic, although at the age of 10, she convinced her parents to let her go to a Presbyterian church, claiming that she thought she would be closer to God there. The real reason was that she thought the boys were cuter at that church.[6] During a 2014 interview, Greer stated that she is no longer a practicing Catholic.[36]

In 2014, she told Glamour, "I had been wanting to try and learn how to meditate, and I did research on the different types of meditation. TM seemed the easiest, and I liked that it wasn't religious in any way."[37]

Greer is a member of the board of directors of Project Chimps, a sanctuary for former research chimpanzees funded in large part by the Humane Society of the United States.[38] In 2020, Greer became embroiled in a controversy[39] in which animal advocacy groups asked that the Board of Directors of Project Chimps drop a lawsuit[40] against former chimpanzee caregivers who publicly exposed animal welfare infractions[41] at the sanctuary. On July 25th Project Chimps dismissed the lawsuit[42] but the controversy and claims of mismanagement have continued.[43]

• Greer, Judy (2014). I Don't Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-53788-9.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Judy Greer.

• Judy Greer at IMDb
• Judy Greer on Twitter