| Biography |
Born in Los Angeles, California on November 12, 1958, Megan Mullally is best known to television viewers around the world as the pill-popping Karen Walker of NBC’s - "
Will & Grace." Megan’s mother Martha Mullally was a professional model while her father, Carter Mullally Jr. worked as a contract player for Paramount in the 50s, until he gave up acting to move his family to Oklahoma City. Megan grew up as an only child and took an early interest in music as she learned to sing listening to her parents’ old records. At the age of 6 she attended her first dance lesson, and as she grew older, she joined a ballet company in Oklahoma. Dancing soon became a serious hobby, and by the time Megan was in high school, she was a soloist with Oklahoma City's Ballet Company. In the summers, she also studied at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet.
After graduating high school, Megan enrolled at Northwestern University with the intention to study English and Art History. Her abilities to sing and dance, however, soon landed her roles in several student plays. This was a new way to showcase her numerous talents, which did not go unnoticed by producers. As acting turned out to be less painful and more fun than classical ballet, Megan decided to drop her studies and pursue a career in show business as an actress. "I realized that my favorite ballet roles were the ones where I was required to act," she says. "Having a mad scene and then dying on stage was the best part."
She started her acting career in Chicago, and over the next 6 years appeared in theater plays and enjoyed moderate success. Megan made her film debut in 1983 in "
Risky Business", starring Tom Cruise, but her role was reduced to an extra in the background as her few lines in the movie ended up on the cutting room floor. In 1985 she moved to Los Angeles with no particular success. She began to take small roles in movies but was never really noticed herself, like in 1985’s “
Once Bitten” alongside Jim Carrey. The following year, Megan finally won the role she was waiting for – or so she thought. She was to star with Ellen Burstyn and Elaine Stritch in “
The Ellen Burstyn Show.” Unfortunately the series was short-lived and cancelled the following year.
Over the next several years, Megan took parts on television shows like “
Rachel Gun, R.N.,” “
ish Police,” and “
My Life and Times.” She also had small guest starring appearances on shows like “
Seinfeld,” NBC’s “
Frasier,” “
Mad About You,” “
Wings,” “
Caroline in the City,” and “
Ned & Stacey” (where she met cformer co-star Debra Messing). But it wasn’t until 1994 where she finally found her footing in show business; she was going to Broadway. Among Mullally’s Broadway credits are the hit revival of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (1995), in which she starred as Rosemary opposite Matthew Broderick and received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination. She also appeared as Marty in the revival of "Grease", starring Rosie O’Donnell (1994).
But it wasn’t until Megan returned to Los Angeles and accepted the role of Karen Walker in a new sitcom "
Will and Grace" in 1998, when her career finally took a leap from a fairly little known actress to everyone’s favorite gin-soaked TV socialite. Megan, who already had several failed TV shows under her belt, was at first reluctant to take on a role that in the pilot script seemed to have little new to offer for the world of sitcom - and having already auditioned for the part of Grace Adler without much success, she came close to turning down the role that would eventually change her life.
To date, Megan has won numerous awards for her part as Karen Walker on "
Will & Grace" - some of them including an Emmys as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in both 2000 and 2006. She has also won 3 Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series (2002-2004). Megan and Debra Messing were also honored in 2005 for the Lucy Award celebrating outstanding women in comedy. In addition, Megan also has been nominated for 4 Golden Globe Awards for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series and was recognized from the Television Critics Association for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Comedy.
In September 2003, Megan’s personal life changed for the better when she married her boyfriend of 2 years, Nick Offerman in a private ceremony at their Los Angeles home. Offerman, 12 years her junior is an actor himself, and also builds fine-wood furniture for a living and for many celebrities.
In 2006, Megan took a different approach in her career and took a shot at the crazy world of daytime television by starring in her own one-hour talk show, properly titled, "
The Megan Mullally Show." Although the show did not last, the humor and diversity she brought to the show was heartwarming and enlightening. The show was cancelled in early January 2007.
Although Megan Mullally may only be Karen Walker to those who watch her on television, to her fans she is an inspiration. Her talent, her wisdom, and her beauty are things that can motivate any human being. Her strength, tribulations and struggles show us that she too is a person that had a dream, and thrived to accomplish it. Her star will continue to rise, and we, her fans will be right there along the way.
Young Frankenstein
Bee Movie
Free Again! (Album)
