Courtney Thorne-Smith

Courtney Thorne-Smith is an American actress who gained widespread recognition through her starring roles on prominent television series. She is best known for portraying Alison Parker on Melrose Place, Georgia Thomas on Ally McBeal, and Cheryl on According to Jim. Additionally, she played the recurring role of Lyndsey McElroy on Two and a Half Men across multiple seasons.

Thorne-Smith was born in San Francisco, California. She spent her high school years in California, attending Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton before graduating from Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley in 1985. While attending high school, she began acting by performing with the Ensemble Theater Company in Mill Valley.

She made her feature film debut in the 1986 drama Lucas alongside Kerri Green, Winona Ryder, Corey Haim, and Charlie Sheen. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, she appeared in films such as Welcome to 18, Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise, Summer School, and Side Out. Later film credits include a starring role in the 1998 movie Chairman of the Board with Carrot Top and an appearance in Sorority Wars in 2009.

Thorne-Smith's early television work included appearances on mid-1980s series such as Growing Pains and Fast Times, along with television movies like The Thanksgiving Promise and Infidelity. From 1988 to 1989, she held a regular role on the sitcom Day by Day with Douglas Sheehan, Linda Kelsey, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In 1990, she appeared as Laker Girl Kimberly Dugan in six episodes of L.A. Law. Her major television breakthrough came when she was cast as Alison Parker on Melrose Place, a role she played from 1992 to 1997. During this time, she also starred in the 1995 television movie Beauty's Revenge, which was also marketed as Midwest Obsession.

In 1997, Thorne-Smith joined the cast of Ally McBeal as Georgia Thomas, playing the character until 2000 before returning for occasional guest appearances. She subsequently starred as Cheryl on According to Jim from 2001 to 2009. In 2010, she joined Two and a Half Men as Lyndsey McElroy, appearing in 52 episodes across seasons seven through twelve. From 2017 to 2019, she starred in three Emma Fielding Mysteries television films on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

Beyond acting, Thorne-Smith authored the novel Outside In, published by Broadway Books in September 2007. She served as a spokesperson for Almay cosmetics from 1997 to 2001 for their Skin Stays Clean makeup line. In 2003, she was featured on Kellogg's Special K cereal boxes for a breast cancer awareness campaign with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. She has also appeared on magazine covers including Shape, Parade, Self, InStyle Weddings, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, Vogue Knitting, and Fit Pregnancy.

In June 2000, Thorne-Smith married genetic scientist Andrew Conrad, and the couple separated in January 2001. She married talent agent Roger Fishman in January 2007, and gave birth to their son in January 2008. The couple separated in September 2021, and she filed for divorce in June 2025.