Melissa McCarthy

Melissa Ann McCarthy, born August 26, 1970, is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She is widely recognized for her work in television sitcoms and comedic feature films, as well as her acclaimed performances in dramatic roles. Over her career, McCarthy has received numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2016, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and in 2020, The New York Times ranked her among the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.

McCarthy was raised in a Catholic family on a farm in Plainfield, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She is of mostly Irish descent, with some German and English ancestry. She graduated from St. Francis Academy in Joliet, Illinois, and attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. McCarthy began her performing career doing stand-up comedy in Los Angeles and New York City, where she also performed as a drag queen named Miss Y. She later honed her craft as an alumna of The Groundlings, an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe in Los Angeles.

She made her television debut in 1997 on the comedy series Jenny alongside her cousin, Jenny McCarthy, and made her feature film debut in the 1999 comedy Go. McCarthy gained widespread television recognition playing Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls from 2000 to 2007, later reprising the role in the 2016 Netflix revival. She also starred as Dena Stevens on the sitcom Samantha Who? from 2007 to 2009 before landing the lead role of Molly Flynn on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, which aired from 2010 to 2016 and earned her a Primetime Emmy Award.

McCarthy achieved film stardom with her breakout role in the 2011 comedy Bridesmaids, earning her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Following this success, she starred in a series of commercially successful comedy films, including Identity Thief, The Heat, Tammy, St. Vincent, Spy, The Boss, and Life of the Party. She also appeared in the 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters. In 2017, she won a second Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her recurring guest hosting appearances on Saturday Night Live.

In 2018, McCarthy garnered significant critical acclaim for her dramatic turn portraying celebrity biographer Lee Israel in Can You Ever Forgive Me?, earning her second Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Actress. Her subsequent screen credits include the lead role in the miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers in 2021, portraying Ursula in the musical fantasy film The Little Mermaid in 2023, and making a guest appearance in the comedy series Only Murders in the Building in 2024.

Beyond acting, McCarthy and her husband, Ben Falcone, founded the production company On the Day Productions in 2013, under which they have collaborated on films such as Tammy, Super Intelligence, and Thunder Force. In 2015, she launched a clothing line for plus-sized women named Melissa McCarthy Seven7 and received a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.