Rachael Harris

Rachael Harris is an American actress and comedian born on January 12, 1968, in Worthington, Ohio. She is known for her extensive work across television sitcoms, feature films, and improvisational comedy. Over the course of her career, her performances have earned her nominations for an Independent Spirit Award and a Saturn Award.

Harris was raised in Worthington, Ohio, where she graduated from Worthington High School in 1986. Her initial award in the arts arrived during a first-grade talent show, where she performed "Please Mr. Postman" by the Carpenters. She later attended Otterbein College, acting in theatrical dramas such as 'night, Mother and The Cherry Orchard. After a professor suggested she transition into comedy, she completed her studies in 1989 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre.

Her professional debut occurred during college in Cincinnati, playing Maria in The Sound of Music on the showboat Majestic. Following graduation, she moved to New York City to work in children's theater and restaurant hospitality. She made her film debut in 1992 in Treehouse Trolls and her television debut on SeaQuest DSV in 1993. Upon relocating to Los Angeles, she acted at the Tamarind Theatre, appeared on Star Trek: Voyager in 1997, and landed a recurring role on Sister, Sister through 1998.

In 2000, Harris joined the main company of the improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings, where she also taught. Her improvisational background led to a role in Christopher Guest's 2000 film Best in Show. In 2002, she appeared on Friends, I Love the '80s, and television commercials for Avis and GEICO, followed by a breakout stint as a correspondent on The Daily Show during the 2002–2003 season. She subsequently appeared in A Mighty Wind, Daddy Day Care, Fat Actress, For Your Consideration, and voiced Karolyn Slowsky in Comcast television advertisements.

Harris gained broader public recognition in television and film during the late 2000s and 2010s. She starred as Cooper on Notes from the Underbelly from 2007 to 2010 and played Melissa in the 2009 comedy film The Hangover. From 2010 to 2012, she portrayed Susan Heffley in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series, and she starred as Linda White in the 2011 film Natural Selection. Her television credits during this era included playing Sheila Sazs on Suits from 2012 to 2019 and Joanne Dunlevy on Surviving Jack in 2014.

From 2016 to 2021, Harris starred as Dr. Linda Martin on the fantasy series Lucifer. Her subsequent roles include playing Nora in season one of Goosebumps in 2023, along with appearances in the films Bad Words, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Old Dads, and Mother of the Bride. In her personal life, Harris was married to actor Adam Paul from 2003 to 2008. She married violinist Christian Hebel in 2015, with whom she has two sons born in 2016 and 2018, before filing for divorce in 2019.