Childhood & Early Life
Judy Greer was born as Judith Therese Evans on July 20, 1975 in Detroit, Michigan and was raised in a Catholic family in Redford Township and Livonia. Her father, Rich Evans, is a mechanical engineer, while her mother, Mollie Ann (née Greer), is a hospital administrator and a former nun.
She attended Churchill High School and trained in classical Russian ballet for about a decade during her early years. She later became interested in acting and enrolled into Chicago's prestigious Theater School at DePaul University, from where she graduated in 1997.
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Career
Judy Greer, who did several odd jobs during college, bagged her first film role in the 1998 romantic comedy ‘Kissing a Fool’ just three days after graduating. She initially moved to California to attend the premiere of the film, but decided to settle there after being cast in a role in the dark comedy 'Jawbreaker' (1999).
She made her TV debut on the episode ‘Angels and Devils’ of the fantasy-drama ‘Early Edition’ in 1997 and landed a recurring role in the CBS sitcom ‘Love & Money’ in 1999. During this time, she had supporting roles in a host of films including ‘Three Kings’, ‘The Specials’, ‘What Women Want’, ‘The Wedding Planner’ and ‘Adaptation’.
In 2002, she appeared alongside Stephen Colbert in an untitled Ken Finkleman project based on his Canadian show ‘The Newsroom’, but it was later cancelled.
In 2003, she got her breakthrough role as Kitty Sanchez in the Fox sitcom ‘Arrested Development’, which ran successfully for three episodes and was later renewed for a fourth season for Netflix in 2013.
She continued to appear in films in the following years, acting in movies such as ‘13 Going on 30’ (2004), ‘The Village’ (2004), ‘Cursed’ (2005), ‘Elizabethtown’ (2005), and ‘27 Dresses’ (2008).
On television, she voice-acted on the animation show ‘Family Guy’; guest appeared on ‘Just Shoot Me!’, ‘CSI: Miami’, and ‘My Name Is Earl’; and had a major role in the short-lived series ‘Love Monkey’.
She appeared as Ingrid 'Fatty Magoo' Nelson in two episodes of ‘It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ in 2007 and 2011, and as Trixie in four episodes of ‘Californication’ between 2007 and 2012.
She played three different characters in the CBS sitcom, 'Two and a Half Men', appearing in one episode in 2007, and then gOT a recurring role in 2011.
In 2008, she landed her own television series, the ABC sitcom ‘Miss Guided’, in which she played former high school geek Becky Freeley, but the series was cancelled after seven episodes. The same year, she had a major role in the indie satire 'Visioneers' and appeared as a yoga instructor in one of Apple's 'Get a Mac' ads.
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Since 2009, she is providing her voice to the character of Cheryl Tunt on the animated series 'Archer' and also lent her voice to Wendy Park on the stop-motion animated sitcom 'Glenn Martin, DDS' (2009-11). During this time, she had guest roles in 'ER', 'House', 'Modern Family', 'The Big Bang Theory', 'How I Met Your Mother' and 'Warren the Ape'.
Her film credits during this time included 'Love Happens', 'Love & Other Drugs', 'The Descendants' and 'Jeff, Who Lives at Home'.
In 2011, she was one of the main casts alongside Jason Biggs, Sarah Chalke and Tyler Labine in the CBS series 'Mad Love', which aired as a mid-season replacement, but was cancelled after the first season.
In her autobiographical book, 'I Don't Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star' (2014), she described many of her experiences: from her childhood as "Ugly Judy" to her terrible Oscar moments. That year, her 2011 workout web-series 'Reluctantly Healthy' was adapted into a series for The CW.
In 2014, she played the female chimp Cornelia in the science fiction film 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' after being recommended by Andy Serkis, her co-star in '13 Going on 30'. She would later reprise her role in the third part of the series, 'War for the Planet of the Apes', in 2017.
She had a main role in the 2014 FX comedy series 'Married', which was renewed for a second season in the following year. She also co-starred in the films 'Tomorrowland', 'Jurassic World' and 'Ant-Man' in 2015.
She is the lead voice actor in the Netflix animated series 'Ask the StoryBots' (2016), and also voiced her character Beep in the spin-off series 'StoryBots Super Songs'. She is scheduled to appear in a number of upcoming films, including the superhero film 'Ant-Man and the Wasp' and the horror film 'Halloween'.
Personal Life & Legacy
Judy Greer met Dean E. Johnsen, a co-executive producer of 'Real Time with Bill Maher', on a blind date in mid-2010 and he proposed to her in June 2011 while vacationing together in Napa, California.
They got married on December 17, 2011 in a ceremony at the Los Angeles Athletic Club that was attended by nearly 200 guests, including Rashida Jones, Jason Biggs, Sarah Chalke and Bill Maher.
Even though she grew up in a Catholic family, according to a 2014 interview, she is no longer a practicing Catholic. She is rather interested in meditation, particularly in transcendental meditation as it is not “religious in any way”.
