Childhood & Early Life
Sara Rue was born Sara Forbes Schlackman on January 26, 1979, in New York City, New York, USA, to Joan and Marc Schlackman. Her parents were active in Broadway, as her mother is a former actress, while her father worked as a stage manager.
She made her acting debut at the age of nine, playing Jessica Hanson in the 1988 drama film ‘Rocket Gibraltar.’ In the film, she appeared alongside actors like Kevin Spacey. The following year, she landed one of the main roles in ‘NBC’ network’s sitcom ‘Grand.’ She appeared in 26 episodes of ‘Grand’ where she played Edda Pasetti.
She played Megan Scanlan in the 1992 comedy film ‘Passed Away.’ In the same year, she also appeared in one of the episodes of American television sitcom ‘Roseanne.’ In 1993, she landed her first recurring role as Monica in a TV series titled ‘Phenom.’
At age 16, she was cast to play Darby Gladstone in the television sitcom ‘Minor Adjustments.’ She played the role from 1995 to 1996, appearing in 20 episodes. From 1996 to 1998, she appeared in six television series such as ‘ER,’ ‘Pearl,’ ‘Ned & Stacey,’ ‘Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child,’ ‘Chicago Hope,’ and ‘The Simple Life.’
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Career
Sara Rue returned to films in 1998, when she was cast to play minor roles in a couple of films, including ‘Can't Hardly Wait’ and ‘Nowhere to Go.’ The following year, she played Violet in the romantic drama film ‘A Slipping-Down Life’ and then played Debbie in ‘A Map of the World,’ which was adapted from a novel of the same name.
In 1999, she was cast to play Carmen Ferrara in the teenage comedy-drama series ‘Popular.’ She played the role from 1999 to 2001, appearing in 43 episodes.
In 2001, she played the lead role of Gypsy Vale in the Todd Stephens-directed drama film ‘Gypsy 83.’ In the same year, she also appeared in the romantic period war drama film ‘Pearl Harbor’ where she played Nurse Martha.
She received her breakthrough role in 2002, when she was cast to play Claudia ‘Claude’ Casey in the popular American sitcom ‘Less Than Perfect.’ She played the role from 2002 to 2006, appearing in 81 episodes. In 2003, she played Gabby Castellani in the Douglas Barr-directed television film ‘This Time Around’ which was aired on ‘ABC Family Channel.’
Rue played the title role in a short film titled ‘Barbara Jean’ in 2005. The following year, she appeared in a couple of films, including ‘Danny Roane: First Time Director’ and ‘Idiocracy.’ In 2006, she also appeared in a television film titled ‘Play Nice.’ From 2006 to 2009, she made guest appearances in popular TV series such as ‘Two and a Half Men,’ ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ and ‘Leverage.’
From 2009 to 2010, she played Penny Higgins in the fantasy comedy-drama television series ‘Eastwick.’ The series was based on John Updike’s novel ‘The Witches of Eastwick.’
In 2010, she landed the lead role of Candy in the Jackson Douglas-directed comedy film ‘For Christ's Sake.’ In the same year, she also played Shira Cole in one of the episodes of the famous medical drama television series ‘Private Practice.’
From 2010 to 2013, Rue played Brenda in the popular sitcom ‘Rules of Engagement.’ She hosted the reality television series ‘Shedding for the Wedding’ in 2011. In the same year, she was also seen in a television movie titled ‘My Future Boyfriend.’ From 2012 to 2013, she played Kim Sallinger in ‘ABC’ network’s sitcom ‘Malibu Country.’ In 2013, she played an important role in romantic comedy film titled ‘Miss Dial.’
In 2014, she was cast to play another recurring role in ‘CBS’ network’s sitcom ‘Mom.’ Rue played Candace in ‘Mom,’ appearing in seven episodes from 2014 to 2016. In 2015, she landed another main role when she was cast to play Dora Winston in a series titled ‘Impastor.’ She played the role from 2015 to 2016, appearing in 20 episodes.
From 2016 to 2017, she played Karen Delfs in seven episodes of the popular crime procedural comedy-drama series ‘Bones.’ From 2017 to 2018, she played Nancy Granville in ‘ABC’ network’s sitcom ‘American Housewife.’ In 2018, she also played Olivia Caliban in seven episodes of black comedy-drama web television series ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events.’
Apart from playing important roles in films and TV series, Sara Rue has also played prominent roles in stage plays, such as ‘The Water Children’ and ‘Little Egypt.’ She has also appeared in many popular TV talk shows, including ‘Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show,’ ‘Entertainment Tonight,’ ‘The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,’ ‘Good Morning America,’ and ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
Family & Personal Life
Sara Rue married British film director, writer, and producer Mischa Livingstone in 2001. Rue and Livingstone got divorced in 2007.
After her divorce with Mischa Livingstone, she started dating a teacher named Kevin Price. After dating Price for four years, Rue got married to him on May 21, 2011. On February 9, 2013, Rue and Price were blessed with a daughter named Talulah Rue Price. In October 2016, the couple adopted a girl child whom they named Adelaide Rue Price.
