Mary Lynn Rajskub (born June 22, 1971 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian in the FOX action-thriller 24, although she remains highly active in stand-up. Her family is Czech and Irish through ancestry (her last name is pronounced as "Rice-Cub").
She began dating Matthew Rolph in 2008 and gave birth to their son that year. They married in 2009, but divorced a decade later. She's been open about being bisexual too, and has had past relationships with women.
Rajskub owns a poodle named Claire which she frequently features on her Twitter account.
Selected filmography:
Films
- The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996) as Female Radio Caller (voice)
- Magnolia (1999) as Janet (voice)
- Man on the Moon (1999) as Friday's Mary
- Road Trip (2000) as Blind Brenda
- Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) as Zelmina
- Punch-Drunk Love (2002) as Elizabeth
- Sweet Home Alabama (2002) as Dorothea
- Firewall (2006) as Janet Stone
- Little Miss Sunshine (2006) as Pam
- Sunshine Cleaning (2008) as Lynn
- Julie & Julia (2009) as Sarah
- Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) as Bridget
- The Kings of Summer (2013) as Captain Davis
- Night School (2018) as Theresa
- The Tomorrow War (2021) as Norah
Television
- Mr. Show (1995–96) as various characters
- The Larry Sanders Show (1996–98) as Mary Lou Collins
- Over the Top (1997) as Linda (episode "The Bee Story")
- The Weird Al Show (1997) as Weatherwoman (episode "The Talent Show")
- NewsRadio (1998) as Waitress (episode "The Secret of Management")
- Shasta McNasty (1999) as Diana (episode "Pilot")
- Just Shoot Me! (2001) as Penny (episode "Maya Judging Amy")
- The King of Queens (2002) as Priscilla Stasna (episode "Arthur, Spooner")
- 24 (2003–10) as Chloe O'Brian (125 episodes)
- Gilmore Girls (2006) as Town Troubadour (episode "Partings")
- Human Giant (2007) as Mindy (2 episodes)
- The Simpsons (2007) as Chloe O'Brian (voice, episode "24 Minutes")
- The Middleman (2008) as Dr. Gibbs (episode "The Pilot Episode Sanction")
- Flight of the Conchords (2009) as Karen (episode "Prime Minister")
- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2009–23) as Gail the Snail (4 episodes)
- Royal Pains (2010) as Blake (episode "Lovesick")
- Modern Family (2011) as Tracy (episode "Our Children, Ourselves")
- Raising Hope (2011) as Tanya (episode "The Cultish Personality")
- Grey's Anatomy (2012) as Marion Steiner (episode "Migration")
- The Mentalist (2013) as Susie Hamplin (episode "Days of Wine and Roses")
- New Girl (2013) as Peg (episode "Winston's Birthday")
- Arrested Development (2013) as Heartfire (2 episodes)
- 2 Broke Girls (2013–14) as Bebe (5 episodes)
- Californication (2014) as Goldie (4 episodes)
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2015–16) as Genevieve Mirren-Carter (5 episodes)
- Drunk History (2016) as Effie Cherry (episode "Shit Shows")
- Hawaii Five-0 (2018) as Crystal (episode "A 'ohe mea 'imi a ka maka")
- Criminal Minds (2020) as Brenda Hacker (episode "Rusty")
- The Dropout (2022) as Lorraine Fuisz (2 episodes)
Tropes in her work include:
- Dyeing for Your Art: The Lisbeth Salander-style haircut she got for 24: Live Another Day.
- Those Two Actors: She co-starred with both Alan Arkin and Amy Adams in Little Miss Sunshine and Julie & Julia respectively, and both of them in Sunshine Cleaning.
- What Could Have Been: A few instances.
- She auditioned for the part of Pam in The Office. The part was later given to Jenna Fischer.
- Originally, she was hired for only four installments of 24. Her character Chloe ultimately spent six years on the series during which Rajskub married and had her first child.
- Written by Cast Member: She wrote and starred in a short film called "The Hitman."
