She Looks Familiar
Have you ever been watching a movie or a television show and seen an actress that you recognize, but just can’t place what you’ve seen them in before? Well, let us help you with that as we take a stroll down character actress lane.
Wendie Malick
Malick got her start modeling in the 1970s before leaving that world to work for Congressman Jack Kemp. After that she made the move to acting and TV fans from the late 90s and early aughts will no doubt remember her as Nina Van Horn on Just Shoot Me.
Whereas TV fans from the 2010s know her best as Victoria Chase from Hot in Cleveland.
Bridget Laudien, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
CCH Pounder
ER, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Shield and NCIS: New Orleans. These are just some of the TV shows CCH Pounder has been a part of as a recurring or main cast member. Take your pick as to which ones you know her from.
Martha Plimpton
Yes, we’re talking about Stephanie "Stef" Steinbrenner from The Goonies. But for those who aren’t as obsessed with 80s adventure comedies as we are, let us also mention her main role on the cult favorite FOX sitcom Raising Hope in the early 2010s.
Did you watch the one season of Generation on Max in 2021? Well, Plimpton was a main cast member on that as well.
Frederick M. Brown, Getty Images
Connie Britton
The Friday Night Lights television series made Connie Britton a known quantity and Nashville made her a TV star. So much so that she was brought onto the first season of 9-1-1 to bring in viewers to the new show.
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Missi Pyle
Missi Pyle was there when Harold and Kumar escaped from Guantanamo Bay, She visited the chocolate factory with Charlie and she dodged balls in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. But country rock fans might also know her as half of the duo, Smith & Pyle.
Real ones only need two words: Galaxy Quest.
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Busy Philipps
Philipps has been busy in TV and movies since getting her break as Kim Kelly in Freaks and Geeks. Can you say Audrey in Dawson’s Creek or Laurie in Cougar Town? These days she’s busy playing Summer in the very funny Girls5eva.
Daniel Benavides, CC BY 2.0 , Wikimedia Commons
Jennifer Coolidge
We all know Jennifer Coolidge from HBO’s White Lotus and her 2022 and 2023 Emmy wins for said series. However, Coolidge has been stealing scenes for decades as part of Christopher Guest’s ensemble crew in films like Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. And on TV as a regular on 2 Broke Girls and a guest appearance on Friends.
She was also, of course, Stifler's mom.
Patricia Clarkson
Drama, comedy, Patricia Clarkson has done it all on TV and on the big screen. Six Feet Under fans will remember her as the younger sister of the matriarch of the Fisher family. And speaking of matriarchs, she played Alan Parrish’s mother in 1995’s Jumanji.
Also, her performance in 2018’s Sharp Objects miniseries earned her her third or four Emmy nominations.
David Shankbone, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Melissa Leo
Usually winning an Oscar moves an actress to the next level of fame and recognition. However, despite her Best Supporting Actress win for The Fighter, and her Best Actress nomination two years prior for Frozen River, Melissa Leo might still be hard to place for some of us.
David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0 Wikimedia Commons
Frances Conroy
And speaking of Six Feet Under, the woman who played Patricia Clarkson’s older sister on the show, the aforementioned Fisher matriarch, was Frances Conroy. But that wasn’t Conroy’s only mother role.
She was also Arthur Fleck’s mother in Joker. Going back to the start of the 2010s Conroy also earned her fifth Emmy nom for her performance in the first season of American Horror Story.
iDominick, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Hope Davis
When Hope Davis joined the MCU playing Tony Stark’s mother in Captain America: Civil War, there were many of us who saw her and thought, “where do we know her from”. Well, she did play Jack Nicholson’s daughter in About Schmidt. In the years since Civil War, you might’ve seen her in her recurring role as Sandi Furness on Succession. Or maybe opposite Bryan Cranston in Your Honor.
Peabody Awards, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Margo Martindale
She might look all sweet and matronly, but don’t let that fool you. On TV, Margo Martindale has been a Russian spy in The Americans and the head of a family of pot growers in Justified.
But before Martindale was a star of the small screen, she was had a robust career in movies, appearing in everything from The Rocketeer to The Firm to August: Osage County.
Neil Grabowsky, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Embeth Davidtz
Maybe it’s her role as Peter Parker’s mother in The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that are your “Oh Her!” moments when it comes to Embeth Davidtz. Or maybe you’re more into prestige television and remember her as Rebecca Pryce on Mad Men or Steve Carrell’s wife (then ex-wife) on The Morning Show.
Or maybe it even goes all the way back to Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness in 1992.
Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock
Callie Thorne
Callie Thorne has had recurring and main roles on some very high-quality television shows, including, Rescue Me, The Wire and her TV debut, Homicide: Life on the Street.
So, if you’ve seen her in the last few years in her recurring roles on NCIS: New Orleans or Blue Bloods and wondered where you recognize her from…it might be one of those.
David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Robin Weigert
As one of the stars of the new hit series Tracker on CBS, Robin Weigert has probably got lots of folks watching the show and wondering where they know her from. Well, if those folks watched Deadwood back in the 2000s they might remember her Emmy nominated performance there.
Or maybe they’ve seen her in various episodes on multiple seasons of American Horror Story.
Amy Ryan
If you watched The Wire, then when Amy Ryan showed up on The Office as Michael’s love interest you were probably like, “Hey, that’s the actress from The Wire.”
But if The Office was the first thing you saw her in then when she showed up in Only Murders in the Building and Sugar, she was probably known as the “actress from The Office”. And so on and so forth.
GershNY, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Sharon Lawrence
Her run on NYPD Blue back in the 1990s earned Sharon Lawrence three Emmy nominations and an elevated status that got her recurring roles on two sitcoms at the end of the decade and into the new century: Fired Up and Ladies Man. However, if none of those shows ring any bells, you probably recognize her from her many guest spots on popular shows from Grey's Anatomy to Criminal Minds.
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Christine Ebersole
Having won two Tony awards, there’s a chance you recognize Christine Ebersole more from her work on Broadway than in television or film. However, she was a main cast member on the TBS show Sullivan & Son and most recently you would’ve seen her playing Bob’s mother in Bob Hearts Abishola.
Laurie Metcalf
Sure, you might’ve seen Laurie Metcalf in Greta Gerwig’s great 2017 film, Lady Bird. But when it comes to Laurie Metcalf we can probably all agree her “Oh, Her” reference has gotta be Roseanne’s sister Jackie on Roseanne. And secondarily as Sheldon’s mother on The Big Bang Theory.
Frances Fisher
Maybe you know Frances Fisher as one of the stars of the short-lived ABC series, Resurrection or as Rose’s mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater in Titanic. Or maybe you know her as the wife of Clint Eastwood from 1990-94.
Camryn Manheim
Camryn Manheim made her name as Ellenor Frutt on eight seasons of the legal drama The Practice. More recently Manheim came back to the law in the Law & Order-verse playing lieutenant Kate Dixon for three seasons on the flagship series.
David Shankbone, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Grace Zabriskie
For all the Twin Peaks fans, one look at Grace Zabriskie and they know that is Laura Palmer’s mother. For all the Seinfeld fan’s she will forever be Susan’s mother.
Betty Buckley
Born in 1947, Betty Buckley made her film debut in 1977’s Carrie as Miss Collins, the gym teacher who locks Carrie in a "prayer closet." She was also the original Grizabella in Cats on Broadway. Which of those do you know her from?
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Christine Lahti
Depending on what era you did most of your TV watching, you might know Lahti from her role as Dr. Kathryn Austin on Chicago Hope in the 90s. Or maybe it was Lahti’s recurring portrayal of Sonya Paxton on SVU from 2009-11. It could also be the 10 episodes of The Blacklist she appeared in between 2015-17.
Alberto Tamargo, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Dianne Wiest
By the time she became the new District Attorney on Law & Order in 2000, Wiest was already recognizable for her two Supporting Actress Oscars she won for Hannah and Her Sisters and Bullets Over Broadway. However, the generation that missed her in those would more likely know her from her main roles on television in Life in Pieces and Mayor of Kingstown.
Becky Ann Baker
Why did the actress who played Ted Lasso’s mother on the popular Apple TV+ comedy look so familiar? Well, do you remember Lindsay and Sam’s mother in Freaks and Geeks? That was Baker. How about Hannah’s mom on Girls? Yup, that was Baker also.
Mimi Kennedy
Kennedy played Marjorie for eight seasons on the hit Chuck Lorre sitcom Mom from 2013 to 2021. Which was the second time we’d seen her have a main role in a Lorre show. The first being her role as Dharma's mother on Dharma and Greg.
California Election Integrity Coalition, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
S. Epatha Merkerson
We don’t want to make any Pee-wee's Playhouse fans angry here. We know Merkerson was Reba, The Mail Lady, and we mean no disrespect—but she will always be Lieutenant Anita Van Buren to us (from Law & Order—in case you didn’t know).
Chimaysteve, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Kristin Chenoweth
With three Tony nominations and one win, Kristin Chenoweth has been known to theater-lovers going back to the 90s. But that doesn’t mean TV-viewers haven’t had the pleasure of Chenoweth over the years as well. Remember Annabeth Schott on The West Wing and April Rhodes on Glee? That was her.
Sarah Paulson
If you saw Holland Taylor standing next to her wife Sarah Paulson you’d probably think to yourself, “Oh, her! Holland Taylor is married to the actress who starred in nine seasons of American Horror Story”..Or maybe, you’d think she tied the knot with the actress who played Marcia Clark in The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
John Bauld, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Madeleine Stowe
If your movie viewing goes back to the 1990s then Stowe has been on your radar since starring opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in The Last of the Mohicans or alongside Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys. However, many will probably “oh, her” Stowe as Victoria Grayson in ABC’s Revenge.
-nickon-, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Tracie Thoms
Tracie Thoms played Octavia Spencer’s younger sister on the Apple TV+ series Truth Be Told. However, truth be told, most of us who saw her there immediately thought, “Hey, isn’t that the girl who played Idina Menzel’s lover in Rent?”... Yes, that’s her.
watchwithkristin, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Romy Rosemont
Rosemont has had a consistent film and television career as a character actress dating back to the late 80s. But it was her recurring role as Carole Hudson-Hummel on Glee that most people still recognize her for.
She's also married to character actor Stephen Root.
Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0 Wikimedia Commons
JoBeth Williams
From 1985 until 2019 it was rare for JoBeth Williams to go more than a year without appearing in a movie and/or on television. But where do you know her from? How about as the mother in Poltergeist? Or maybe as Dexter’s future mother-in-law on the hit showtime series?
maggiejumps, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Mary Lynn Rajskub
It might surprise you to know that Rajskub is a comedian, and has mostly worked as a comedic actress, given that most of us know her from her non-comedic role as Chloe in 24.
The Heart Truth, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Mary Steenburgen
As Clara Clayton, Steenburgen married Doc Brown in Back to the Future III. She was also Will Ferrell’s mother in Step Brothers.
Angela George, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Constance Marie
She was Selena’s mother in the biopic starring Jennifer Lopez. But from 2002-2007 she played George Lopez’s wife on his sitcom and it’s from that role that most of us still recognize her.
Richard Sandoval, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Lesley Ann Warren
Lesley Ann Warren has over five decades of performances that you might know her from. In the early 70s she was Dana Lambert on the Mission: Impossible television series. She was nominated for a Supporting Actress Oscar for the 1982 film, Victor/Victoria. She also had a recurring role as Tina on Will & Grace.
Genevieve, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Lolita Davidovich
In 2021 Davidovich and her fiery red hair had a 7-episode arc on Law & Order: Organized Crime. Although it’s her portrayal of Blaze Starr in the 1989 film Blaze that remains her most memorable role.
Megan Mullally
Karens might get a bad rap these days, but Megan Mullally’s Karen on Will & Grace will always have an hysterically-special place in our sitcom hearts.
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