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Mary Lynn Rajskub (/ˈraɪskəb/; born June 22, 1971) is an American actress and comedienne, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian in the Fox action-thriller 24.
Rajskub was born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in Trenton, Michigan. Her father is a pipefitter of Czech descent and her mother worked as a pharmacist's assistant. Rajskub played the clarinet in the school band, and played Frenchie in the musical Grease. One of her childhood inspirations was Moonlighting with Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd.
Her first part was as an Oompa-Loompa in a community theater production of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Fac
Mary Lynn Rajskub (/ˈraɪskəb/; born June 22, 1971) is an American actress and comedienne, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian in the Fox action-thriller 24.
Rajskub was born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in Trenton, Michigan. Her father is a pipefitter of Czech descent and her mother worked as a pharmacist's assistant. Rajskub played the clarinet in the school band, and played Frenchie in the musical Grease. One of her childhood inspirations was Moonlighting with Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd.
Her first part was as an Oompa-Loompa in a community theater production of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and her first starring role was Raggedy Ann. Rajskub moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a waitress in a Hard Rock Cafe and as a ticket-taker at the Beverly Center movie theater before becoming an actress.
Rajskub's most notable role is CTU Systems analyst Chloe O'Brian on 24, which she joined in 2003 at the start of the show's third season. Her character was a hit with viewers and critics and was one of the few cast members to return in the show's fourth season. After being a regular guest star for two seasons, Rajskub became a main cast member in the show's fifth season. By the end of the series she was lead female, with top billing second only to Kiefer Sutherland. Rajskub's character Chloe O'Brian also had the honor of saying the final words of the series in the season 8 series finale. Rajskub and Sutherland appeared briefly as their 24 characters in a 2007 episode, "24 Minutes", of the FOX TV animated series The Simpsons. She also recently appeared in the film Julie & Julia as one of Julie Powell's close friends.
She was one of the original cast members of Mr. Show, but was "not allowed on the set anymore" following her breakup with David Cross.
She appeared in Kelsey Grammer's The Sketch Show on Fox Television, King of Queens as a character named "Priscilla", a waitress at a pirate-themed kiddie restaurant in an episode of Newsradio ("The Secret of Management"), and in numerous films including Mysterious Skin, Legally Blonde 2, Sweet Home Alabama, Dude, Where's My Car?, Man on the Moon, Punch-Drunk Love, The Anniversary Party, Firewall, Little Miss Sunshine, music videos for Beck, Weezer and Sheryl Crow, as well as portraying a blind girl in the film Road Trip.
She was part of a comic duo (with Karen Kilgariff) called Girls Guitar Club. In 2006, she made a cameo appearance in "Partings", the 6th season finale of Gilmore Girls, where she played a troubadour looking for her big break. (Rajskub had previously appeared on Gilmore Girls as the female lead in A Film by Kirk, a short film made by the character Kirk Gleason.)
Rajskub has volunteered as an actress with the Young Storytellers Program. She has an educational background as a painter, having attended the San Francisco Art Institute.
She has been nominated twice for a Screen Actors Guild Award; once in 2005, and again in 2007 for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
She guest starred on Flight of the Conchords episode "Prime Minister" as Karen, an Art Garfunkel fanatic.
Rajskub guest starred as "Gail the Snail" in an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia titled "The Gang Gives Frank an Intervention".
In 2010, Rajskub performed stand-up on John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show.
In June 2010, Rajskub appeared in the "Lovesick" episode during the second season of the USA series Royal Pains.
From July through October 2010, she performed in her solo show, Mary Lynn Spreads Her Legs, at the Steve Allen Theater in Los Angeles. Reviewer F. Kathleen Foley of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "That cheerfully vulgar title sums up the overall tone, which is often breezily obscene." The show, written by Rajskub with help from director/developer Amit Itelman, was inspired by Rajskub’s experiences with pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood.
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Tags: American (3), Actress (3), Comedian (2), The Simpsons Guest (2), Comedienne (1), Funny Bone (1), Stealth Comedienne (1), Still Spying (1), Covert Affairs (1), Weird Roles (1), Ameircan (1), Born In 1971 (1), Blue Eyes (1), Born 1971 (1), Strange (1), Talented (1), Underrated (1), Brunette (1), Czech (1)
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