Megan Mullally

Megan Mullally Bio

Megan Mullally (born November 12, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, and singer whose career has spanned television, film, and Broadway over more than four decades. She is best known for playing the sharp-tongued, pill-popping assistant Karen Walker on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, a role she first played from 1998 to 2006 and then reprised during the show’s 2017 to 2020 revival. Her work on the sitcom earned her two Primetime Emmy Awards, multiple Screen Actors Guild Awards, and several Golden Globe nominations.

Beyond Will & Grace, Mullally has built a wide-ranging resume that includes hosting The Megan Mullally Show, starring in films such as Smashed, The Kings of Summer, Why Him?, and Lemon, and delivering acclaimed stage work on and off Broadway. She has also performed as part of musical groups, written a New York Times bestseller with her husband, and remained a familiar presence in comedy television through recurring and guest roles.

Early Life and Background

Megan Mullally was born on November 12, 1958, in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Martha Palmer and Carter Mullally Jr. Her father was an actor who had been a contract player with Paramount Pictures during the 1950s. When Mullally was six years old, her family moved to her father’s native Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where she spent most of her childhood. She is of English, Irish, and Scandinavian ancestry.

Mullally began studying ballet at the age of six and performed with the Oklahoma City Ballet during her high school years. She also trained at the School of American Ballet in New York City. After graduating from the Casady School in Oklahoma City, she enrolled at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she studied English literature and art history.

During her time at Northwestern, Mullally began acting in downtown Chicago theater after her sophomore year. By her junior year, she was performing in as many as eight shows a week. Encouraged by the work she was finding onstage, she eventually left Northwestern to pursue acting as a full-time career.

Path to Acting

Mullally’s first professional break came with a McDonald’s commercial that also featured John Goodman, giving her an early foothold in the entertainment industry. She made her television series debut in 1986 on The Ellen Burstyn Show, then built her résumé with guest spots on popular sitcoms including Seinfeld, Frasier, Wings, Mad About You, Caroline in the City, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Just Shoot Me!. Her first film role was a small part as a call girl in 1983’s Risky Business.

She continued working steadily through the 1990s with appearances in films such as About Last Night, Anywhere but Here, and Speaking of Sex, while also taking on stage work in Los Angeles. In 1996, she starred in You Never Know at the Pasadena Playhouse, and in 2000 she won both the LA Weekly Theatre Award and the Backstage West Garland Award for her performance in Chuck Mee’s The Berlin Circle. Her growing profile as a comedic supporting player eventually led to the audition that would change her career.

Megan Mullally Career

Early Career (1979–1997)

Mullally began working professionally in 1979, the same year listed as the start of her entertainment career. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, she focused on stage work in Los Angeles and Chicago while picking up guest spots on television comedies. Her 1994 Broadway debut as Marty in the revival of Grease marked her first high-profile New York theater credit.

The following year, she appeared as Rosemary in the 1995 revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying opposite Matthew Broderick. She continued to balance film and television work, and in 1989 she tested for the role of Elaine Benes on Seinfeld, a part that ultimately went to Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Breakthrough (1998–2006)

In 1998, Mullally landed the role of Karen Walker on Will & Grace, the abrasive assistant to Grace Adler played by Debra Messing. The NBC sitcom became one of the defining comedies of its era, and Mullally’s performance quickly made Karen Walker a pop culture favorite. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2000 and again in 2006, and was nominated in every other year the original series was eligible, including a final nomination for the 2017 revival in 2018.

For the same role, Mullally won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series in 2002, 2003, and 2004, becoming the first actress to win the award three consecutive years. She also shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with her Will & Grace castmates in 2001. In addition, she received Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, with another nomination in 2018 for the revival.

During the run of Will & Grace, Mullally also took on other television and film work, including the 2005 movie Rebound with Martin Lawrence. In 2005, she was honored with the Women in Film Lucy Award for her contributions to television. She also helped bring comedian Bill Hader to the attention of Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels after seeing him perform with his Second City class in Los Angeles.

Notable Works and Milestones

Karen Walker on Will & Grace remains the signature role of Megan Mullally’s career, earning her two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards for individual performance, one Screen Actors Guild Award for ensemble performance, and a string of Golden Globe nominations across more than a decade. Beyond the sitcom, she made her Broadway debut in Grease, won multiple Los Angeles theater awards, and expanded into film, voice work, and hosting. Her versatile range has made her a sought-after supporting presence in comedy for over forty years.

Megan Mullally Award Nominations

Megan Mullally has earned a substantial number of major award nominations throughout her career, largely driven by her work on Will & Grace. She received six Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film, including four consecutive nods between 2001 and 2004, an additional nomination in 2005, and a final nomination in 2018 for the show’s revival. In total, she has been recognized eight times by the Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Will & Grace.

Megan Mullally Awards Won

Megan Mullally has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Los Angeles theater awards, and a Women in Film Lucy Award. Her Emmy wins for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series came in 2000 and 2006, while her Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series arrived in 2002, 2003, and 2004. She also shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2001 with the Will & Grace cast. In 2000, she won both the LA Weekly Theatre Award and the Backstage West Garland Award for her role in The Berlin Circle, and in 2005 she received the Women in Film Lucy Award for her contributions to television.

Megan Mullally Family

Megan Mullally is the only child of Martha Palmer and Carter Mullally Jr. Her father worked as an actor under contract at Paramount Pictures in the 1950s before the family relocated to Oklahoma City, where Mullally spent much of her childhood. She attended the Casady School in Oklahoma City and later studied at Northwestern University.

Personal Life

Megan Mullally married talent agent Michael Katcher in 1992, and the couple divorced in 1996. In 2000, she met actor Nick Offerman while performing in the play The Berlin Circle in Los Angeles. The two married in 2003, and Offerman has since appeared alongside her on Will & Grace, Parks and Recreation, The Kings of Summer, Smashed, and the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy. In 2018, the couple co-authored The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, which became a New York Times bestseller, and in 2019 they launched the podcast In Bed with Nick and Megan. In a 1999 interview with The Advocate, Mullally has described herself as bisexual, a subject she has addressed publicly again in later years.