Merrin Dungey
Merrin was born on 6th August 1971 in Sacaramento, California.
her father works in the energy conservation industy in California, while her
older sister Channing also works in the showbiz industry, as a production
executive. Merrin has been perfoming since she was a child. She started ballet
lessons when she was four and carried on into her teens, as well as taking up
ice skating.
She started acting hen she was 18, when she hosted a local teen talk show. This
led to several commercials, until she took a break to go to UCLA, where she
shared a dorm with future co-star Kevin Weisman. He fancied her roomate, but
didn't get very far. When she was a sophomore (second year), she became the
youngest person ever to win the UCLA School of Theater's top acting prize at
their Annual Acting Awards Ceremony. The word was presented by Oscar winner
Denzel Washington. After she graduated she continued to act, and she developd a
one women show called Black Like Who? for the HBO Comedy Workspace.
The great sucess of the show led to her signing with the William Morris agency.
She landed guset spots on several popular TV Shows, including Freinds, Seinfeld,
Murphy Brown, City of Angels and ER. She has had recurring roles in comedy's
Malcolm in the Middle and The King of Queens, as well as in the movie EdTV,
directed by Ron 'Happy Days' Howard.
In April and May of 2001, she and Kevin met again, when they worked on Arthur
Schnitzler's play "Anatol", at the Buffalo Nights Theatre Company. She currently
lives in LA.