Mary Lynn Rajskub
Rajskub at the 24 finale screening, May 2009
Born	June 22, 1971 (1971-06-22) (age 38) Trenton, Michigan, U.S.
Other name(s)	Marylynn Rajskub
Occupation	Actress/Comedian
Years active	1995–present
Spouse(s)	Matthew Rolph

Mary Lynn Rajskub (pronounced /ˈraɪskəb/; born June 22, 1971) is an American actress and comedian, best known for her leading role as Chloe O'Brian on the Fox action-thriller 24.

Career

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. She is now lead female, with top billing second only to Kiefer Sutherland. 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, and also had roles on The Larry Sanders Show, Home Movies, Veronica's Closet, the US version of The Sketch Show, NewsRadio, and 24.

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 and Weezer, as well as portraying a blind girl in the film Road Trip.

She is also a skilled guitar player and 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.

Personal life

Rajskub was born and raised in Trenton, Michigan to a pipefitter father of Czech descent, and a mother who worked as a pharmacist's assistant.¹ 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 dated the renowned music producer Jon Brion for 5 years until they broke up in the fall of 2002. During her time on Mr. Show, she also dated David Cross, leaving the show when they broke up after the end of the second season.

Her son, Valentine Anthony², was born on July 24, 2008, two weeks past Mary Lynn's due date weighing 9 pounds, 5 ounces.³ She married her boyfriend Matthew Rolph, a personal trainer, on August 1, 2009 in an impromptu wedding in Las Vegas.⁴

Filmography

Rajskub at The Heart Truth Fashion Show 2008

• Magnolia (1999) (voice) - Janet, Frank's Assistant
• Man on the Moon (1999) - Friday's Mary
• Road Trip (2000) - Blind Brenda
• Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) - Zelmina - Cult Member
• Storytelling (2001) - Melinda ('Fiction')
• The Anniversary Party (2001) - Mary-Lynn
• Punch-Drunk Love (2002) - Elizabeth
• Sweet Home Alabama (2002) - Dorothea
• Run Ronnie Run (2002) - Herself
• Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) - Reena Giuliani
• JAG (2004) - CIA Administrative Assistant (1 episode)
• Mysterious Skin (2004) - Avalyn Friesen
• Firewall (2006) - Janet Stone
• Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - Pageant Assistant Pam
• American Fork (2007) - Peggy Orbison
• Sunshine Cleaning (2008) - Lynn
• Julie & Julia (2009) - Sarah
• Flight of the Conchords (2009) - Karen
• It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (2009) - Gail the Snail
• 24 (2003–present) - Chloe O'Brian (115 episodes)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mary Lynn Rajskub

• Mary Lynn Rajskub on Twitter
• Mary Lynn Rajskub at the Internet Movie Database
• Mary Lynn Rajskub Interview on Fox News Radio
• stand-up videos on effinfunny.com