Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. McCarthy was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016, and she has been featured multiple times in annual rankings of the highest-paid actresses in the world. In 2020, The New York Times ranked her #22 in its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.
McCarthy has received two Primetime Emmy Awards, her first for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for playing Molly Flynn on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly (2010–2016) followed by her win for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for hosting Saturday Night Live (2017). She has also taken supporting roles in the comedy-drama series Gilmore Girls (2000–2007) and the sitcom Samantha Who? (2007–2009), a leading role in the miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers (2021), and a guest role in the comedy series Only Murders in the Building (2024).
On film, she has received two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress playing a comedic bridesmaid in the comedy Bridesmaids (2011) and Best Actress for her portrayal of writer Lee Israel in the biographical film Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018). She has also starred in a string of commercially successful comedies such as Identity Thief (2013), The Heat (2013), Tammy (2014), St. Vincent (2014), Spy (2015), The Boss (2016), Ghostbusters (2016) and Life of the Party (2018). She played Ursula in the musical fantasy film The Little Mermaid (2023).
McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone are the founders of the production company On the Day Productions, under which they have collaborated on several comedy films including Super Intelligence (2020), and Thunder Force (2021). In 2015, she launched her own clothing line for plus-sized women, named Melissa McCarthy Seven7, and she received a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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Early life and education
McCarthy was born on August 26, 1970, in Plainfield, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Her parents are Sandra and Michael McCarthy. She is a cousin of actress and model Jenny McCarthy. McCarthy was raised on a farm in a Catholic family. She is of mostly Irish descent, although she also has some German and English ancestry. Some of her forebears were from County Cork. She graduated from St. Francis Academy (now Joliet Catholic Academy) in Joliet, Illinois, and attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Her career started with stand-up comedy in Los Angeles, and later in New York City. McCarthy is an alumna of The Groundlings, an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe based in Los Angeles, California. She also performed in New York City as a drag queen under the moniker Miss Y, including at the Wigstock festival.
Career
1997–2010: Early work and Gilmore Girls
McCarthy made her first television appearance in an episode of the NBC comedy series Jenny, opposite her cousin Jenny McCarthy. She made her feature film debut in a minor role in the 1999 comedy Go, and later had roles in the films Drowning Mona, Disney's The Kid, Charlie's Angels, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Third Wheel and The Life of David Gale. She also worked in three episodes of Kim Possible, voicing DNAmy. In 2000, McCarthy was cast as Sookie St. James, the upbeat and klutzy best friend of Lorelai Gilmore, on The WB television series Gilmore Girls. Throughout the series, Sookie is Lorelai's business partner and cheerleader. On April 7, 2016, McCarthy announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that she would be returning for the show's revival, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, on Netflix. The series was released November 25, 2016 and McCarthy appeared in one of its four episodes.
In 2007, she starred opposite Ryan Reynolds in the science fantasy psychological thriller The Nines, written and directed by John August. She later starred in the independent comedies The Captain, Just Add Water, and Pretty Ugly People. Also in 2007, McCarthy starred as Dena Stevens on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? McCarthy played Samantha's socially awkward childhood best friend, whom Samantha hasn't seen since seventh grade. When Samantha wakes from her coma, Dena convinces Samantha that they have always been best friends. While Andrea eventually forces her to reveal the truth, Samantha still remains friends with Dena. She guest starred in Rita Rocks and Private Practice. In 2010, McCarthy played supporting roles in films The Back-up Plan and Life as We Know It.
2011–2017: Sitcom and film stardom
In 2010, McCarthy was cast in a leading role on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly. Television critic Lucy Mangan from the Guardian commended McCarthy and her co-star Billy Gardell on some “unfeasibly delicate and charming work”, while decrying the show itself for hanging every one of its gags on the subject of their weight. In 2011, McCarthy had a breakout performance in the comedy film Bridesmaids alongside Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellie Kemper. She received wide critical acclaim and press coverage for her performance. McCarthy received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. She received BAFTA, Critics' Choice and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, as well as won Boston Society of Film Critics Award, New York Film Critics Online Award for Best Supporting Actress, Women Film Critics Circle Award for Best Comedic Actress, and MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance.
One of McCarthy's most memorable scenes in Bridesmaids was improvised, according to director Paul Feig. In fall 2011, after achieving fame from Bridesmaids, she received her first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Mike & Molly.
In June 2011, she hosted the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards. She was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2012 along with 175 others. McCarthy hosted Saturday Night Live on October 1, 2011, April 6, 2013, February 1, 2014, February 13, 2016, May 12, 2017 and December 6, 2025. She was nominated five times for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearances on the television show from 2011 to 2017, winning in 2017. In 2011, McCarthy produced a CBS pilot which starred her husband, Ben Falcone. After her Bridesmaids breakout, McCarthy had supporting roles in the comedy films This Is 40 (2012), the spinoff to Judd Apatow's film Knocked Up, and The Hangover Part III (2013).
In 2013, McCarthy co-starred in the crime comedy Identity Thief with Jason Bateman. Identity Thief, her star vehicle, opened at No. 1 at the box office, and grossed $174 million worldwide despite negative reviews. R. Kurt Osenlund of Slant Magazine praised McCarthy's performance, writing that she "gives a performance leagues better than anything to be expected in a mainstream, early-in-the-year release, padding a typically sketched character with layers of hilarity and pathos. McCarthy owns 'Identity Thief' with a turn of limitless surprise, making an otherwise adequate comedy soar as a star vehicle. She is riveting in simply-penned moments of remorse and confession, adding tearful depth to her ace timing and formidable physical comedy." Peter Debruge of Variety magazine praised McCarthy but criticized the script, saying "Melissa McCarthy proves she’s got what it takes to carry a feature, however meager the underlying material." She received People's Choice and MTV Movie Awards nomination for her performance. Later in 2013, McCarthy co-starred with Sandra Bullock in the buddy cop comedy The Heat. The film was released in the United States and Canada on June 28, 2013, to both critical and commercial success. With McCarthy being called "box office gold," The Heat grossed $229 million worldwide. She won American Comedy Award for Best Comedy Actress - Film, and well as received nominations an Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress in a Comedy and MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance.
2018–present: Dramatic roles and expansion
McCarthy starred and produced another comedy film directed by Ben Falcone, Life of the Party. The film was released on May 11, 2018. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $65 million. She also starred in The Happytime Murders, an adult puppet buddy cop crime comedy film directed by Brian Henson. The film was released on August 24, 2018, and received mostly negative reviews and was a box-office bomb, grossing $27.5 million worldwide against a $40–47 million budget. It went on to debut to $9.5 million, marking the lowest opening of McCarthy's career as a lead.
Later in 2018, she starred as celebrity biographer Lee Israel in the dark comedy-drama film Can You Ever Forgive Me? directed by Marielle Heller. She replaced Julianne Moore, who was fired shortly before shooting was to begin. McCarthy's performance as Lee drew high praise. Film Journal International said McCarthy's performance is "stunning", and her previous film roles "could not anticipate how fearlessly and credibly she inhabits Lee Israel."
She received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination, and well as Golden Globe, Critics' Choice, Screen Actors Guild Awards and BAFTA Awards nominations. She won Best Actress awards from New York Film Critics Online, San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle, Boston Society of Film Critics, Vancouver Film Critics Circle and Florida Film Critics Circle. At the 39th Golden Raspberry Awards, McCarthy won two awards: for Worst Actress (Life of the Party and The Happytime Murders) and Redeemer Award for her Can You Ever Forgive Me? performance.
In 2019, McCarthy played the lead in the crime film The Kitchen. It received mostly negative reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb. Variety's Owen Gleiberman described the film as "just like Widows, except not as good." Gleiberman was critical of the script but praised McCarthy's fierce performance. The following year, she returned to comedy with the leading role in the Superintelligence. In 2021, she starred in the superhero comedy film Thunder Force, and the comedy-drama film The Starling; both were released on Netflix.
She executive produced and starred in the Hulu limited thriller drama series, Nine Perfect Strangers. The Guardian's Lucy Mangan said: "Most engagingly, there is Melissa McCarthy, sweeping all before her as charismatic, bestselling author Frances, who has recently been dealt harsh blows and is here to have pampered time to recover. As is so often the case with the magnificent McCarthy, she is the best, most arresting thing in the series, and every time she comes back on screen you wriggle with delight." She received Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries for her performance in series. In 2022, she co-starred with Ben Falcone in the Netflix comedy series, God's Favorite Idiot.
Personal life
McCarthy married her longtime boyfriend Ben Falcone, an actor and member of The Groundlings, on October 8, 2005. The couple have two daughters. McCarthy's pregnancy was written into the last season of Gilmore Girls.
In the April 2021 issue of Instyle, McCarthy said that, with regard to politics, "It's very polarizing, but, I mean, I'm on the left for sure, though I'm not an extremist. And I think just saying like, "Can't we all just be kind to each other?" and that gets a "F— you, lady," I don't know what to do."
In August 2021, McCarthy joined the 40x40 campaign launched by Meghan Markle to mark her 40th birthday. 40x40 is a campaign that asks people around the world to spend 40 minutes of their time mentoring women reentering the workforce and combating the outsized economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women.
Fashion line
McCarthy studied textiles at Southern Illinois University and was interested in a fashion career before she pursued her interests in acting. When she moved to New York City, it was to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology. One of her closest friends is the shoe designer Brian Atwood. McCarthy also spent time working as a costumer for a dance company.
In 2015, McCarthy announced her first clothing collection, Melissa McCarthy Seven7, for plus-size women. The line includes clothes up to size 28. In an interview with More, McCarthy stated that "people don't stop at size 12. I feel like there's a big thing missing where you can't dress to your mood above a certain number. Malls segregate "plus-size" clothes stores and hide these stores away from other sections of the mall." Seven7, which was developed alongside Sunrise Brands, debuted in August 2015 on the Home Shopping Network.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Over her career, McCarthy has received two Primetime Emmy Awards (out of 8 nominations) winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011 for playing Molly Flynn on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly (2010–2016), and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2017 for hosting the NBC sketch series Saturday Night Live (2011–2017). She also has earned nominations for two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.
