November 12, 1958– Megan Mullally:

“I’ll quit coffee. It won’t be easy drinking my Bailey’s straight, but I’ll get used to it. It’ll still be the best part of waking up.”

She had me at Karen Walker, & Mullally has had a special place in my heart forever. During the 8 seasons of Will & Grace, weren’t there times you just wanted to smack the 2 leads for being so damn annoying? But, Jack & Karen were never less than completely hilarious. Mullally won a pair of Emmy Awards, like bookends, 7 SAG Awards, plus 3 Golden Globes for her delicious portrayal of Karen Walker.  I think we all need a nice big double dirty martini to celebrate her birthday today.

I first made note of Mullally as a call girl in Risky Business (1983) starring  young Tom Cruise & Rebecca De Mornay. Mullally went on to have a nice run of guest appearances in various popular TV sitcoms: Wings (1990-97), Seinfeld (1989-98), Mad About You (1992-99), Caroline In The City (1995-99), & 3rd Rock From The Sun (1996-2001).

Just when it seemed that single roles on TV series would be her thing, Mullally turned to the stage & made her Broadway debut in 1994, playing Marty in a revival of Grease with Rosie O’Donnell, & appeared in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying with Matthew Broderick in 1995. She can be heard singing on the cast albums of both productions. She opened in her own one-woman show, Sweetheart, in LA in 1999.

In 2009, The Husband & I saw her in the Seattle pre-Broadway try-out of the Mel Brooks musical Young Frankenstein as Elizabeth, the role made famous by Madeline Kahn in the original film, tough shoes to fill, but we loved her in the role & she has received nearly unanimously outstanding reviews.

Mullally also performs in her own musical group called The Supreme Music Program. Their songs offer lush vocals & unique arrangements using unexpected instruments from many genres. It’s post-modern cabaret with  elements of blues, pop, country, traditional folk, rock, & even  classical. The band has released 3 albums.

Mullally was born in LA, but grew up in Oklahoma City with an actor father & mother who was a professional model. She dated actor William H. Macy while attending Northwestern University. Her first marriage, in the mid-1990s, was to talent agent Michael Katcher. In 2003, Mullally married actor Nick Offerman (who guest-starred on Will & Grace in season 4).

Mullally currently lives the Hollywood Hills with her husband & a pair of poodles, Willa & Elmo. Their gorgeous eclectic modern house, with furniture designed & built by Offerman’s own company Offerman’s Woodshop, was featured in Elle Décor magazine.

After a dozen years of marriage, Offerman & Mullally turned their raunchiest & nuttiest personal experiences into a stage show Summer Of 69: No Apostrophe that toured to rave reviews this summer.

She recently wrapped her 5 season recurring role on NBC’s Parks & Recreation (2009-15) with her husband & on ABC’s short lived, but clever Happy Endings (2013-15). Currently Mullally is working on You, Me & The Apocalypse for NBC & Children’s Hospital on something called Adult Swim. Mullally starred in an acclaimed sold-out run in openly gay playwright Adam Bock‘s The Receptionist at LA’s Odyssey Theatre, the longest run of a show in that theatre’s history.

They played rivals on Will & Grace as Karen Walker & millionaire Beverley Leslie, but in real life, Mullally & tiny gay actor Leslie Jordan are BFFs. The industry buzz about her is that she is super nice & fun to work with.

“I’m not a diva, but I played one on TV.”

Mullally commented in an interview in The Advocate:

“I consider myself bisexual, & my philosophy is, everyone innately is.”