Rachael Harris (born January 12, 1968) is an American actress and comedian. The accolades she has received include nominations for an Independent Spirit Award and a Saturn Award. In film, Harris has had lead roles as Susan Heffley in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series (2010–2012) and Linda White in Natural Selection (2011). She has also had notable supporting roles in For Your Consideration (2006), The Hangover (2009), Bad Words (2013), Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014), Old Dads (2023), and Mother of the Bride (2024). In television, Harris has had main cast roles as Cooper on the ABC sitcom Notes from the Underbelly (2007–2008), Joanne Dunlevy on the Fox sitcom Surviving Jack (2014), Dr. Linda Martin on the Fox and Netflix fantasy series Lucifer (2016–2021), and Nora on season 1 of the Disney+ and Hulu horror series Goosebumps (2023). She had a recurring role as Sheila Sazs on the USA Network series Suits (2012–2019).

Early life and career

Harris first time with the arts came during a first grade talent show, performing "Please Mr. Postman" by the Carpenters, winning the talent show with the performance due to her brother stuffing the ballots. Harris attended Otterbein College acting in drama plays such as 'night, Mother and The Cherry Orchard. A professor at the college recommended Harris do comedy instead of dramas but at first she did not agree with the suggestion as her intent was to be a stage actress. Harris' first acting job during college was in Cincinnati on the showboat Majestic, playing Maria from The Sound of Music. She graduated in 1989, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre. Harris then moved to New York City and secured a commercial agent. To earn extra money she worked as a hostess at restaurants along Broadway and the Upper East Side. Meanwhile, she auditioned for theater roles eventually landing a job performing children's theater along the East Coast.

Career

Harris debuted on film in 1992 for Treehouse Trolls as the Treehouse Mom. She recalls the experience, "But Treehouse Trolls, that just came out of an audition in this shitty theater. Like, it wasn't even a theater. It was a room. Near Times Square. And I was like, "I hope this is a legitimate audition. I could be going in for a porn. I don't know"." She debuted on television on SeaQuest DSV in 1993. After moving back to New York, Harris' agent was moving to Los Angeles and recommended that Harris come along for commercials and TV. In Los Angeles she performed at the Tamarind Theatre. After an appearance on Star Trek: Voyager in 1997, Harris went on to a recurring role in The WB's Sister, Sister through 1998. A friend recommended Harris to come and watch the improvisational comedy troupe The Groundlings. She enjoyed the group so much she decided to take classes and eventually landed a gig with the main company in 2000. She went on to teach for a time with The Groundlings school also. Working with the Groundlings helped for mockumentary screenwriter and director Christopher Guest to notice Harris. In 2000 she had a role in Guest's Best in Show. In 2002 Harris made an appearance on Friends, I Love the '80s, and had TV commercial work which included ads for Avis and GEICO. Amongst the early commercial work, this was credited as helping Harris land a career in Hollywood. She had a stint as a correspondent for The Daily Show's 2002–2003 season which was considered a breakout role for her into comedy. In 2003 she had roles in A Mighty Wind, Daddy Day Care, and started appearances on Reno 911! from 2003 to 2022. In 2004 Harris hosted The Smoking Gun, made multiple appearances on such VH1 documentaries as I Love the '90s, Best Week Ever, The West Wing, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and an Expedia commercial. Harris played the supporting role of Kevyn Shecket, Kirstie Alley's personal makeup artist, on the Showtime series Fat Actress in 2005. She was also in Monk, Kicking & Screaming, and commercials for Quaker Oats and T-Mobile. In 2006 Harris acted in Guest's For Your Consideration and became the voice of turtle Karolyn Slowsky in the Comcast Slowskys television commercials until 2009, with reboots of the commercial series in 2011 and 2019. Harris had guest roles on The Sarah Silverman Program in 2007 and 2008 and played Cooper in the ABC sitcom Notes from the Underbelly from 2007-2010. In 2008 she was in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Desperate Housewives. In 2009 Harris had a role in the comedy The Hangover, playing Melissa, the domineering, abusive girlfriend to Ed Helms's character Stu. She also made an appearance on ABC's Cougar Town, playing Shanna, a woman who was the "nemesis" of Jules. In 2010 she was in The Good Guys, a Super Bowl commercial for the 2010 Census, and Off-Broadway, she performed in Love, Loss, and What I Wore. From 2010 to 2012, she played Susan Heffley in the original Diary of a Wimpy Kid film trilogy. On ABC, she made a guest appearance in the Modern Family 2011 episode "Caught in the Act" as Amelia, a restaurateur and mother to a playmate of Lily Pritchett. She also appeared in Suits from 2012-2019 as Sheila Sazs, Louis Litt's on-and-off again love interest. She was in an episode of The Office in 2013. In March 2014, Harris began a new role in the series Surviving Jack with Chris Meloni. In March 2015, Harris was cast as Linda, Lucifer's therapist in the Netflix original series Lucifer. In 2018, Harris appeared alongside Cheryl Hines on the reality series Hell's Kitchen where they both sat in the blue team's chef's table in the episode "Hell Freezes Over".

Personal life

Harris was born in Worthington, Ohio. She graduated from Worthington High School in 1986. Harris was married to actor Adam Paul from 2003 until their divorce in 2008. Harris and violinist Christian Hebel eloped on April 30, 2015, and married in New York City. They have two sons, born in 2016 and 2018. Harris filed for divorce from Hebel in 2019.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations