Actress Michaela Watkins, Bio
Born on 14th December,1971 in Syracuse, New York State, USA. Michaela is the daughter of Myrna, a retired Latin teacher, and Mark Watkins, a mathematician, formerlya professor at Syracuse University. Growing up in DeWitt, New York State, Watkins never lacked company, seeing as she has two sisters- Rebecca Kent and Sarah Fitts. When she was 15, the whole family moved to Boston, following her parent’s divorce. During her high school days Watkins attended Moses DeWitt Elementary School and Wellesley High School.
Who is Michaela Watkins?
Probably best known to TV viewers from the 2013 ABC sitcom “Trophy Wife”, in which she starred alongside Malin Åkerman, Marcia Gay Harden and Bradley Whitford, as Jackie, the second wife of Whitford’s character, Watkins has a career in movies, TV and theater spanning over 20 years. Michaela was propelled to stardom by joining “Saturday Night Live”(SNL), making her first appearance as Arianna Huffington on SNL’s regular segment ‘Weekend Update’, eventually having a reccuring character Angie Tempura in the sketch show.
Early Life and Education
After finishing Wellesley High School, Watkins went to Boston University’s School of Fine Arts, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theater.
Career Beginnings
Not long after graduating, Michaela moved to New York City, where she hoped to jump-start her career. Not having an easy time to break through in NYC, Watkins relocated to Portland, Oregon, and made it her home for a few years, and where she joined its vivacious theater scene, performing with the Portland Center Stage and the no longer existent improv group Toad City. After her stint in Portland, Michaela decided to try her luck in Los Angeles, where she did theater with Circle X Theatre and 2100 Square Feet, and improv with The Groundlings, which would consequently land her a major gig.
Theater and Improv days
Being classicaly trained in theater, it is no wonder Watkins decided to go to work in regional theater first, where she successfully performed in both Portland and Los Angeles. Some of the credits she has to her name are “Hamlet” in 1999, “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead” in 1999, “Bus Stop” in 2000 with the Portland Center Stage, “The Misanthrope”, “The Winter’s Tale”, “How I Learned To Drive as well as Merchant of Venice”, “The Food Chain” and “Angels in America” with Artist Repertory Theater, “Sperm” and “Laura Comstock’s Bag Punching Dog” with Circle X Theater, “Fighting Words” with Vineyard Playhouse. One of the milestones in Watkins’ career was joining The Groundlings improve troupe, and eventually becoming a regular. It was during one of her performances with the troupe that she was noticed by SNL scouts.
Get ready for season 2 of Casual! On hulu! One month from today. June 7th! Tell your friends!
Posted by Michaela Watkins on Saturday, May 7, 2016
SNL days
Watkins subsequently joined the SNL cast in 2008 – her first appearance was playing Arianna Huffington in SNL’s regular segment ‘Weekend Update’. After guest starring, the management decided to give her a regular spot in the hit show, reportedly making her at the time the oldest woman they invited to join the cast. Staying on for the 2008 season, which officially ended on 16th May 2009, Watkins was due to come back in the next season, but show runners decided to cut her loose, ending her recuring spot on the show. While on board, Michael had a reccuring character Angie Tempura, a quick-witted, sardonic computer geek who created the website “Bitch Pleeze” (having an actual webpage active bitchpleeze.com that leads the site visitor to the official SNL site https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live) aimed at disparaging celebrities and celebrity culture. It was eventually revealed that Angie in fact has a crush on Zac Efron (from High School Musical fame).
TV work, writing and producing
As mentioned, Watkins is widely known to TV audiences for her role as Jackie in the short-lived but critically acclaimed 2013 ABC sitcom Trophy Wife, starring alongside Malin Åkerman, Marcia Gay Harden and Bradley Whitford. She also made reccuring appearances on some major TV shows such as “New Girl” , “The New Adventures of Old Christine”, “Anger Management”, “Enlightened”, as well as guest star roles in shows such as: “Key & XPeele”, “Modern Family”, “Kroll Show” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. One of her recent acting projects was the TV show “Casual” on Hulu, in which she had the starring role of Valerie, a recently divorced parent, forced to move in with her brother. The show had a good run, the first episode airing in 2015 and the last season, consisiting of 8 episodes, being released all at once on 31st July 2018. The latest scoop on Michaela is that she is set to join the cast of “Catastrophe” on Amazon Prime, playing the sister of the main character (played by Rob Delaney).
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Not being shy about having the spotlight on her, this funny lady likes to be a part of every step that goes into the creative process, partnering with her The Groundlings collegue Damon Jones to create the comedy show “Benched”, centering on a corporate lawyer’s fall from grace as she is forced to adjust to the dog-eat-dog world of public defenders. Along with Jones, Watkins served as the executive producer of the show as well.
Movie work
Watkins has nearly thirty movie credits to her name. Amongst them we can mention: “Inconceivable”, “The Prankster”, “Worst Enemy”, “Wanderlust”, and “Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal: The Movie”,
What’s the point.@CasualOnHulu New Episode pic.twitter.com/KRB0yRGl19
— Michaela Watkins (@michaelaWat) July 18, 2017
Michaela Watkins Net Worth
Seeing as this SNL alum keeps her matters to herself, there isn’t much data on her net worth, but sources estimate it to be around $3 million, which would come as no surprise since this talented actress acts, writes and produces both for the theater and the small screen.
Personal Life
Being all business all the time, when it comes to her personal life, this funny lady likes to keep it hush-hush. She rarely mentions her family, and shies away from discussing this topics in the media. Since 2013 she has been married to Fred Kramer, one of the founders of Reason Ventures and a general manager of Critical Mass Studios, Inc; nothing further is stated about her close one. There is no mention of kids.
Appearance and Vital Statistics
This brunette beauty is reportedly 5 feet 5 inches (1.66 m) tall.
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