# Christa Miller

Christa Miller-Lawrence (née Miller; born May 28, 1964) is an American actress known for her roles in television comedies. Her foremost roles include Kate O'Brien in the ABC sitcom The Drew Carey Show, Jordan Sullivan in the NBC/ABC comedy series Scrubs, Ellie Torres in the ABC/TBS sitcom Cougar Town, Liz in the Apple TV+ comedy drama Shrinking, and voicing Cleopatra "Cleo" Smith and Candide Sampson in Clone High. She has also appeared in Seinfeld, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and CSI: Miami.

## Early life

Miller's days as a child model were curtailed after an operation for a benign bone tumor. After attending Convent of the Sacred Heart, she returned briefly to modeling, but soon took acting lessons, and gave up modeling when she moved to Los Angeles in 1990.

## Career

Miller's first role on television was in Kate & Allie, which starred her real-life aunt, Susan Saint James. She then appeared in episodes of Northern Exposure, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and Party of Five. She had a small role in the horror film Stepfather III (1992) with Priscilla Barnes.
She later appeared twice on Seinfeld, as two different characters. In the 1993 episode "The Sniffing Accountant", she played the prospective boss of George Costanza. She had intended to be a dramatic actress, and this role proved to be a turning point for Miller, who realized how much she enjoyed comedy. Two years later, she returned to Seinfeld in "The Doodle" to play George's girlfriend, Paula. This episode proved to be a boon to her career, as she convinced co-creator Larry David to provide her with a rough-cut video of the still-unaired episode when she auditioned for The Drew Carey Show, whose producers had initially thought she was too inexperienced. David's support helped Miller win over the producers of The Drew Carey Show, who cast her as Kate O'Brien, whom she played from 1995 to 2002.
In 2001, Miller's husband, writer-producer Bill Lawrence, conceived a new comedy drama, Scrubs. Miller was given a guest role as Dr. Cox's (John C. McGinley) acerbic ex-wife Jordan Sullivan. Originally, the character was intended to appear in only one episode; in season 2, the role became recurring. Miller also was the voice of Cleopatra in the short-lived animated show Clone High. She had a leading role in the 2008 two-part TV miniseries The Andromeda Strain. She also appeared in the CSI: Miami episode Divorce Party.
In 2009, Miller began starring on Cougar Town, a sitcom created and produced by her husband and starring Courteney Cox, with whom Miller worked in a three-part story-arc of season 8 of Scrubs.
She has starred as Liz on the Apple TV series Shrinking since 2023.

## Personal life

Miller married Bill Lawrence in 1999. They have three children; Charlotte, William, and Henry. Her aunt is actress Susan Saint James.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1995 | Love and Happiness | |
| 1997 | Kiss & Tell | Alex Stoddard |
| 1999 | Smiling Fish and Goat on Fire | Kathy |
| 2000 | The Operator | Janice Wheelan |
| 2016 | Hot Air | Kate |
| 2018 | Breaking In | Maggie Harris |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985, 1988 | Kate & Allie | Student | Episode: "Allie's Affair" |
| 1985, 1988 | Kate & Allie | Blair | Episodes: "Allie Doesn't Live Here Anymore" and "The Odd Couples" |
| 1990 | Northern Exposure | Laurie Batan | Episode: "Soapy Sanderson" |
| 1992 | Stepfather III | Beth Davis | Television film |
| 1993, 1995 | Seinfeld | Ellen | Episode: "The Sniffing Accountant" |
| 1993, 1995 | Seinfeld | Paula | Episode: "The Doodle" |
| 1994 | A Friend to Die For | Terri | Television film |
| 1994 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Girl | Episode: "Who's the Boss?" |
| 1994 | Party of Five | Theresa | Episode: "Much Ado" |
| 1995–2002 | The Drew Carey Show | Kate O'Brien | Series regular, 183 episodes |
| 2001–2010 | Scrubs | Jordan Sullivan | Recurring role, 89 episodes Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (2003–04) |
| 2002–2003, 2023–2024 | Clone High | Cleopatra "Cleo" Smith (voice) | Series regular, 13 episodes |
| 2002–2003, 2023–2024 | Clone High | Candide Sampson (voice) | Series regular, (Season 2–3) |
| 2008 | The Andromeda Strain | Dr. Angela Noyce | Miniseries |
| 2009 | CSI: Miami | Amy Lansing | Episode: "Divorce Party" |
| 2009–2015 | Cougar Town | Ellie Torres | Series regular, 102 episodes Gracie Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy Series (2014) |
| 2015 | Undateable | Ally/Jackie | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | Whiskey Cavalier | Kelly Ashland | Episode: "Two of a Kind" |
| 2021 | Head of the Class | Principal Maris | Recurring role |
| 2023–present | Shrinking | Liz | Series regular, also music supervisor |