# Marisa Coughlan

Marisa Coughlan (/ˈkɒflən/ KOF-lən; born March 17, 1974) is an American actress and writer. Her first prominent role was a lead in Kevin Williamson's Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999), followed by a role as Officer Ursula Hanson in the comedy Super Troopers (2001) and as Betty in Freddy Got Fingered (2001). She also had a recurring role as Melissa Hughes on the series Boston Legal.

## Early life

Coughlan was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She graduated from Breck School, a small private school in nearby Golden Valley, Minnesota. When she moved to Los Angeles with her father, Daniel Merritt Coughlan, she enrolled at the University of Southern California. She studied abroad in Paris in 1995, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French in 1996.

## Career

Coughlan's first film appearance to gain mainstream attention was in Kevin Williamson's directorial debut Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999), in which she co-starred alongside Katie Holmes and Helen Mirren. She was cast in the role after reportedly having been rejected for a role on Williamson's series Dawson's Creek. She followed this with a recurring role on the series Wasteland in 1999.
Other films she appeared in included Pumpkin (co-starring with Christina Ricci), a drama about sorority girls; New Suit, a satirical comedy about the inner workings of Hollywood; Super Troopers, playing Officer Ursula Hanson; and Freddy Got Fingered as Betty.
She had a recurring role on the television series Boston Legal as secretary Melissa Hughes in seasons two and three. She appeared in an ouija board segment in an early episode of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction which also features in every episode of the show. In 2007, she starred as Jenny McIntyre in Lifetime Television's original series Side Order of Life. In 2008–2009, she appeared on three episodes of the TV show Bones.
Coughlan began writing while she was pregnant and taking time off from acting. She wrote and produced her first pilot, Lost & Found for ABC in 2011. In 2014, she completed writing a comedy based on Peter and Wendy for NBC. In 2016, it was reported by Variety that Fox was developing a comedy series titled Pushing, written by Coughlan and produced by Greg Berlanti.
In 2022, Coughlan wrote and starred opposite Beau Bridges in the independent drama film Days When the Rains Came, which was filmed in Minnesota.

## Personal life

In November 2008, Coughlan married childhood friend Stephen Wallack in a ceremony at a private estate in Pasadena, California. They have four children together. As of 2015, Coughlan had relocated to her native Minnesota and was residing in Deephaven, after several years of residing in Studio City, California.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Our Son, the Matchmaker | Julie Longwell | |
| 1997 | The Sleepwalker Killing | Tanya Lane | |
| 1999 | Teaching Mrs. Tingle | Jo Lynn Jordan | |
| 2000 | Gossip | Sheila | |
| 2001 | Freddy Got Fingered | Betty | |
| 2001 | Super Troopers | Ursula | |
| 2002 | Pumpkin | Julie Thurber | |
| 2002 | New Suit | Marianne Roxbury | |
| 2003 | Criminology 101 | Molly | |
| 2003 | Dr. Benny | Candy | |
| 2003 | Dry Cycle | Ruby | |
| 2003 | I Love Your Work | Jane | |
| 2004 | Kat Plus One | Kat | |
| 2005 | Jake in Progress | Hope | |
| 2006 | Wasted | Kelly | |
| 2007 | Meet Bill | Laura | |
| 2008 | Poundcake | Deborah | also known as The Dissection of Thanksgiving |
| 2008 | Already Dead | Sarah Archer | |
| 2014 | Space Station 76 | Misty | |
| 2018 | Super Troopers 2 | Chief Ursula Hanson | |
| 2020 | Infamous | Janet | |
| TBA | Days When the Rains Came | | Also writer |

### Television

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1995 | Step by Step | New Girl 2 | Episode: "The Wall" |
| 1995 | Weird Science | Barbara | Episode:"Future Bride" |
| 1995 | Fist of the North Star | Jenny | Television film |
| 1996 | High Society | Dana | Episode: "Nip and Tuck" |
| 1996 | The Guilt | Kendall Cornell | Episode: "Dean's Office" |
| 1996 | The Burning Zone | Chante Lefort | Episode: "Blood Covenant" |
| 1997 | Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction | Summer | Segment: "The Prophecy" (also show intro sequence on every episode) |
| 1997 | Diagnosis Murder | Allison Porter | Episode: "Open and Shut" |
| 1998 | The Magnificent Seven | Nora | Episode: "Working Girls" |
| 1999 | Wasteland | Dawnie Parker | Main role |
| 2003 | The Twilight Zone | April Beech | Episode: "Rewind" |
| 2006 | Boston Legal | Melissa Hughes | Recurring role (seasons 2–3); 12 episodes |
| 2006 | Masters of Horror | Dina | Episode: "The Damned Thing" |
| 2006 | Separated at Worth | Tess | Television film |
| 2007 | Side Order of Life | Jenny McIntyre | Main role |
| 2009 | Medium | Gabrielle | Episode: "Soul Survivor" |
| 2009 | Bones | Special Agent Payton Perotta | 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Man Up! | Dr. Donna Perkins | Episode: "Men and Their Chickens" |
| 2012 | How to Be a Gentleman | Candice | Episode: "How to Share a Relationship" |
| 2019 | Legacies | The Keeper | Episode: "Screw Endgame" |