Jessica Makinson is an American actress, comedienne, and improviser known as a series regular for several Comedy Central programs, voice over work for animation, and as a sketch player for late night talk shows.
Background[]
Makinson was born in Tempe, Arizona. She was an only child who loved water skiing and pretending. She graduated from Arizona State University in 2000 with a BA in theater. She then began sketch and improvisation work at ASU. Makinson helped build ASU's Farce Side Comedy Hour and Barren Mind into on-campus hits with her comedic skills. Soon after graduating, Makinson moved to Los Angeles where she studied at Improv Olympic, going on to become a stand-out performer in groups like Brand X, King Ten, and The Armondo Show.
Career[]
A go-to girl for Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Makinson guest starred on their political sitcom, That's My Bush, and has contributed voices to their long running animated series, South Park. She has also contributed sketches and characters to ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, CBS' Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and Showtime's The Underground.
In 2003, Makinson starred in a season of Comedy Central's improv/hidden camera series, Trigger Happy TV, before landing the role of Eleanor (the weeper) on Spike TV's 2004 reality parody, Joe Schmo 2. The following year, she starred in two pilots, The Hollywood Show for Comedy Central (playing a mock reporter) and The Sportsmen's News for the Outdoor Channel (playing a mock news co-anchor). In early 2007, Makinson starred in arguably her biggest role to date, playing Carly Barzak in the short-lived series, Halfway Home.
In December 2007, she appeared in TV commercials for Toshiba HDTV which cross-promoted with Shrek the Third.
Makinson also guest starred in an episode of the Nickelodeon series iCarly, entitled "iHave a Lovesick Teacher" as Miss Lauren Ackerman, Carly, Sam, and Freddie's history teacher and on True Jackson, VP as a rude airline passenger in the episode "Trapped in Paris".
External links[]
- Jessica Makinson at the Internet Movie Database
- Biography at Comedy Central