merrin dungey

Merrin Melissa Dungey was born on August 6, 1971, in Sacramento, California. She pursued her education at Rio Americano High School and later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA in 1993. Dungey commenced her acting career with minor roles in films such as “Deep Impact” in 1998 and “EDtv” in 1999, alongside appearances in television series like “Martin” and “Seinfeld.” Early in her career, Merrin Dungey gained recognition for her recurring role as Kelly Palmer on the CBS series “The King of Queens,” appearing from 1999 to 2007. Concurrently, she portrayed Francie Calfo and Allison Doren on the drama series “Alias” from 2001 to 2006, a role for which she is widely known. During this period, she also held a recurring role as Kitty Kenarban on the FOX sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle,” demonstrating her versatility across different genres. In 2001, Dungey appeared in all three series simultaneously.

Her career progressed with significant roles in series such as “Summerland” from 2004 to 2005, where she played Susannah Rexford. Later, she took on the role of Ursula in “Once Upon a Time,” appearing in Season 4 from 2014 to 2015. Additionally, Dungey was part of the main cast as Maxine Bohen in the legal drama “Conviction” from 2016 to 2017 and as Claire Thorpe in the medical drama “The Resident” in 2018. More recently, she played Detective Adrienne Quinlan in “Big Little Lies” from 2017 to 2019 and Kam in the Starz series “Shining Vale” from 2022 to 2023. Her recent work includes “The Lincoln Lawyer” (2024) as Judge Regina Turner and “S.W.A.T.” (2024–2025) as Deputy Chief Bennett.