Kaitlin Olson

Kaitlin Olson is an American actress most famously known for her work in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Finding Dory, and The Mick

Early life and education

Kaitlin Olson (Kaitlin Willow Olson) was born on August 18, 1975 in Portland, Oregon. Her father, Donald Olson, is a publisher for the Portland Tribune newspaper.

She grew up on Vashon Island, Washington, in Puget Sound near Seattle. The family relocated back to Portland area when she was eight.

Olson earned a B.S. degree in Theater arts from the University of Oregon, in 1997. After graduation, she briefly worked in theater in Portland, and then moved to Los Angeles to further her acting career.

Career

In Los Angeles, she joined The Groundlings Theatre & School, an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles, California, of which celebrated actors like Will Ferrell, Phil Hartman, and Maya Rudolph are alumni.

Her comedic talent landed her an invitation to the Sunday Company at the Groundlings. (Actors like Jimmy Fallon and Adam Carolla are the alumni of the Sunday Company.) Her work at the Sunday Company resulted in recurring roles on hit television shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) and The Drew Carey Show. She also got to perform live with Drew Carey on Whose Line Is It Anyway? on a USO tour in 1998.

In 2000, she landed a minor role in the film Coyote Ugly.

Her breakthrough role came in 2004 when she was cast as Deandra Reynolds in hit television sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

In 2013, she had a small role in the film The Heat, where she worked alongside Melissa McCarthy.

Her latest work on the FOX television series, The Mick, premiered in January 2017 to a loud applause.

Personal life

In September 2008, Olson married Rob McElhenney, her co-star from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It is rumored that they began dating during the second season of the show.

They have two children.

I wasn't in a hurry to take everything that came along. It's pretty important to me to be proud of the work I do. I didn't want to just be cute and on TV. I wanted to be funny.

On Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney -- They have a respect for each other that is amazing. They are able to argue and listen to each other without getting defensive ... and that makes it a really comfortable place to voice your own opinion and offer ideas.

I wish I had some dirt on Danny DeVito, but he is honestly the nicest, sweetest man I've ever met in my life. I love him, I love being around him. He's become like a part of our family. His wife and kids are amazing. Like, he's the happiest man I've ever known. He doesn't really have much to be sad about.

I'm just a giant fan of Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen. They make me laugh so hard, I make hideous noises and that's a good sign. I also love Michael Cera, I think that kid is hilarious. And Annette Bening. She's one of my heroes. I think she's amazing because she's hysterically funny without trying too hard.

I really like her insecurity. She definitely is despicable, you can't really argue with that. I don't think she's hate-able because it all stems from her raging insecurity and they're so mean to her. I think there is just something really funny about that to me. (On her character of Dee Reynolds)

I feel happy to be the only girl on the show. We get along really well, we're all really good friends now, I don't feel left out. I think that they were surprised that a girl could hang out and have fun with them, and I was like, "Really? You guys don't know any funny women? That's too bad.

Filmography

Films

Television