Merrin Dungey

A native of Sacramento, Calif., Merrin Dungey began performing at the age of 4 with ballet, a practice she continued throughout her teens. In addition, she also danced and played the piano through these years, plus she competed as an ice skater.

All of these interests took a back seat eventually, however, when at age 18 she began hosting a local teen talk show. While the gig opened the door to several television commercials, Dungey put all of that on hold to attend UCLA and it paid off: as a sophomore, she became the youngest-ever recipient of the school's Best Actor Award.

Following graduation, she quickly and steadily amassed a stream of credits in both television and movies, including her first co-starring role in a series, as Wanda on the short-lived TV adaptation of the hit indie film "Party Girl" (Fox 1996). After co-starring in the action thriller "Deep Impact" (1998) and reality TV satire "EdTV" (1999), Dungey began working regularly in television.

For several years, she had simultaneous recurring roles on the hit sitcoms "The King of Queens" (CBS 1998-2007) and "Malcolm in the Middle" (Fox 2000-06), as well as spy drama "Alias" (ABC 2001-06), on top of a starring role on the foster-care drama "Summerland" (The WB, 2004-05). Later, Dungey scored recurring roles on the cult-favorite comedy "Better Off Ted" (ABC 2009-2010), sudsy dramas "Revenge" (ABC 2011-15) and "Betrayal" (ABC 2013-14), teen drama "Hollywood Heights" (Nick at Nite 2012-13) and cop comedy "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (Fox 2013- ).

Recurring roles in drama "Chasing Life" (ABC Family 2014-15) and fantasy hit "Once Upon A Time" (ABC 2011- ) were followed by a lead part in legal drama "Conviction" (ABC 2016-17).