Megyn Price

About

Biography

Filmography

Biography

Though not a household name, actress Megyn Price was one of the more familiar faces in the world of television sitcoms. A gifted student with a mind for figures, Price initially embarked on a career in finance before making the jump to acting. Her television debut on a final season episode of the sci-fi adventure "Quantum Leap" (NBC, 1989-1993) soon led to more TV guest spots and a regular cast role on the exceptionally short-lived legal sitcom "Common Law" (ABC, 1996). Although Price occasionally picked up smaller parts in feature films like the Russell Crowe vehicle "Mystery, Alaska" (1999), it was on the small screen that she truly excelled. While another co-starring role on the Al Franken sitcom "Lateline" (NBC, 1998-2000) lasted a mere two seasons, Price's turn as thirty-something mom Claudia Finnerty on the family comedy "Grounded for Life" (The WB, 2001-05) helped establish her as a recognizable screen presence. Surrounded by a popular ensemble cast that included Patrick Warburton and David Spade, she enjoyed her lengthiest series run on the relationship sitcom "Rules of Engagement" (CBS, 2007-13) as matrimonial veteran, Audrey Bingham. Blessed with exceptional comic timing and an everywoman appeal, Price enjoyed a lengthy and prolific career in television.

Born in Norman, OK on March 24, 1971, Price and younger brother Joseph grew up in Seattle, WA. As a teen at Norman High School, Price was a high achiever. With a string of academic accolades under her belt, she was deemed the model of perfection by her classmates. A National Merit semi-finalist, Price also wrote plays, one of which, "Here Comes the Sun" landed her a Presidential Scholar accolade and a ranking in a USA Today list as one of 20 top high school students around the U.S. her senior year. Graduating in 1988, Price moved to California to study economics and communications at Stanford University. After graduation, Price started working as an investment banker at a private firm in Northern California's Marin County area. While studying at Stanford, she had acted in her off-hours at the American Conservatory Theater. She initially thought acting would be a poor career move, but a year into her job and unfulfilled, she realized that perhaps acting was a career she would actually enjoy. She contacted the one friend she knew in Los Angeles who could help her get set up. Price moved down the coast and began waiting tables to make ends meet. At a casual function, she met a casting director who steered her in the direction of the time-travel drama, "Quantum Leap" (NBC, 1989-1993) and was soon cast as star Scott Bakula's daughter in a January 1993 episode "October 16, 1968."

Price smoothly segued from "Quantum Leap" to ABC's "The Drew Carey Show" (1995-2004). In September 1995, she appeared in the first of two episodes as a no-nonsense waitress who bantered with Carey's circle of friends. She made such an impression, she returned the following January for a second dose of wisecracking. In the fall of 1996, Price rose to series regular with the ABC comedy "Common Law" (1996). After playing rising young attorney Nancy Slaton for only four episodes, the series was pulled from the air. In her personal life, she fared better, having found love with sitcom producer Bill Lawrence, whom she wed. By now, the networks were paying close attention to Price's one-two punch of smarts and sex appeal. She landed another regular series role, that of dutiful producer Gale Ingersoll on NBC's, "Lateline" (1998-2000), an Al Franken vehicle about a fictional late-night news program. The show's curious, but brief run over two seasons culminated with Showtime buying several of its un-aired episodes. During the course of "Lateline," Price was also testing the waters of feature films, starring as the lead in the indie comedy "Love Happens" in 1999 and in a small role in the big-budget David E. Kelley-scripted comedy, "Mystery, Alaska" (1999), starring the up-and-coming Russell Crowe.

By 2001, Price and Lawrence were long divorced, but she was ready to marry her long-time boyfriend, Eddie Cotner, a UCLA resident. The two had been friends in high school and reconnected years later after a phone call. She landed her third fulltime television pilot just as Cotner was accepted into his medical school residency. The two bought a house in Los Angeles and settled into domesticity. Subsequently, it was the third series that proved the charm for Price, who found a comfortable groove on the pick-up, "Grounded for Life" (The WB, 2001-05). As Claudia and Sean Finnerty, Price and co-star Donal Logue ably complimented one another as the two youngish parents of three, who realize they are still coming into maturity themselves. Price's well-received portrayal went beyond the realm of typical sitcom moms and did its part to help the series run from January 2001 to January 2005. During its run, Price branched out into theater, acting in New York and Los Angeles in "The New Living Room" and in Los Angeles in Pamela Ribon's "Call Me Crazy: The Anne Heche Monologues," which began in January 2003. In 2005, Price also put her humorous on-air presence to good use as commentator for several of VH1's "I Love the..." specials, sporadically lending her voice to episodes of Fox's animated satire "American Dad!" (2005- ).

After "Grounded for Life" bowed out from the airwaves, it was back to the big screen for Price once more, as she soon became a leading lady to another funnyman. As Jane, she turned on the charm, raising the temperature of smitten goofball health inspector Larry the Cable Guy in "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector" (2006). Price soon returned to the world of television sitcoms on the comedy "Rules of Engagement" (CBS, 2007-13). As Audrey Bingham, she deftly maneuvered man-child husband Jeff (Patrick Warburton) as she delivered sage advice to their eternally engaged neighbors (Bianca Kajlich and Oliver Hudson) and endured the shenanigans of their spoiled bachelor friend, Russell (David Spade). Despite a rough tenure, hampered by a writers' strike in 2007 and repeated schedule changes, the show maintained a solid following.