# Mary Lynn Rajskub
**Mary Lynn Rajskub** (born 1971) is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known for playing the systems analyst Chloe O'Brian on the Fox drama *24* and Gail the Snail on *It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia*[1](https://www.marylynnmarylynn.com/bio). She began as a painter and performance artist before moving into sketch comedy, and has worked for more than twenty years as a touring stand-up comedian alongside her screen career[1](https://www.marylynnmarylynn.com/bio).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971, Detroit, Michigan[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0707476/bio/) |
| Signature role | Chloe O'Brian on *24* (Fox, 2001–2010), joined in 2003 and appearing in more than 100 episodes[3](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/may/02/mary-lynn-rajskub-24-standup-comedy-gigs) |
| Other known roles | Gail the Snail on *It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia*; original cast member of *Mr. Show* (HBO, 1995–99)[1](https://www.marylynnmarylynn.com/bio) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0707476/bio/) |
| Training | Painting major at Detroit's College for Creative Studies, then the San Francisco Art Institute[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0707476/bio/) |
| Awards | Two Screen Actors Guild ensemble nominations for *24* (2005, 2007); Female Breakthrough Award, 2006[4](https://www.sagawards.org/sites/default/files/nominee_histories_0.pdf) • [5](https://www.waterfrontfilm.org/documents/2007_wff_program.pdf) |
| Stand-up specials | *Mary Lynn Rajskub: Live From The Pandemic* (February 1, 2021); *Mary Lynn Rajskub: Road Gig* (YouTube, December)[1](https://www.marylynnmarylynn.com/bio) |
| Book | *FAME-ISH: My Life At The Edge Of Stardom*, released May 17, 2022[1](https://www.marylynnmarylynn.com/bio) |
## Early life and education
Rajskub was born in Detroit, Michigan, into a family of Irish, Czech, and Polish ancestry, and graduated from Trenton High School in 1989[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0707476/bio/). She enrolled at Detroit's College for Creative Studies as a painting major, then transferred to the [San Francisco Art Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-art-institute), where she graduated as a painter while also studying music and acting[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0707476/bio/).
Her entry into comedy came through performance art. In interviews she has described pieces staged with friends, including selling trash dipped in paint and wrapped in newspaper as if at a fish market, and has said that when she tried to explain herself earnestly, audiences laughed[6](https://www.avclub.com/mary-lynn-rajskub-1798212839). In 1993 she moved to Los Angeles, where she continued performing in coffeehouses and laundromats[7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-lynn-rajskub/).
## Television beginnings
In 1995, [David Cross](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-cross) hired Rajskub as one of the original cast members of the HBO sketch comedy series *Mr. Show*[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0707476/bio/). She left the show after its debut season to replace her friend [Janeane Garofalo](https://www.edgepedia.org/janeane-garofalo)'s character on *The Larry Sanders Show*, playing the show-within-a-show's eager-to-please and often inappropriate guest booker[7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-lynn-rajskub/).
Through the late 1990s she took small film roles, including in *Man on the Moon* (1999) and [Paul Thomas Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-thomas-anderson)'s *Magnolia* (1999), and had a recurring role on the sitcom *Veronica's Closet*[7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-lynn-rajskub/). She also formed the Girls Guitar Club, a spoof of sensitive female singer-songwriters, with the *Mr. Show* actress [Karen Kilgariff](https://www.edgepedia.org/karen-kilgariff)[7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-lynn-rajskub/). Her most prominent film role of this period came as one of seven overbearing sisters of [Adam Sandler](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-sandler)'s character in Anderson's *Punch-Drunk Love* (2002)[7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-lynn-rajskub/).
## 24 and Chloe O'Brian
In 2003 Rajskub joined *24*, the Fox action series starring [Kiefer Sutherland](https://www.edgepedia.org/kiefer-sutherland) as agent [Jack Bauer](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-bauer), in a recurring role as the Counter Terrorism Unit analyst Chloe O'Brian[7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-lynn-rajskub/). The show's creator had seen her in *Punch-Drunk Love* and wanted a character like her; early on she tried to match the cadence of the rest of the cast and was told instead to keep sticking out[6](https://www.avclub.com/mary-lynn-rajskub-1798212839).
The role ran counter to her comedy background. She has said Fox executives initially told her, "We didn't know you could do drama!"[8](https://www.avclub.com/mary-lynn-rajskub-doesnt-hate-her-baby-any-more-1798218062) As the character's fan base grew, the writers expanded the part, and Rajskub appeared in more than 100 episodes across the series[3](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/may/02/mary-lynn-rajskub-24-standup-comedy-gigs) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-lynn-rajskub/). She earned two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for drama ensemble with the *24* cast, in 2005 and 2007[4](https://www.sagawards.org/sites/default/files/nominee_histories_0.pdf), and in 2006 [Harrison Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/harrison-ford) presented her the Female Breakthrough Award for her stage productions and television and film acting[5](https://www.waterfrontfilm.org/documents/2007_wff_program.pdf). The role reached beyond entertainment: the real-life [United States Department of Homeland Security](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-department-of-homeland-security) named a research and development program "Project CHL" in homage to her character[7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-lynn-rajskub/).
When the series ended with its eighth season in 2010, she decided to devote herself fully to comedy and began touring a full club act[3](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/may/02/mary-lynn-rajskub-24-standup-comedy-gigs). She returned as Chloe in the twelve-episode revival *24: Live Another Day* (2014), in which the character reappears with a darker storyline[3](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/may/02/mary-lynn-rajskub-24-standup-comedy-gigs).
## Film and later television
Rajskub's film roles include *Little Miss Sunshine* (2006), *Sunshine Cleaning* (2008), *Julie & Julia* (2009), *Night School* (2018) with [Kevin Hart](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-hart) and [Tiffany Haddish](https://www.edgepedia.org/tiffany-haddish), and the [Chris Pratt](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-pratt) science-fiction film *The Tomorrow War* (2021)[1](https://www.marylynnmarylynn.com/bio) • [9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/mary_lynn_rajskub). On television she has appeared in dozens of series, including *Brooklyn Nine-Nine*, *Californication*, *2 Broke Girls*, *Grey's Anatomy*, *Modern Family*, and *Gilmore Girls*[1](https://www.marylynnmarylynn.com/bio). Her guest role as Bebe on *2 Broke Girls* appeared on the 2014 Primetime Emmy Awards ballot for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series[10](https://www.televisionacademy.com/sites/default/files/Guest-Performers_0.pdf).
Recent credits include the Fox anthology series *Accused*, a return as Gail the Snail on *It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia*, the Disney+ comedy *Dashing Through The Snow*, the [Amanda Seyfried](https://www.edgepedia.org/amanda-seyfried) miniseries *The Dropout*, the [John Stamos](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-stamos) series *Big Shot*, and the Bill Burr series *Immoral Compass*[1](https://www.marylynnmarylynn.com/bio). She co-stars in the Netflix comedy *North of North* as Helen, the manager of a local community center; the series is shot on location in the Arctic and follows a young Inuk woman rebuilding her life after a public exit from her marriage[1](https://www.marylynnmarylynn.com/bio).
## Stand-up and writing
Rajskub describes her comedy as "deeply personal", drawing on her own anecdotes and life experiences[3](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/may/02/mary-lynn-rajskub-24-standup-comedy-gigs). Her one-woman show *Mary Lynn Spreads Her Legs* became a statement on postpartum depression[11](https://www.wpr.org/shows/beta/episode-319-mary-lynn-rajskub-charlie-hill-golden-age-animation).
Her hour-long special *Mary Lynn Rajskub: Live From The Pandemic* premiered on February 1, 2021; it was shot in one unedited take in her garage and covers her career, home life, and love life during the pandemic[1](https://www.marylynnmarylynn.com/bio). A second special, *Mary Lynn Rajskub: Road Gig*, premiered on YouTube in December, filmed at Zanies Comedy Club in Rosemont, Illinois[1](https://www.marylynnmarylynn.com/bio). On May 17, 2022, she published her first book, *FAME-ISH: My Life At The Edge Of Stardom*, a comedic account of her career[1](https://www.marylynnmarylynn.com/bio).
## References
1. [Bio — Mary Lynn Rajskub, official site](https://www.marylynnmarylynn.com/bio)
2. [Mary Lynn Rajskub - Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0707476/bio/)
3. [Mary Lynn Rajskub: from the drama of 24 to secret standup comedy, The Guardian (2014)](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/may/02/mary-lynn-rajskub-24-standup-comedy-gigs)
4. [SAG Awards Nominee Histories](https://www.sagawards.org/sites/default/files/nominee_histories_0.pdf)
5. [Waterfront Film Festival 2007 program](https://www.waterfrontfilm.org/documents/2007_wff_program.pdf)
6. [Mary Lynn Rajskub interview, The A.V. Club (2007)](https://www.avclub.com/mary-lynn-rajskub-1798212839)
7. [Mary Lynn Rajskub - Actress, Comedian, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/mary-lynn-rajskub/)
8. [Mary Lynn Rajskub interview, The A.V. Club (2008)](https://www.avclub.com/mary-lynn-rajskub-doesnt-hate-her-baby-any-more-1798218062)
9. [Mary Lynn Rajskub, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/mary_lynn_rajskub)
10. [Television Academy, 2014 Primetime Emmy Awards ballot, guest performers](https://www.televisionacademy.com/sites/default/files/Guest-Performers_0.pdf)
11. [Episode 319: Mary Lynn Rajskub, Wisconsin Public Radio](https://www.wpr.org/shows/beta/episode-319-mary-lynn-rajskub-charlie-hill-golden-age-animation)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames R to Ri*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license