# Sara Rue
**Sara Rue** (born 1979 in New York City; birth name Sara Schlackman) is an American actress whose career began at age nine and is best known for the WB comedy *Popular* and her starring role as Claude Casey on ABC's *Less Than Perfect*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-rue/) • [2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1979, New York City; birth name Sara Schlackman[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-rue/) |
| First role | *Rocket Gibraltar* (1988), at age nine, as Burt Lancaster's granddaughter[2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue) |
| Breakthrough series | *Popular* (The WB, 1999–2001), as a high school student excluded from the cheerleading squad[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-rue/) |
| Starring role | Claude Casey on ABC's *Less Than Perfect*[2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue) |
| Notable later work | Olivia Caliban in Netflix's *A Series of Unfortunate Events* (7 episodes, 2018); Nell Forester on *The Rookie* (2018–2024)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0749081/) |
| Marriage | Kevin Price, May 21, 2011; two children[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0749081/) |
## Early life and start in acting
Rue was born and raised in Manhattan and spent much of her childhood backstage with her father, a Broadway stage manager.[2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue) Her first film role came at nine, in *Rocket Gibraltar* (1988), playing [Burt Lancaster](https://www.edgepedia.org/burt-lancaster)'s granddaughter; TV Insider describes the part as the daughter of [Kevin Spacey](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-spacey)'s character.[2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-rue/) Shortly afterward she made her television series debut on the NBC sitcom *Grand*, playing the self-possessed daughter of a single mother played by [Pamela Reed](https://www.edgepedia.org/pamela-reed).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-rue/)
## Television career
Through the 1990s Rue built a record of series and guest work. She had a recurring role on the sitcom *Phenom* from 1993 to 1994, played a teenage version of Roseanne Conner in a 1992 [Halloween](https://www.edgepedia.org/halloween) episode of *Roseanne*, and appeared in the TV movies *For My Daughter's Honor* (CBS, 1996) and *Silent Hearts* (Lifetime, 1998).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-rue/) • [4](https://www.aol.com/popular-sara-rue-talks-living-212501030.html) She was the receptionist on *Minor Adjustments* (NBC, 1995; UPN, 1996) and played the cunning Breeny Kennedy on The WB's *Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-rue/)
**Popular and Less Than Perfect.** Her prominence rose with *Popular* (1999–2001), Ryan Murphy's first project, in which she played a spirited high school student excluded from the cheerleading squad because of her size.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-rue/) • [4](https://www.aol.com/popular-sara-rue-talks-living-212501030.html) She then starred as Claude Casey in ABC's *Less Than Perfect*, the role she is most identified with.[2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue) Later series work included regular roles as Kim on *Malibu Country* alongside [Reba McEntire](https://www.edgepedia.org/reba-mcentire) and [Lily Tomlin](https://www.edgepedia.org/lily-tomlin), and as Dora Winston on [TV Land](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-land)'s *Impastor* for two seasons, plus recurring appearances on *Bones*, *Rules of Engagement*, and the Chuck Lorre shows *Two and a Half Men*, *The Big Bang Theory*, and *Mom*.[2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0749081/)
In 2018 she played the school librarian Olivia Caliban in the second season of Netflix's Emmy-nominated *A Series of Unfortunate Events*, appearing in seven episodes, and from 2018 to 2024 she played Nell Forester in six episodes of *The Rookie*, reuniting with former costar [Nathan Fillion](https://www.edgepedia.org/nathan-fillion).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0749081/) • [5](https://www.aol.com/articles/why-actress-sara-rue-ditched-183044000.html) She also appeared as Julia on *B Positive* (2020–2021).[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0749081/)
## Film work
Rue's film credits include the social misfit Earth Girl in *Can't Hardly Wait* (1998), [Sigourney Weaver](https://www.edgepedia.org/sigourney-weaver)'s cellmate in *A Map of the World* (1999), [Lili Taylor](https://www.edgepedia.org/lili-taylor)'s best friend in the adaptation of [Anne Tyler](https://www.edgepedia.org/anne-tyler)'s *A Slipping-Down Life* (1999), a nurse in *Pearl Harbor* (2001), and the title role in the independent film *Gypsy 83* (2001), for which she received strong reviews.[2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue) She played the attorney general of the United States in Mike Judge's *Idiocracy* (2006) and the title role in *Dorfman in Love* (2011).[2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0749081/)
She has also worked steadily in television movies, particularly for [Hallmark Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/hallmark-channel), starring in *All for Love* (as Jo) and *True Love Blooms* (2019), the latter as executive producer as well.[2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0749081/)
## Stage and producing
Rue starred at the Ensemble Studio Theatre's one-act festival in New York two years running, in *The Shallow End* and *Seventh Word, Four Syllables*, and made her Los Angeles stage debut at the Matrix Theatre in Wendy MacLeod's *The Water Children* and in the world premiere musical *Little Egypt*, later reprising that role [Off-Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/off-broadway).[2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue) As a producer she has sold a movie to [Dimension Films](https://www.edgepedia.org/dimension-films) and a half-hour pilot she wrote to Warner Bros. and [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw).[2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue)
## Personal life
Rue married Kevin Price on May 21, 2011; the couple have two daughters.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0749081/) • [2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue) After the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike slowed work in Hollywood, she and her husband bought a house on Cape Cod that they had intended to rent out, moved in, and began do-it-yourself renovations that she shares online; she has described turning renovation work into functional exercise in place of gym workouts.[4](https://www.aol.com/popular-sara-rue-talks-living-212501030.html) • [5](https://www.aol.com/articles/why-actress-sara-rue-ditched-183044000.html) Her charity associations include CAST, Project Angel Food, The Lily Claire Foundation, the ACLU, and the NRDC.[2](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue)
## References
1. [Sara Rue – Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sara-rue/)
2. [Sara Rue as Jo on All for Love, Hallmark Channel](https://www.hallmarkchannel.com/all-for-love/cast/sara-rue)
3. [Sara Rue – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0749081/)
4. ["Popular"'s Sara Rue Talks Living in Cape Cod These Days, AOL/People (May 8, 2025)](https://www.aol.com/popular-sara-rue-talks-living-212501030.html)
5. [Why Actress Sara Rue Ditched the Gym in Favor of DIY Renovations, AOL/Woman's World (April 23, 2026)](https://www.aol.com/articles/why-actress-sara-rue-ditched-183044000.html)
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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: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Ro to Sa*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: 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