# Wendi McLendon-Covey
**Wendi McLendon-Covey** (born 1969, birth name Wendi Anne McLendon) is an American actress, comedian, and producer known for playing Deputy Clementine Johnson on *Reno 911!*, Rita in *Bridesmaids* (2011), and Beverly Goldberg on the ABC sitcom *The Goldbergs*, a role she held for the series' full ten-season run from 2013 to 2023.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1018488/) She got her start at the Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles, where she excelled at improv and sketch comedy, and has since built a career spanning network sitcoms, studio comedies, and voice work in animation.[2](https://www.dgepress.com/storage/uploads/C6/6B/C66B0F27-F1A8-3AB6-8D63-73B37EE443E0/BCG_The_Movie_Wendi_McLendon-Covey_Bio_2024.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1969, Bellflower, California; birth name Wendi Anne McLendon[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1018488/) |
| Improv training | Sunday Company at the Groundlings 2001–2002, Main Company 2002–2009[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/11919/wendi-mclendon-covey) |
| Breakout role | Deputy Clementine Johnson on Comedy Central's *Reno 911!*, a mockumentary about law enforcement[2](https://www.dgepress.com/storage/uploads/C6/6B/C66B0F27-F1A8-3AB6-8D63-73B37EE443E0/BCG_The_Movie_Wendi_McLendon-Covey_Bio_2024.pdf) |
| Signature sitcom role | Beverly Goldberg on *The Goldbergs*, 2013–2023, 229 episodes, with two Critics' Choice nominations[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1018488/) |
| Film work | Rita in *Bridesmaids* (2011); a veteran of over 40 movies including *Blended* and *What Men Want*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1018488/) • [2](https://www.dgepress.com/storage/uploads/C6/6B/C66B0F27-F1A8-3AB6-8D63-73B37EE443E0/BCG_The_Movie_Wendi_McLendon-Covey_Bio_2024.pdf) |
| Animation | Gale in Pixar's Oscar-nominated *Elemental* (2023); Nancy Green in Disney's *Big City Greens*; Chief Patsy Stamos in Fox's *Grimsburg*[2](https://www.dgepress.com/storage/uploads/C6/6B/C66B0F27-F1A8-3AB6-8D63-73B37EE443E0/BCG_The_Movie_Wendi_McLendon-Covey_Bio_2024.pdf) |
| Current series | Dr. Joyce Henderson on NBC's *St. Denis Medical* (2024– )[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/11919/wendi-mclendon-covey) |
| Emmy recognition | Executive producer nomination, Outstanding Television Movie, 2022, for *Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon*[4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/wendi-mclendon-covey) |
## Early life and the Groundlings
McLendon-Covey was born in Bellflower, California, and earned a bachelor's degree in liberal studies and creative writing from [California State University, Long Beach](https://www.edgepedia.org/california-state-university-long-beach) before turning to comedy.[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wendi-mclendon-covey/) In interviews she has described pursuing acting against her parents' wishes, doing it in secret at first, and committing to it fully after marrying and living on her own.[6](https://www.glamour.com/story/wendi-mclendon-covey-on-her-ne)
**The Groundlings years.** She joined the Groundlings, the Los Angeles improvisation and sketch comedy troupe whose alumni include [Melissa McCarthy](https://www.edgepedia.org/melissa-mccarthy), Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, and [Maya Rudolph](https://www.edgepedia.org/maya-rudolph), and spent about a year and a half in the Sunday Company, the final step before election to the main company, performing new material nearly every week.[6](https://www.glamour.com/story/wendi-mclendon-covey-on-her-ne) She was in the Sunday Company from 2001 to 2002 and a member of the Main Company from 2002 to 2009.[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/11919/wendi-mclendon-covey) There she developed a colorful range of characters, including a promiscuous officer named [Clementine](https://www.edgepedia.org/clementine) who later became her television breakout role.[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wendi-mclendon-covey/)
## Reno 911! and early screen work
McLendon-Covey landed *Reno 911!* at a low point in her career, when she had just joined the Groundlings and, by her own account, was not going out on auditions; a casting assistant who saw her subbing in a play recommended her for the role.[6](https://www.glamour.com/story/wendi-mclendon-covey-on-her-ne) The Comedy Central series, shot documentary style, parodied the long-running reality show *COPS* and starred improv actors including [Thomas Lennon](https://www.edgepedia.org/thomas-lennon) and [Niecy Nash](https://www.edgepedia.org/niecy-nash). McLendon-Covey played Deputy Clementine Johnson, a character drawn directly from her Groundlings work, a part that earned her the title of "Queen of Improv" from [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide).[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wendi-mclendon-covey/) The show ran six years in its original run, and she reprised the role in the 2007 film *Reno 911!: Miami* and in the 2020 reboot, which she also executive produced.[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wendi-mclendon-covey/) • [7](https://abc.com/cast/cd9cfa5d-eba9-4f7e-b21c-f1e98244d515)
Her feature film debut came with a cameo as an entertainment reporter in [Nora Ephron](https://www.edgepedia.org/nora-ephron)'s *Bewitched* (2005), opposite [Will Ferrell](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-ferrell), Nicole Kidman, and [Shirley MacLaine](https://www.edgepedia.org/shirley-maclaine).[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wendi-mclendon-covey/) She wrote, produced, and starred in the improvised comedy *Cook Off!* (2007), and in 2007 the HBO Comedy Festival created a special award for her performances in two all-improv movies, *Cook-Off* and *Closing Escrow*.[8](https://groundlings.com/people/wendi-mclendon-covey) She also wrote, produced, and starred in the web series *GILF* (2008).[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wendi-mclendon-covey/)
## Bridesmaids and film career
In 2011 McLendon-Covey played Rita, a frustrated wife and mother of three who says she hates being either, in [Judd Apatow](https://www.edgepedia.org/judd-apatow)-produced *Bridesmaids*, alongside fellow Groundlings alumni [Kristen Wiig](https://www.edgepedia.org/kristen-wiig) and Maya Rudolph.[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wendi-mclendon-covey/) • [8](https://groundlings.com/people/wendi-mclendon-covey) The ensemble cast received a [Screen Actors Guild](https://www.edgepedia.org/screen-actors-guild) nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, and the film earned two nominations at the 84th Academy Awards.[7](https://abc.com/cast/cd9cfa5d-eba9-4f7e-b21c-f1e98244d515) • [9](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/bridesmaids-star-wendi-mclendon-covey-responds-to-oscar-reunion-snub-rumors) TV Guide has described the scene-stealing role as helping establish her career as one of Hollywood's comic actresses.[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wendi-mclendon-covey/)
She has since appeared in more than 40 movies, including the studio films *What Men Want* and [Adam Sandler](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-sandler)'s *Blended*, and the indie and festival films *Hello, My Name is Doris*, *Blush*, and *Paint*.[2](https://www.dgepress.com/storage/uploads/C6/6B/C66B0F27-F1A8-3AB6-8D63-73B37EE443E0/BCG_The_Movie_Wendi_McLendon-Covey_Bio_2024.pdf) *Blush*, an independent drama in which she played the lead, debuted at the [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival) in 2019 and was released worldwide in 2020.[7](https://abc.com/cast/cd9cfa5d-eba9-4f7e-b21c-f1e98244d515) In 2023 she played the title role in the television movie *Bad Romance: The Vicky White Story*, on which she also served as executive producer.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1018488/)
## The Goldbergs
McLendon-Covey's next major television role was Beverly Goldberg, the smothering matriarch of the 1980s-set ABC sitcom *The Goldbergs*, based on creator Adam Goldberg's own family home videos.[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wendi-mclendon-covey/) • [6](https://www.glamour.com/story/wendi-mclendon-covey-on-her-ne) She has said that after reading the pilot script she told her representatives to cancel her other meetings because she was doing this show and nothing else.[6](https://www.glamour.com/story/wendi-mclendon-covey-on-her-ne) The series ran ten seasons, from 2013 to 2023, totaling 229 episodes, and at the time of its conclusion stood as the longest-running network comedy then on air; her performance drew two Critics' Choice nominations, and she served as an executive producer in later seasons.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1018488/) • [2](https://www.dgepress.com/storage/uploads/C6/6B/C66B0F27-F1A8-3AB6-8D63-73B37EE443E0/BCG_The_Movie_Wendi_McLendon-Covey_Bio_2024.pdf) New York Magazine's Vulture named her "The Greatest TV Mom of 2015" for the role.[7](https://abc.com/cast/cd9cfa5d-eba9-4f7e-b21c-f1e98244d515)
The show's later years were marked by the 2021 departure of her co-star Jeff Garlin, who played her husband Murray, following human resources investigations into his on-set behavior. McLendon-Covey told Andy Cohen that the departure was "a long time coming" and that she was exhausted from what she called the "PTSD of it all"; Garlin later said he had been undiagnosed bipolar at the time and empathized with her reaction.[10](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/jeff-garlin-reacts-to-goldbergs-co-star-wendi-mclendon-coveys-ptsd-from-working-with-him/)
## Hosting, voice work, and St. Denis Medical
Between sitcom seasons she hosted the ABC hidden-camera improv series *Repeat After Me*, produced by Ellen DeGeneres, which premiered on February 17, 2015; on it, she fed instructions through a hidden earpiece to celebrities such as Scott Foley and Sarah Hyland as they interacted with people on the street.[11](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/repeat-after-me) She also hosted the HGTV special *Frozen in Design*, streaming on Max.[2](https://www.dgepress.com/storage/uploads/C6/6B/C66B0F27-F1A8-3AB6-8D63-73B37EE443E0/BCG_The_Movie_Wendi_McLendon-Covey_Bio_2024.pdf)
**Animation.** In recent years she has become a prolific voice performer. She voices Nancy Green, mother of Cricket and Tilly, in Disney's *Big City Greens* and its 2024 film *Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation*, voiced Gale in Disney-Pixar's Oscar-nominated *Elemental* (2023), and plays Chief Patsy Stamos in Fox's *Grimsburg*. Her other animation credits include *Bob's Burgers*, *Marvel's M.O.D.O.K.*, and *Solar Opposites*.[2](https://www.dgepress.com/storage/uploads/C6/6B/C66B0F27-F1A8-3AB6-8D63-73B37EE443E0/BCG_The_Movie_Wendi_McLendon-Covey_Bio_2024.pdf)
After *The Goldbergs* ended, she moved to her next series lead, Dr. Joyce Henderson on *St. Denis Medical*, an NBC workplace comedy set in an underfunded hospital, which premiered in 2024 and earned a Critics' Choice nomination.[2](https://www.dgepress.com/storage/uploads/C6/6B/C66B0F27-F1A8-3AB6-8D63-73B37EE443E0/BCG_The_Movie_Wendi_McLendon-Covey_Bio_2024.pdf) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1018488/) As an executive producer she also earned a 2022 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Television Movie for *Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon*, which streamed on Paramount+.[4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/wendi-mclendon-covey)
## Personal life
McLendon-Covey married Greg Covey on August 10, 1996, and the couple lives in Long Beach, California, with rescue cats.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1018488/) • [2](https://www.dgepress.com/storage/uploads/C6/6B/C66B0F27-F1A8-3AB6-8D63-73B37EE443E0/BCG_The_Movie_Wendi_McLendon-Covey_Bio_2024.pdf) She has described her philanthropic support of the Long Beach Women's Shelter, PETA, and Foster Nation.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1018488/) In 2009, 2010, and 2011 she spent New Year's performing for troops at small bases in Iraq and Kuwait that rarely received entertainment visits.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1018488/)
## References
1. [Wendi McLendon-Covey, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1018488/)
2. [Wendi McLendon-Covey biography, Big City Greens the Movie: Spacecation press kit, Disney](https://www.dgepress.com/storage/uploads/C6/6B/C66B0F27-F1A8-3AB6-8D63-73B37EE443E0/BCG_The_Movie_Wendi_McLendon-Covey_Bio_2024.pdf)
3. [Wendi McLendon-Covey, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/11919/wendi-mclendon-covey)
4. [Wendi McLendon-Covey, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/wendi-mclendon-covey)
5. [Wendi McLendon-Covey, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/wendi-mclendon-covey/)
6. [Wendi McLendon-Covey on Her New Sitcom and Her Career in Comedy, Glamour (2013)](https://www.glamour.com/story/wendi-mclendon-covey-on-her-ne)
7. [Wendi McLendon-Covey cast biography, The Goldbergs, ABC](https://abc.com/cast/cd9cfa5d-eba9-4f7e-b21c-f1e98244d515)
8. [Wendi McLendon-Covey, The Groundlings](https://groundlings.com/people/wendi-mclendon-covey)
9. ['Bridesmaids' Star Reveals the Shock Reason for Oscars Reunion Snub Rumors, The Daily Beast (2026)](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/bridesmaids-star-wendi-mclendon-covey-responds-to-oscar-reunion-snub-rumors)
10. [Jeff Garlin Reacts to Co-Star's 'PTSD' From Working With Him, The Daily Beast (2026)](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/jeff-garlin-reacts-to-goldbergs-co-star-wendi-mclendon-coveys-ptsd-from-working-with-him/)
11. [Repeat After Me, Parents' Guide and TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/repeat-after-me)
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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 Mc to Mi*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 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