Mary Elizabeth Ellis


Mary Elizabeth Ellis is an American actress. She is best known for her recurring roles as List of [It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia characters#The Waitress|The Waitress] on the FX comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Nick's ex-girlfriend Caroline in the Fox sitcom New Girl, and Lisa Palmer on the Netflix horror-comedy Santa Clarita Diet. She starred as Amy in the shortlived NBC sitcom Perfect Couples and Debbie Sanderson in the Fox sitcom The Grinder. More recently, she played Gary's mother Anita in Licorice Pizza, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Early life and education

Mary Elizabeth Ellis was born on May 11, 1979, in Laurel, Mississippi.
She graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2001.

Career

TV and film

Since the first season of the FX/FXX comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia began airing in 2005, Ellis has been mostly known for her role as List of It's [Always Sunny in Philadelphia characters#The Waitress|The Waitress].
In 2008, she co-wrote and starred as Olive in the independent film A Quiet Little Marriage. Ellis was a series regular on the NBC romantic comedy series Perfect Couples, which ran for one season in 2011.
In 2015, she got her first main role as Debbie Sanderson, co-starring with Fred Savage and Rob Lowe in The Grinder. In 2020, she appeared in Disney's Godmothered. The next year, she appeared in Licorice Pizza as Momma Anita.
Ellis has appeared in a number of other television series, including Reno 911!, House M.D., ''Without a Trace, Cold Case, New Girl, Happy Endings, and Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet. In 2024 she appeared in A Man on the Inside'' as Ted Danson's daughter. The series was renewed for a second season, which was released in November 2025.

Stage

Ellis and her It's Always Sunny colleague Artemis Pebdani were as of 2011 members of the Los Angeles-based performance group Discount Cruise to Hell. Together, they wrote and starred in the stage show Mother May I Dance with Mary Jane's Fist?: A Lifetime Original Play at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles. The stage show was later adapted to TV for Adult Swim in 2018.

Music videos

She has also appeared music videos, including "Diaper Money" for The Lonely Island, and "Anti-Hero" for Taylor Swift.

Personal life

Ellis and Charlie Day met in 2001 and began dating immediately. They were married on March 4, 2006. Their son was born in 2011.
The couple have an extensive history of appearing on shows together. In 2004, they auditioned together as incestuous siblings for Reno 911! and landed the roles. Around the same time, Ellis also began playing The Waitress in home movies Day was making. The films became the pilot episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia in 2005, in which Ellis stars.