Judy Greer career timeline shows how an actress who started with small supporting roles developed a wide-ranging career across film, television, animation, directing, and producing. From her first screen appearance in the late 1990s to major projects such as 13 Going on 30, The Descendants, Jurassic World, Ant-Man, Archer, and Halloween, Greer has built a career defined by versatility and memorable supporting performances.
Early Life and Acting Training
Judy Greer was born Judith Therese Evans on July 20, 1975, and grew up outside Detroit, Michigan. Before pursuing acting, she trained in classical Russian ballet for almost a decade. She eventually changed her career direction and attended The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, graduating in 1997.
Her background in performing arts gave her an early foundation for a career in entertainment. After graduating, Greer moved toward professional acting and quickly began finding opportunities in television and film.
Her first screen role came shortly after college. She appeared in the comedy Kissing a Fool, released in 1998. According to her IMDb biography, Greer landed the role only three days after graduating and subsequently moved to Los Angeles.
1998–2000: First Film and Television Roles
The late 1990s were an important starting point in Greer’s career. After Kissing a Fool, she appeared in Jawbreaker in 1999, a dark high-school comedy starring Rose McGowan and Rebecca Gayheart. The role helped establish Greer as a recognizable supporting performer.
She also appeared in David O. Russell’s Three Kings in 1999. The film starred George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube and gave Greer another opportunity to work within a major Hollywood production.
In 2000, Greer appeared in What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt, and What Planet Are You From? with Garry Shandling. These projects expanded her film résumé and demonstrated her ability to move between different types of comedy and drama.
Her early television work also included appearances in shows such as Love & Money, Maggie Winters, and Early Edition. These smaller roles helped her gain experience in television while she continued building her film career.
2001–2003: Growing Recognition
Greer’s career continued to expand during the early 2000s. One of her notable roles came in The Wedding Planner in 2001, where she played Penny alongside Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey. The romantic comedy gave Greer exposure to a much larger mainstream audience.
In 2002, she appeared in Spike Jonze’s Adaptation., starring Nicolas Cage. Greer played Alice, a waitress connected to Cage’s character. The film received significant critical attention and became another example of Greer’s ability to work in distinctive ensemble productions.
Greer also appeared in The Hebrew Hammer in 2003, taking a leading role as Esther alongside Adam Goldberg. The comedy premiered at the Sundance Film Festival before reaching a wider audience through Comedy Central and theatrical distribution.
Around this period, Greer also began gaining attention on television. She became known for playing Kitty Sanchez on Arrested Development, appearing as Jason Bateman’s assistant. The series became an important part of her television résumé and helped introduce her comedic style to television audiences.
2004–2005: Breakthrough With Major Hollywood Films
A major stage in the Judy Greer career timeline arrived in 2004.
Greer appeared in 13 Going on 30, starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo. She played Lucy Wyman, a co-worker of Garner’s character. The movie became one of the most recognizable romantic comedies of the period, and Greer’s performance helped make her a familiar face to mainstream audiences.
That same year, she appeared in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village. The film featured an ensemble cast including Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, Adrien Brody, Sigourney Weaver, and William Hurt. Greer played Kitty Walker.
In 2005, Greer appeared in several films, including Cursed and Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown. She played Heather Baylor, the sister of Orlando Bloom’s character in Elizabethtown. She also appeared in the independent film The Great New Wonderful.
These projects demonstrated an important pattern in her career: Greer regularly worked alongside major stars while taking supporting roles that gave her characters a strong presence.
2006–2010: Television and Film Expansion
During the second half of the 2000s, Greer continued appearing in both movies and television shows.
She took roles in films including The TV Set, 27 Dresses, Love Happens, and other comedy and drama projects. Her work during this period strengthened her reputation as a versatile supporting actress.
Television became increasingly important as well. Greer appeared in or had recurring roles on programs including Two and a Half Men, Miss Guided, Californication, Royal Pains, and other popular series. She even played multiple characters on Two and a Half Men.
Her career was not limited to traditional sitcoms. Greer continued moving between comedy, drama, independent films, and television guest appearances.
This ability to work across different formats became one of the defining characteristics of her career.
2011: The Descendants
One of Greer’s notable dramatic film appearances came with Alexander Payne’s The Descendants in 2011.
The movie starred George Clooney and included an ensemble cast featuring Shailene Woodley and other established performers. Greer played Julie Speer. The film received major critical recognition and won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Greer’s performance was also recognized by awards organizations. She received a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and a Gotham Award nomination as part of the film’s ensemble.
The Descendants became an important point in her career because it demonstrated that her work extended beyond straightforward comedy and supporting roles in mainstream studio films.
2012–2014: Broadway, Writing, and Animation
In 2012, Greer expanded her experience beyond film and television by making her Broadway debut in Dead Accounts, appearing opposite Katie Holmes.
She also developed her voice as a writer. In 2014, she published the book I Don’t Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star. The book reflected on her experiences working as a recognizable supporting actress in Hollywood.
Another major development during this period was her work in animation.
Greer became widely recognized for voicing Cheryl Tunt and other characters on the animated comedy Archer. She appeared in the series from 2009 through 2023, with IMDb listing 143 episodes.
Her work on Archer became one of the longest-running and most recognizable parts of her career.
2014–2015: Planet of the Apes and Marvel
Greer entered major franchise territory in the mid-2010s.
In 2014, she played Cornelia in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The film starred Andy Serkis and continued the modern Planet of the Apes series. Greer’s performance involved extensive work within the film’s motion-capture-driven production environment.
The following year, she appeared in two major studio films.
She played Karen Mitchell in Jurassic World, joining the long-running Jurassic Park franchise. She also appeared as Maggie Lang in Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man, playing the former wife of Scott Lang, portrayed by Paul Rudd.
These roles brought Greer into some of Hollywood’s biggest modern entertainment franchises.
2016–2018: Directing and More Television
Greer continued to expand her career in the second half of the 2010s.
She appeared in films such as Wilson, War for the Planet of the Apes, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and other projects. At the same time, she continued taking television roles.
One particularly significant development was her move into directing.
Greer made her feature-film directorial debut with A Happening of Monumental Proportions. The film featured an ensemble cast including Common, Jennifer Garner, Allison Janney, Katie Holmes, Anders Holm, and Storm Reid. It premiered at the Bentonville Film Festival in 2017, where it won the Audience Spotlight award.
This marked a new stage in Greer’s career because she was no longer working exclusively in front of the camera.
2019–2021: Comedy, Horror, and Franchise Work
Greer remained active across multiple genres during the late 2010s and early 2020s.
She starred opposite Jim Carrey and Catherine Keener in the Showtime series Kidding. She also continued her work on Archer and appeared in numerous other television projects.
Her film work included Halloween in 2018, in which she played Karen Nelson, the daughter of Jamie Lee Curtis’s Laurie Strode. Greer returned to the role in Halloween Kills in 2021.
The Halloween films gave her an opportunity to work in a horror franchise while playing a character directly connected to one of the genre’s most recognizable protagonists.
She also continued appearing in independent productions and television projects, maintaining the broad range that had characterized her career from the beginning.
2022–2024: Limited Series and Voice Work
Greer’s television career remained strong during the 2020s.
She appeared in The Thing About Pam alongside Renée Zellweger and received a 2022 Hollywood Critics Association Television Award nomination for her performance as Leah Askey.
She also appeared in the Showtime anthology series The First Lady alongside Michelle Pfeiffer, Viola Davis, and Gillian Anderson. In addition, she appeared in HBO’s White House Plumbers with Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux.
Greer’s voice acting continued as well. In addition to Archer, she voiced Luna on the PBS children’s series Let’s Go Luna!.
Her work during this period shows how her career had developed beyond one particular genre. She could move between live-action comedy, drama, animation, franchise films, and limited television series.
2025–2026: Continuing an Expansive Career
Greer continued appearing in film and television projects during 2025 and 2026.
IMDb lists her among the cast of The Long Walk in 2025, where she played Mrs. Ginnie Garraty. The film is based on Stephen King’s novel.
Her recent credits also include television projects such as Stick and The Last Thing He Told Me, along with films and other productions listed for 2026. IMDb’s current filmography includes The Five Star Weekend, In Memoriam, Chili Finger, and other projects at different stages of release or production.
This recent work demonstrates that Greer’s career remains active decades after her first screen appearances.
Judy Greer’s Career Evolution
The Judy Greer career timeline is notable because it does not follow a traditional path from one starring role to another. Instead, Greer built her career through a large number of supporting, recurring, comedic, dramatic, and voice performances.
Her early years established her as a dependable supporting actress. Films such as Jawbreaker, What Women Want, The Wedding Planner, and 13 Going on 30 introduced her to increasingly large audiences.
During the 2010s, her career expanded into major franchises, including Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Jurassic World, Ant-Man, and Halloween. At the same time, her television and animation work gave her opportunities to develop recurring characters over longer periods.
Her work as a director, author, and producer also shows that she has explored several areas of the entertainment industry rather than focusing exclusively on acting.
Why Judy Greer’s Career Stands Out
Greer’s career demonstrates the importance of supporting performances in Hollywood. While she has appeared in many projects without being the central protagonist, her filmography includes major studio franchises, acclaimed dramas, television comedies, animated series, and independent films.
Her ability to shift between genres has been particularly important. She has performed comedy in projects such as 13 Going on 30 and The Wedding Planner, drama in The Descendants, franchise roles in Jurassic World and Ant-Man, horror in Halloween, and voice acting in Archer.
Her career also illustrates how television can complement a film career. Long-running work on Archer, recurring appearances on television series, and roles in limited series have kept her visible across different generations of audiences.
Conclusion
The Judy Greer career timeline stretches from her first screen appearances in the late 1990s to an extensive body of work across film, television, animation, Broadway, directing, and writing.
She moved from early supporting roles in movies such as Kissing a Fool and Jawbreaker to recognizable performances in 13 Going on 30, The Descendants, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Jurassic World, Ant-Man, and Halloween. Her television work, particularly Archer, became another major part of her professional identity.
Rather than being defined by a single character or genre, Greer’s career has developed through variety. Her filmography continues to include comedy, drama, animation, franchise entertainment, and television, making her one of the more consistently active supporting performers of her generation.
