Crista Flanagan

Crista Flanagan's career journey took her from "MADtv" to "Mad Men." As an actress and comedienne, her versatile talents saw many outlets, from television and film to podcasts to the stage. Her wide variety of characters and roles showcased a chameleon-like talent she began honing as a child. Flanagan was born in Mount Vernon, Illinois. Like a lot of people who gravitate towards show business, she performed regularly in her elementary school talent shows. After graduating from the University of Evansville with a Bachelor of Science in Theater, Flanagan received a Master of Fine Arts from USC Irvine. Flanagan became part of the "MADtv" (Fox 1995-2009) ensemble in 2005, staying with the show until it ended four years later. The celebrities Flanagan parodied on the show included Miley Cyrus, Natalie Maines, Heidi Klum, America Ferrera, and many others. During this period, Flanagan also played incompetent secretary Lois Sadler on "Mad Men" (AMC 2007-15); in her most famous scene on the series, she drunkenly ran over the foot of incoming British executive Guy MacKendrick (Jamie Thomas King) with a riding lawn mower. Flanagan also appeared on such varied shows as Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO 2000-2011), David E. Kelley's "The Practice" (ABC 1997-2004), long-running procedural drama "ER" (NBC 1994-2009) and rude sitcom "2 Broke Girls" (CBS 2011-). In addition, Flanagan was a regular ensemble member of the movie parodies created by the writing / directing team of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, appearing in "Meet the Spartans" (2008), "Disaster Movie" (2008), "Epic Movie" (2007), and "Vampires Suck" (2013).