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Jane Lynch: Her 5 Funniest Roles

By Laila Abuelhawa
Jane Lynch attends NBC's "Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love" Birthday Special at Avalon Hollywood & Bardot on March 02, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Jane Lynch does it all: she’s an actress, a comedian, game show host and a singer. The 63-year-old Illinois native has an impressive 236 acting credits! From the famed musical comedy series Glee, to hilarious supporting characters in iconic movies like 40-Year-Old Virgin, Lynch has the comedic chops to keep you in stitches. Lynch was born and raised in Illinois, graduating from Illinois State University in 1982 with a theater degree, and earned a master of fine arts degree from Cornell University in 1984. Though she is also a singer, Lynch is deaf in her right ear. She told Craig Ferguson in a 2013 appearance on The Late Late Show that the deafness was most likely caused by having had a high fever as an infant. She was in a comedy troupe before she got her start in films in 1988 with a small role in the film Vice Versa. A few years later in 1993, she had a supporting role as a doctor alongside Harrison Ford in The Fugitive, appearing that same year as a reporter in Fatal Instinct.

Besides film and television, Lynch has also been in notable works in theater. She starred in Nora Ephron’s off-Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore in 2009. Then, she made her Broadway debut as Miss Hannigan in the revival of Annie in 2013. Nine years later, Lynch returned to Broadway as Mrs. Brice in another revival, Funny Girl, in 2022.

Take a look below at our top 5 picks of Jane Lynch’s funniest roles:

  • Only Murders In The Building

    In OMITB, Lynch plays Sazz Pataki, the stunt double of Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) from when he starred in the 1990’s crime drama, Brazzos. When she unexpectedly shows up, she immediately helps the trio investigate who killed Bunny. But she gives  Charlie major PTSD; she stole his girlfriend years earlier.

  • Best In Show

    After starring in one of director Christopher Guest’s commercials, he cast her in the hilarious 2000 dog show mockumentary Best in Show. Lynch played Christy Cummings, a lesbian personal dog handler to trophy wife Sheri Ann Cabot (Jennifer Coolidge).

  • The 40-Year-Old Virgin

    Lynch’s “Guatemalan Love Song” may sound romantic, but when translated to English, it means “whenever I clean my room, I can’t find anything. Where are you going with such haste? To a football game!”

  • Two and a Half Men

    Lynch plays the recurring role of Charlie’s (Charlie Sheen) very sarcastic psychiatrist, Linda Freeman in the sitcom. She is notorious for overcharging people, such as when she charged Charlie two hundred dollars for using only five minutes of the session or when she let Alan sleep through forty minutes of their session.

  • Role Models

    Lynch with Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse is comedy gold. She plays the role of Gayle Sweeny, who leads Sturdy Wings, a big brother-big sister program. As a recovering addict, her character very harshly warns Scott and Rudd that if they don’t complete 150 hours of community service over the next 30 days, they’ll wind up in jail for a month.

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