Jaime Pressly

Jaime Elizabeth Pressly (born July 30, 1977) is an American actress and model. Known for her role as Joy Turner on the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl (2005–2009), she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and received nominations for two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Satellite Award, and four Gold Derby Awards (winning once). She has appeared in such films as Can't Hardly Wait, Inferno (1999), Not Another Teen Movie (2001), The Karate Dog (2004), and I Love You, Man (2009). For her portrayal of Jill Kendall on the CBS sitcom Mom (2014–2021), she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Early life and modeling Pressly was born in Kinston, North Carolina, ), a car salesman. She has a brother, James Jr , and a sister, Jessica. In 1992, she moved with her family to Costa Mesa, California, where she spent the first semester of her high school sophomore year. At age 14, she appeared on her first cover, Teen Magazine, and became the spokesmodel for the International Cover Model Search. At 15, she dropped out of school and went to Japan on a modeling contract.

Acting career 1995–2004: Career beginnings After making an uncredited appearance in Baywatch in 1995, followed by filming a cameo in the film Mercenary in 1996, Pressly starred as Violet, a vengeful seductress, in the 1997 direct-to-DVD film Poison Ivy: The New Seduction, the third installment of the Poison Ivy series. After a small role in the teen cult classic Can't Hardly Wait, television appearances followed, with guest roles in the short-lived Push and Mortal Kombat: Conquest. She went on to play one of the leads in Jack & Jill, which aired for two seasons, from September 26, 1999, to April 15, 2001, on The WB. Pressly headlined the independent film Poor White Trash (2000), playing scheming gold-digger Sandy Lake, and appeared in three 2001 theatrical releases aimed at a teenage audience, which despite varying degrees of success, helped her receive more exposure. The parody film Not Another Teen Movie, most notably, featured her as Priscilla, a high school cheerleader opposite Chris Evans, while she took on the roles of a young wife in the sex comedy Tomcats and that of a Southern love interest in the comedy Joe Dirt, opposite David Spade.

In 2002, Pressly starred as a college student trapped in a haunted island in the independent horror film Demon Island. Felix Vasquez of Cinema Crazed regarded it as a guilty pleasure and stated: "[She] does what she can with her character and comes off as a rather charming character". She next portrayed a crazed, motorcycle-riding criminal in the action thriller Torque (2004), alongside Ice Cube. In a profile, The New Yorker, describing this phase of her career, asserted: "She is typically cast on the strength of her looks and her Southern sassiness, and she has had girlfriend roles in several forgettable teensploitation flicks".

2005–2009: Breakthrough

Between 2005 and 2009, Pressly played Joy Turner, the pessimistic, cold-hearted, stubborn and vain ex-wife of a small-time thief, in the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl, which was a success with critics and audiences. She garnered nominations for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and in 2007, she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the show. Pressly once called her role her "greatest release" and thanked creator Greg Garcia for restoring her faith in the business. She remarked: "[The series] came at a time when I was questioning whether this was the path I wanted to continue following. I was tired of living out of my suitcase, coming and going all the time. I wanted a little normalcy in my life."

During the early run of My Name Is Earl, Pressly produced and took on the role of a homicidal magazine editor in the independent film Death to the Supermodels (2005), a role she compared to that of Reese Witherspoon in Election.

In DOA: Dead or Alive (2006), a British-German martial arts action film based on a Japanese video game franchise of the same name, Pressly starred as one of four female fighters working together to uncover the secret that the organizer of an invitational martial arts contest is trying to hide. While the film was relatively successful on some markets, it only found a limited audience in North America. In 2006, she also hosted the first annual VH1 Rock Honors, and an episode of Saturday Night Live, and guest-starred on MADtv, playing Hillary Clinton in a parody of My Name Is Earl, "My Name Is Dubya", in which George W. Bush (Frank Caliendo) makes a list of all the bad things he has done in the past and rectifies them one by one. She voiced a bird in the animated comedy film Horton Hears a Who! (2008).

In I Love You, Man (2009), Pressly starred opposite Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, as the best friend of a bride-to-be and one half of a volatile married couple. The film received critical acclaim and was a box office success, grossing US$92 million worldwide. Rolling Stone found her "terrific" in her role, asserting: "Her battles with [her on-screen husband] have genuine comic bite".

2010–present: continued television roles The ABC Family television film Beauty & the Briefcase (2010), co-starring Hilary Duff, featured Pressly as a primary editor at Cosmopolitan magazine. The premiere received 2.4 million viewers attracting a strong female audience that drove the network to an all-time high in viewers. Smoke Screen, another 2010 television film, saw her star as a reporter finding herself in the middle of a murder investigation when she wakes up next to a dead body. In 2010, Pressly also guest-starred in two episodes of the CBS comedy Rules of Engagement, as a possible surrogate mother for Jeff and Audrey (Patrick Warburton and Megyn Price).

In 6 Month Rule (2011), an independent film released for limited theaters and digital markets, Pressly played what was described as a "harridan of an ex-fiancée" by The New York Times. She appeared in the interactive educational children's musical comedy The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure (2012), as a flamenco dancer riding a giant flying sombrero. Budgeted at US$20 million, the film only made US$445,000 in more than 2,000 screens during its opening weekend. Pressly next had regular roles in two short-lived series. The Fox sitcom I Hate My Teenage Daughter (2011–2012) saw her portray a mother fearing her daughter is turning into the kind of girl who tormented her in high school, while the TV Land comedy Jennifer Falls (2014) featured her as a single mother, who after being fired from a high-paying job, becomes a waitress in her brother's bar.

Pressly obtained leading roles in three 2014 film releases. In A Haunted House 2, Pressly starred as a mother of two and one half of an interracial couple, alongside Marlon Wayans. She had known Wayans for 15 years prior filming and the project marked the first time they worked together. Describing the process, she said: "It was a match made in heaven. It really was. We're both high energy, and we both like to do something new every take, and when you do comedy like this, where you get to improv the majority of the time, it's about trying to one-up each other, and that makes for a really great comedy". The film was panned by critics, but was a decent box office success. She starred opposite singer Robin Thicke in the romantic comedy Making the Rules, which was filmed in 2012. Finders Keepers, a television horror film, saw Pressly play a divorced mother whose life is thrown into turmoil when her young daughter becomes obsessed with an evil doll left behind by the previous owners.

From 2014 to 2021, Pressly portrayed Jill Kendall, a wealthy socialite and alcoholic, in the CBS sitcom Mom. Mom was met with widespread critical acclaim and ran for eight seasons. Created and executive produced by Chuck Lorre, the show followed a group of women recovering from addiction.

Other ventures

Fashion In 2003, Pressly launched a lingerie line, J'aime by Jaime Pressly, and expanded it to clothing and sleepwear. In 2007, People magazine called her spring/summer clothing line a "sophisticated and star-studded fashion show" and "one of the biggest shows of L.A. Fashion Week." In spring 2008, she launched a second clothing line, J'aime Collection.

OnlyFans In May 2026, Pressly started an OnlyFans account. Pressly cited "evolving with the times" and creative freedom as reasons behind the venture.

In the media In a 2008 interview with Redbook magazine, Pressly credited her success for "lifelong willingness to defy convention."

Pressly's appearance has often been the subject of media attention. She has appeared on several lists for world's most beautiful or sexiest women. Her changing looks and style have received noteworthy praise from periodicals such as InStyle.

In 2000, she became a spokesmodel for Liz Claiborne Cosmetics and advertised the company's fragrance "Lucky You". In 2008, she appeared in an infomercial for Susan Lucci's "Youthful Essence" personal microdermabrasion kit, and an advertisement for Axe in 2010. She has graced the covers of numerous magazines, including InStyle Weddings, Ocean Drive, Health, Esquire, Redbook, Shape, Stuff, Maxim and Playboy.

Personal life Pressly has revealed in interviews that she briefly struggled with bulimia as a teenager. In November 2008, the couple announced their separation.

Eight months later, in July 2009, Pressly announced her engagement to entertainment lawyer Simran Singh. They married on September 26, 2009, at the Dick Clark estate, on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. On January 21, 2011, Pressly filed for divorce from Singh, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized in November 2011.

In October 2017, Pressly gave birth to twin sons with her longtime boyfriend Hamzi Hijazi.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1996 Mercenary Pre-teen American Girl 1997 Poison Ivy: The New Seduction Violet The Journey: Absolution Allison Against the Law Sally 1998 Can't Hardly Wait Beth Credited as Jamie Pressly Ringmaster Angel Zorzak 1999 Inferno Dottie Matthews 2000 100 Girls Cynthia Poor White Trash Sandy Lake 2001 Not Another Teen Movie Priscilla Ticker Claire Manning Joe Dirt Jill Tomcats Tricia 2002 Demon Island Tina 2004 Torque China 2005 Death to the Supermodels Tiffany Courtney Also as producer 2006 Bachelor Party Vegas Herself DOA: Dead or Alive Tina Armstrong 2008 Horton Hears a Who! Mrs. Quilligan Voice 2009 I Love You, Man Denise McLean 2011 6 Month Rule Claire 2012 The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure Lola Sombrero 2014 A Haunted House 2 Megan Making the Rules Abby Also as executive producer 2017 Austin Found Crystal Clemens 2023 The Re-Education of Molly Singer Brenda

Television

Video games Year Title Role Notes 2008 Saints Row 2 Jessica Parish Voice

Music videos Year Artist SongRole 2001 Dave Matthews Band The Space Between2002 Aerosmith Girls of SummerWoman Marilyn Manson Tainted LovePriscilla 2003 Youngbloodz Lean Low 2010 Jaron Lowenstein Pray For You 2013 Michael Bublé It's a Beautiful DayGirlfriend

Awards and nominations Year Association Category Work Result 2002 MTV Movie & TV Awards Best Line in a Movie ("Oh, it's already been broughten!") Not Another Teen Movie 2002 Teen Choice Awards Choice Breakout Performance – Film 2006 Gold Derby Awards TV Breakthrough Performer of the Year TV Comedy Series Supporting Actress of the Year My Name Is Earl Online Film & Television Association Best Supporting Actress in a Television Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Television Comedy Series Teen Choice Awards Choice Television Actress Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series 2007 Gold Derby Awards TV Comedy Series Supporting Actress of the Year Monte-Carlo Television Festival Outstanding Actress – Comedy Series Online Film & Television Association Best Supporting Actress in a Television Comedy Series Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or TV Film 2008 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television Teen Choice Awards Choice Television Actress – Comedy 2010 Denver Film Critics Society Best Acting Ensemble I Love You, Man 2021 Critics' Choice Awards Best Television Comedy Series Supporting Actress Mom