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She's an actress in her own right.
By Chinyere Ibeh — Written on Mar 19, 2021
Nancy Carell, Steve Carell’s wife, has made a name for herself in Hollywood. The couple was married in 1995 and are still together today.
But Steve and Nancy Carell didn't meet on the set of "The Office"; rather, they officially met during their time at Chicago’s iconic improv comedy group, The Second City. They have two kids together, who are all grown up.
Nancy has had quite a career, including work on "Saturday Night Live" and various cameos. She has even starred alongside her husband, sometimes as his love interest.
Still, we'd like to know more about this hilarious power couple.
Who is Nancy Carell?
She's from Cohasset, Massachusetts.
Nancy Ellen Walls Carell was born on July 19, 1966. She attended Boston College, where she was a part of the college’s improv troupe called “My Mother’s Fleabag” until she graduated in 1988.
She met Steve when she joined an improv group in Chicago.
After graduating, Nancy moved to Chicago to start her comedy career with the improv comedy group The Second City — where Steve happened to be her teacher.
However, it took some time before their romance really took off. In an appearance on "Ellen," Steve explained that Nancy worked at a bar across from The Second City theater, where Steve would visit often just to see her.
"The conversation would go something like, 'Hey, you know, if I were ever to ask a woman out, it would be someone like you. Exactly like you. And she'd say, 'If a guy like you were ever to ask a woman like me out, I would definitely do that,'" he said. "This went on for weeks. Other people at the bar must have been like, 'Just do it! Put us all out of our misery.' And finally, we did. It was great."
After touring with various castmates, Nancy was hired by Second City Northwest where she appeared in their production of "The Madness of Curious George."
Alongside her husband, she starred in the company’s east coast run of "Piñata Full of Bees" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The reviews suggest that the production wouldn’t provide the next generation of great comic talent, but the future proved otherwise.
Nancy Carell is a TV and movie actress.
After her time with The Second City, Nancy starred in the 21st season of "Saturday Night Live." During her time on "SNL," she was known for impersonating journalist and CNN newscaster Bobbie Battista.
Along with her husband, Nancy worked as a correspondent on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," starting in 1999. She left the show in 2002, a year after giving birth to their daughter, Elisabeth Anne; in 2004, the couple had their son, John.
She also acted alongside her husband on "The Office," on which she played Michael Scott’s real estate agent girlfriend Carol Stills for a few episodes. Stills was the real estate agent who sold Scott his condo in season two.
The fictional couple was engaged, but they ended things due to Scott photoshopping his face onto Stills’ ex-husband’s face — luckily, the Carells are still going strong in real life.
Nancy also made a cameo in the movie "Bridesmaids," where she played a tennis partner. She starred in "Angie Tribeca" as Mrs. Perry, which she co-created with her husband, and it starred fellow "The Office" alum Rashida Jones. She also starred as the health clinic counselor in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and voiced the Helen Goode character in the animated series, "The Goode Family."
She also works behind the scenes.
Nancy and Steve worked together to create the show "Angie Tribeca," which aired from 2016 to 2018.
"We didn't start thinking we're going to write a show," Steve said about the series. "We just came up with this name that was really dumb and it just kept making us laugh... and the more we talked about it, the more it made us laugh!"
The Carells are still very much in love.
While many Hollywood marriages don't last for the long run, it appears Steve and Nancy have married life down pat.
"I knew early on that she was the right one. I'll never forget standing at the altar and I saw her coming down the aisle — immediately a sense of calm came over me," Steve revealed in 2013. "There was an ethereal sense of how right it all was and more than anything it was very empowering knowing that person was going to be my partner and have my back. It just made me feel strong, and I'll never forget it."
They keep their personal lives private.
Despite both being in the public eye, the couple doesn't use social media to post the goings-on in their lives. When Ellen DeGeneres tried to prod Steve into joining Instagram, it didn't quite go as planned as he's yet to have an official account.
"I think people are really excited and interested in seeing what I do," Steve sarcastically told Ellen. Likewise, Nancy doesn't appear to have any public social media accounts.
Chinyere Ibeh is a writer who covers entertainment and pop culture news.