Maggie Lawson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lawson at GalaxyCon Richmond in 2024 | |
| Born | Margaret Cassidy Lawson August 12, 1980 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouse | [1][2] |
| Partner | James Roday Rodriguez (2006–2014) |
Margaret Cassidy Lawson (born August 12, 1980) is an American actress who is best known for her role as Detective Juliet "Jules" O'Hara in the TV show Psych. From 2018 to 2019, she held the recurring role of Natalie Flynn on Fox's Lethal Weapon's third and final season.
Lawson started her career at the age of eight in local community and dinner theater productions. She later became a youth TV host on WDRB Fox 41 Kid's Club in Louisville, and moved to Los Angeles for her first pilot at 15.[3]
In 2011, Lawson briefly returned to her roots in theater to star in the play Greedy, directed by James Roday, which played for a few weekends in Los Angeles.
Lawson starred in various sitcoms like Cybill, Boy Meets World and Home Improvement throughout her early career in both guest starring and supporting roles. She also made guest appearances on television series such as Smallville and Fear Itself, and co-starred in It's All Relative and Crumbs.
For The Wonderful World of Disney, Lawson starred in a double role in Model Behavior featuring Justin Timberlake, and in the 2002 installment of Nancy Drew in the title role. Other film credits include Pleasantville, Nice Guys Sleep Alone and Cleaner.
From 2006 to 2014, Lawson co-starred in the USA Network original series, Psych, as Detective Juliet O'Hara. She reprised her role in 2017 in Psych: The Movie, in Psych 2: Lassie Come Home in 2020 and Psych 3: This Is Gus, in 2021.[4]
Following Psych, she scored leading roles in ABC's 2013 sitcom Back in the Game, CBS's 2014 sitcom pilot Save the Date and CBS's 2016 fantasy sitcom Angel from Hell. She also had short arcs on Two and a Half Men, The Great Indoors, and Netflix's The Ranch.
Also for Netflix, Lawson starred in the recurring role of Christa on the second and third seasons of horror-comedy series Santa Clarita Diet as well as the movie Spivak in 2018.
For Hallmark Channel, Lawson has starred in My Favorite Wedding and Christmas Encore in 2017, The Story of Us and Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy in 2019.
Most recently, Lawson starred in a recurring role as Dr. Natalie Flynn on the third season of Lethal Weapon and was featured in Treehouse, the sixth episode of Hulu's monthly horror movie anthology Into The Dark.
In 2020, she played Kay, the female lead opposite Jason Biggs, in the FOX comedy series Outmatched, "about a blue-collar couple [...] in South Jersey trying to get by and raise four kids, three of whom just happen to be certified geniuses."[5]
Throughout the series run of Psych (2006–2014), Lawson was in a relationship with series lead James Roday Rodriguez.[6][7]
On November 14, 2014, Lawson became engaged to Back in the Game co-star Ben Koldyke[8] and married him on August 8, 2015, on his family's ranch in New Mexico. In early 2017, Lawson filed for divorce from Koldyke.[9]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–1997 | Unhappily Ever After | Madelyn | 4 episodes |
| 1996 | Hang Time | Kim | 1 episode |
| 1997 | Step by Step | Alana Mills | 1 episode |
| Boy Meets World | Debbie | 1 episode | |
| Meego | Brooke | 1 episode | |
| Cybill | Jennifer | 12 episodes | |
| 1998 | Home Improvement | Samantha Hayes | 1 episode |
| Kelly Kelly | Ally | 1 episode | |
| Pleasantville | Lisa Anne | Theatrical film | |
| I've Been Waiting for You | Debbie Murdock | Television film | |
| 1999 | Party of Five | Alexa | Recurring role |
| Nice Guys Sleep Alone | Meghan | ||
| ER | Shannon Mitchell | 1 episode | |
| Family Rules | Hope Harrison | 6 episodes | |
| Working | Julie | 1 episode | |
| Felicity | Rebecca | 1 episode | |
| 2000 | Model Behavior | Alex Burroughs/Janine Adams | Television film |
| 2001 | The Third Degree | Jolie | Television film |
| 2001–2002 | Inside Schwartz | Eve | Main |
| 2002 | Nancy Drew | Nancy Drew | Television film |
| Cheats | Julie Merkel | Television film | |
| Heart of a Stranger | Amanda Maddox | Television film | |
| Smallville | Chrissy/Missy Parker | 1 episode | |
| 2003 | Winter Break | Michelle Casper | |
| 2003–2004 | It's All Relative | Liz Stoddard-Banks | Main cast |
| 2004 | Spellbound | A mortal woman | Television film |
| Love Rules! | Kelly | Television film | |
| Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman | Rachel | Television film | |
| 2005 | Tru Calling | Megan Roberts | 1 episode |
| 2006 | Crumbs | Andrea Malone | Series regular |
| 2006–2014 | Psych | Juliet O'Hara | Main cast |
| 2007 | Cleaner | Cherie | |
| Rules of Engagement | Jesse | 1 episode | |
| 2008 | Fear Itself | Samantha | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Still Waiting... | Allison | Direct to DVD |
| Killer Hair | Lacey Smithsonian | Television film | |
| Hostile Makeover | Lacey Smithsonian | Television film | |
| Gamer | Female News Host #1 | ||
| 2010 | A Date with Diana | Diana | Shortfilm |
| 2012 | Justified | Layla | 1 episode |
| 2013–2014 | Back in the Game | Terry Gannon Jr. | Series lead |
| 2014 | Save the Date | Kate | Television pilot |
| 2014–2015 | Two and a Half Men | Ms. McMartin | 12 episodes |
| 2016 | Angel from Hell | Allison | Series lead |
| 2017 | The Great Indoors | Rachel | 4 episodes |
| My Favorite Wedding | Tess Harper | Television film | |
| Psych: The Movie | Juliet O'Hara | TV movie | |
| Christmas Encore | Charlotte Lacy | Television film | |
| 2017–2018 | The Ranch | Jen | 7 episodes |
| 2018 | Spivak | Jeanine Mulholland | Netflix film |
| Santa Clarita Diet | Christa | 4 episodes | |
| 2018–2019 | Lethal Weapon | Natalie Flynn | Recurring |
| 2019 | The Story of Us | Jamie | Television film |
| Into the Dark | Rebecca Wheeler | Episode: "Treehouse" | |
| Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy | Katie Connell | Television film | |
| 2020 | Outmatched | Kay | Series lead |
| Psych 2: Lassie Come Home | Juliet O'Hara | TV film | |
| 2021 | Psych 3: This Is Gus | Juliet O'Hara | |
| A Lot Like Christmas | Jessica Roberts | TV film |
