Entertainment

Who's Is Annette Castellano's BFF on 'Mindy'?

by Rachel Paige

The Mindy Project continues to gain momentum as our go-to show for actual laugh out loud moments, mixed with an adorable love story that only Mindy Kaling herself could tell. The show is also racking up quite an impressive guest star queue, and the list only continues to grow. First, the snow snagged Rhea Pearlman to play Danny Castellano's very Italian mother, Annette. But, she obviously needs a best friend. That role went to character actress Jenny O'Hara who plays Dot on The Mindy Project . Where have you seen O'Hara before? Mentally prepare yourself to get blown away by her extensive and impressive acting resume.

O'Hara comes from a whole family of actors and performers; she's got a Broadway Babe sister, a musician brother, and two parents who were very involved in the performing arts. Her mother, Edith, founded and ran the off-off Broadway theater, 13th Street Repertory Company. So, naturally it wasn't long until O'Hara started acting on the stage herself. One of her first roles was opposite Sir Alec Guinness, which if you ask me is a huge deal — he was Obi-Wan Kenobi, after all. Her career heyday dates back to the 1960s, and O'Hara has been a prominent face all across television and film since then. She's had roles in everything from Facts of Life to Beverly Hills, 90210 to Roswell to Big Love. Where might you recognize her from?

MY SISTER SAM

Sitcoms of the '80s were so simple. Twenty-nine-year-old photographer Sam's 16-year-old sister moves in with her and hilarity ensues! O'Hara played Sam's wise-cracking sarcastic assistant Dixie for the two seasons the show lasted on CBS.

THE KING OF QUEENS

O'Hara appeared in a handful of episodes of the CBS multi-camera sitcom, playing Janet Heffernan, Doug Heffernan's (Kevin James) mother. She is surprisingly a very good poker player.

DEVIL

The thing about Devil is that it was quickly written off because it had the name, "M. Night Shyamalan" attached to it. But it wasn't that bad (Chris Messina is even in it!). And I don't mean to spoil anything, but O'Hara actually plays the titular Devil. Never saw that one coming, huh?

SUPERNATURAL

O'Hara appeared in Misha Collins' Supernatural directing debut, and O'Hara plays an elderly woman who used to know Henry Winchester.

FRANKLIN AND BASH

Sadly, we will never get to see O'Hara's Nanette Norton again, but we'll cherish the fun times we had with her on the now-canceled Franklin and Bash. O'Hara played guest-star Danny Dubois' grandmother on the show, and Kumail Nanjiani's Pindar had a little crush on her. Aww.

Images: Isabella Vosmikova/FOX; Giphy; CBS (2); USA; Universal Pictures