Today is the birthday of the American comedienne, actress and singer JANE LYNCH. She is known for her roles in comedies such as Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and for her recurring role as lawyer Joyce Wischina in The L Word. She starred opposite Meryl Streep in Julie and Julia, playing Child’s sister Dorothy McWilliams and on the Fox series Glee. Lynch won glowing reviews for her role as the aggressive cheer-leading coach Sue Sylvester. Mary McNamara of the L.A. Times wrote, “Lynch alone makes Glee worth watching.”

Lynch received a 2009 Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film for her role on Glee. The series itself also received nominations in three other categories.

She won the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Comedy Series for her work in Glee. Lynch hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time in October 2011. Lynch is out and married her wife, Dr. Lara Embry, on May 31, 2010 at the Blue Heron Restaurant in Sunderland, Massachusetts. Embry herself received much publicity surrounding a custody battle over two children with her former partner.