Marissa Jaret Winokur (born February 2, 1973),^[2] sometimes credited asMarissa Winokur, is an American actress and singer known for herTony-winning performance as Tracy Turnblad in theBroadwaymusicalHairspray, an adaptation ofJohn Waters's film, as well as her work on thePamela AndersonsitcomStacked. Some of her other TV credits includeCurb Your Enthusiasm,Moesha,The Steve Harvey Show,Just Shoot Me!,Felicity andDharma & Greg.

Marissa Jaret Winokur
Winokur in 2020
Born	(1973-02-02)February 2, 1973 (age 52) New York City, U.S.
Other names	Marissa Winokur
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1993–present
Spouse	Judah Miller ​ (m. 2006)​
Children	1[1]
Website	officialmarissajaretwinokur.com

She was a contestant on the popular reality competition seriesDancing with the Stars and went on to host the similarDance Your Ass Off. From 2010-2011 she served as a co-host on the daily daytime talk showThe Talk, ultimately leaving to focus on her clothing line and a new cable TV show.^[3] The cable TV show in question, when it premiered, proved to be a late-night talk show titledAll About Sex, whose co-hosting duties she shared withMargaret Cho,Heather McDonald, and Dr. Tiffanie Davis Henry, which aired onTLC at 11:00 PM Eastern time on Saturday nights.

In 2018, Winokur participated in thefirst American season ofCelebrity Big Brother, where she was crowned the winner.^[4]

Winokur was born inNew York City, the daughter of Maxine, a teacher, and Michael Winokur, anarchitect.^{[citation needed]} She isJewish.^[5][6] Winokur was acheerleader and captain of her high school soccer team atFox Lane High School inBedford, New York.^[7] She graduated from theAmerican Musical and Dramatic Academy in 1993.^[8]

Winokur won the 2003Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical,Drama Desk Award,Theatre World Award, andOuter Critics Circle Award for her performance inHairspray. She had previously appeared on Broadway as Jan in the 1994 revival ofGrease.

Winokur has also played roles in films such asAmerican Beauty,Never Been Kissed,Teaching Mrs. Tingle,Scary Movie,Beautiful Girl (forABC Family),Fever Pitch, and she provided one of the voices inShrek the Halls.

Winokur co-starred in the TV seriesStacked, which starredPamela Anderson. She also appeared on an episode ofCurb Your Enthusiasm (Season 1, Episode 5) where she lost a physical fight withLarry David over the first appointment at a doctor's office. She was called "Marissa Winokur" in the episode, but was credited simply as "Woman In Elevator." She played the role of Theresa Loman on theUPN top-hit series,Moesha, asBrandy Norwood’s roommate.

She was set to star in a new comedy pilot forCBS titledFugly, fromGreg Garcia, the creator ofMy Name Is Earl.^[9] The show was originally pitched toFox as a vehicle for Pamela Anderson.^[10]

She returned toHairspray on December 9, 2008, and played Tracy until the show's closing on January 4, 2009.^[11]

Winokur hosted the reality competition seriesDance Your Ass Off on theOxygen Network. In October 2010 she joinedJulie Chen,Holly Robinson Peete,Sharon Osbourne,Leah Remini, andSara Gilbert in a new talk show,The Talk, that was intended to focus on stories of parenting, everyday life and events in the headlines. The program began airing onCBS on October 18, 2010.^[12] On January 14, 2011, she announced via People Magazine^[3] that she would leaveThe Talk to focus on her clothing line and a new cable TV show she was developing.

She reprised the role of Tracy Turnblad in theHollywood Bowl production ofHairspray, which ran from August 5–7, 2011.^[13]She also had a role in Broadway's Grease.

Winokur joined the cast ofTV Land's original sitcomRetired at 35, beginning in the second season. She acted out the role of Amy, David’s sister, a sharp-tongued, quick-witted successful saleswoman for a pharmaceutical company with a bubbly personality. The character was originated byCasey Wilson in the show's pilot, but made no other Season 1 appearances.^[14]

In 2017, Winokur competed with her son Zev onBig Star Little Star, a U.S. version of the British game showBig Star's Little Star.

In 2018, Winokur was cast as one of the houseguests on thefirst American edition ofCelebrity Big Brother.^[15] She wonCelebrity Big Brother overRoss Mathews on February 25, 2018, by a vote of 6-3. She also hostedOff the Block with Ross and Marissa onFacebook Watch.^[16]

Winokur was working^[when?] on recording a children's music album. Her rendition of the song "Baby Face" was featured on the soundtrack for the filmSon of the Mask, and she performed "The Wish Song" on the 2006 charity albumUnexpected Dreams – Songs From the Stars. In 2007, she joinedNikki Blonsky andRicki Lake in singing "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now" on theHairspray soundtrack; in directorJohn Waters's original film, Lake had originated the role that Winokur (on stage) and Blonsky (on screen, in the film version of the musical) had respectively reprised, that of Tracy Turnblad.

Winokur has also lent her voice to several cartoon shows, includingAmerican Dad! andKing of the Hill.^{[citation needed]}

Winokur was featured on Season 6 ofDancing with the Stars with professional dancerTony Dovolani. Marissa scored an 18 for herCha-Cha-Cha her first week and 21 for herQuickstep in week two giving her a combined total of 39 out of 60. In that week's elimination, Marissa was the last female contestant to be saved beforeMonica Seles was eliminated. In week three, Marissa scored 19 for herJive toAvril Lavigne's "Girlfriend," placing her last on the leader board, but was saved from elimination by the viewer's votes. In week four, Marissa performed aPaso Doble and was praised for her improvements, scoring 24 out of 30. She scored a second 24 out of 30 for herSamba in week five. In week six, Marissa earned a 26 for aViennese Waltz, her highest score so far. The following week was another success learning two dances, scoring a 27 for herTango in theBallroom round and in theLatin round she received 25 for herRumba. Marissa came third on the combined total leader board with a score of 52 out of 60, beatingShannon Elizabeth andMario by one point andCristian de la Fuente by 6 points. Despite being third, however, Marissa found herself in the bottom two alongside Shannon. The following week Marissa performed aFoxtrot andMambo scoring 25 for both dances scoring a total of 50 out of 60, placing her last on the leader board, but was again saved by the viewer's votes. During her last week on the show, she earned a 26 for both her Rumba and Quickstep. Winokur was eliminated after the semifinal round.

During the early development stages ofHairspray, Winokur was diagnosed withcervical cancer. She underwent treatment for the disease, without revealing her condition to anyone except her immediate family out of fear that she would be replaced in the musical. Ultimately she made a full recovery and remained in the show.^[17]

On October 7, 2006, Winokur married longtime boyfriendJudah Miller (brother toMurray Miller), who was a writer onStacked. In March 2008, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child, a boy to be named Zev, via a gestational surrogate.^[1] Zev Isaac Miller was born July 22, 2008, weighing in at 8 pounds 7 ounces and measured 21 inches long. Winokur and Miller helped deliver their son.^[18]

She is the great-niece of two famous American writers:S. J. Perelman andNathanael West.^[19]

• Marissa Jaret Winokur official website
• Marissa Jaret Winokur at theInternet Broadway Database 
• Marissa Jaret Winokur atIMDb
• Out.com interview
• American Cheerleader Magazine, February 2003