Rachael Harris’s 10 Best Movies And TV Shows

The best Rachael Harris Movies and TV shows tell a story of a solid actor who has been consistently delivering strong performances since her career began in the late 1980s. Born in Ohio, Rachael Harris began performing at an early age, acting in plays while attending Otterbein College. It was here that, thanks to some advice from one of her professors, she learned that her style of performance was much more suited to comedy than drama, and this shaped her approach to many of her roles over the following years.

Rachael Harris first appeared on-screen in 1992’s Treehouse Trolls, although it was appearing in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager and landing a recurring role in Sister, sister in 1997 that truly saw her career take off. Since then, she’s appeared in the likes of Lucifer, Suits, The Hangover, and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies. However, these are only some of the dozens of projects she’s been a part of, and the best Rachael Harris movies and TV shows include an admirable range of characters and genres.

10

Mother Of The Bride (2024)

Rachael Harris Plays Janice

Since the start of her career, Rachael Harris has been mostly known for her comedy TV shows and movies. This hasn’t changed much over the years, as in 2024 she was part of the cast of the Netflix rom-com Mother of the Bride. Unfortunately, this particular Rachael Harris movie wasn’t received well, although critics may have been harsh towards the Mark Waters-directed movie, it did far slightly better with audiences who wanted an easy-watch lighthearted film.

Rachael Harris plays Janice in mother of the bride the best friend of Lana (who is the titular mother). It’s a supporting role both in terms of Harris’s position in the cast, and the purpose of Janice as a character, whose primary function throughout the story is to pick Lana up when she’s at her lowest. Mother of the Bride is far from the best Rachael Harris movie or TV show, but deserves consideration as it’s her most recent appearance in a feature film (and, as far as her performance goes, she does a solid job given how little she had to work with).

9

Notes From The Underbelly (2007-2008)

Rachael Harris Plays Cooper

While the ABC sitcom Notes from the Underbelly only ran for two seasons, Rachael Harris was fantastic as one of the main cast members when she took on the role of Cooper. The show, which was created by Stacy Traub, focuses on the ups and downs of pregnancy, with central characters Lauren (Jennifer Westfeldt) and Andrew (Peter Cambor) expecting their first child.

Rachael Harris’s character, Cooper, is a friend of Lauren’s. She spends the show trying her best to give Lauren good advice about raising children, although she often fails miserably — especially since she appears to be more-or-less allergic to children (one of her worst fears is a crying baby, for example) . Cooper also has several sub-plots of her own, such as when she falls for one of the new employees at her firm. All in all, Notes from the Underbelly may not be the most acclaimed projects starring Rachael Harris, but the actor herself had plenty of stand-out moments in it.

8

Old Dads (2023)

Rachael Harris Plays Dr. Lois Schmieckle-Turner

Rachael Harris may not have the most prominent part in the 2023 Bill Bur-led Netflix comedy Old Dads, although she’s a memorable appearance regardless. Old Dads focuses on a trio of Gen X fathers with young children — Jack (Bill Burr), Connor (Bobby Cannavale), and Mike (Bokeem Woodbine). The movie itself received fairly poor reviews from critics, mainly because of its over-reliance on jokes about generational differences that became pretty stale by the time the credits rolled.

However, Rachael Harri’s character of Dr. Lois Schmieckle-Turner is one of the redeeming characters in Old Dads, as she is absolutely hilarious whenever she appears. dr. Schmiekle-Turner is the principal of the elite preschool Jack’s son, Nate, attends. She is constantly finding ways to undermine and demean Jack, and Harris’s chemistry with Bill Burr during these moments makes for multiple laugh-out-loud moments. While Old Dads itself may never get a sequel, Rachael Harris’s Dr. Lois Schmieckle-Turner definitely has enough mileage to be re-used in another project.

7

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid (2010)

Rachael Harris Plays Susan Heffley

For fans who grew up when the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies were hitting theaters, Susan Heffley is probably the role Rachael Harris is best known for. Susan is the mother of Greg, the titular wimpy kid, and Harris absolutely shines in the role. She strikes an interesting balance that Harris pulls off almost effortlessly, with the character being caring and easy-going on the one hand, and yet overbearing and borderline-humiliating for Greg on the other.

Based on the books by Jeff Kinney, Rachael Harris appeared in the first three Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies, although the 2010 original remains the best of the trio. Critical response was mixed, although the trilogy still holds a place in the heart of many audiences who were the right target age demographic (like many similar kids movies). Susan remains one of the most memorable Rachael Harris roles too, and it’s somewhat surprising she hasn’t been cast as another young mom in the time since, given how good her performance was.

6

Natural Selection (2011)

Rachael Harris Plays Linda White

In many ways, Natural Selection could be argued to be the best Rachael Harris movie if her performance alone was the yardstick. The indie comedy drama from director Robbie Pickering features Harris in a leading role, and both she and co-star Matt O’Leary both received breakthrough performance awards when the movie debuted as SXSW 2011. The film still sits on a 74% score on Rotten Tomatoesand the reason it doesn’t rank higher is simply due to the popularity of some of the other movies Rachael Harris has appeared in.

Rachael Harris plays Linda White in natural selection, a Christian housewife living an incredibly sheltered life in Texas. Unable to have children of her own, Linda finds her life thrust into unfamiliar territory when she learns her dying husband has a 23-year-old son via sperm donation in Florida. At Abe’s request, Linda sets off to find her husband’s adult son. It’s a truly charming and often emotional comedy movie, and still stands as one of the best performances Rachael Harris has given.

5

Surviving Jack (2014)

Rachael Harris Plays Joanne Dunlevy

There are many actors who have standout performances in sitcoms that were canceled relatively quickly through no fault of their own, and Rachael Harris is no exception. Her performance as Joanne Dunlevy in the short-lived Fox sitcom Surviving Jack may not have been enough to save the show from being axed after only seven episodes, but her appearance in it remains some of the best on-screen minutes of the actor’s career so far.

The sitcom itself was relatively nuanced in terms of its premise, and focused on an uptight former military man, Jack (Christopher Meloni) trying to navigate being a stay-at-home parent when his wife, Harris’s Joanne, goes back to law school. Seeing Harris play an ambitious character like Joanne is a delight, especially as she attempts to turn the Dunlevy home into a neighborhood social hub (much to Jack’s dismay).

4

The Hangover (2009)

Rachael Harris Plays Melissa

Rachael Harris’s appearance in The Hangover also marks one of the most successful movies she’s been a part of, as the 2009 comedy was a box-office smash. Harris plays Melissa in The Hangover, and her turn as such an outright hostile and unlikable antagonist is hilarious. Melissa is the girlfriend of Ed Helms’ character Stu, and during their every conversation she belittles, insults, and undermines him.

Melissa’s behavior is nothing short of toxic and abusive, although this does not change the fact that Rachael Harris’s performance bringing the character to life is worthy of note. The chemistry she has with Ed Helm is incredible, and the pair are completely believable as characters despite their dynamic being so over the top. Harris even manages to sell Stu’s moment of redemption at the end of the movie when he finally stands up to Melissa, with her shell-shocked and completely un-self-aware response being as funny today as it was in 2009 when the movie debuted.

3

Goosebumps (2023)

Rachael Harris Plays Nora

Many of Rachael Harris’s best roles have been in TV shows rather than movies, and her appearance as Nora in the 2023 Goosebumps series is one of the strongest examples from the latter half of her career. Based on the series of children’s horror novels by RL Stine, the Disney+ Goosebumps series threaded elements from some of the most popular books into a cohesive single narrative for its first season (eschewing the anthology-style format of the 1990s show).

2023’s Goosebumps is a murder mystery as much as it is a supernatural story, and Rachael Harris’s character Nora is integral to this aspect of the plot. Nora is the mother of Lucas (Will Price), and it’s clear from early on in the show that she knows more than she’s letting on about the spooky events troubling her son and his group of friends. As Goosebumps progresses, it’s revealed that Nora had a part to play in the death of Harold Biddle, the specter haunting the town. Nora’s mental health slowly unravels too, which leads to some surprisingly emotional moments with the character that also serve to showcase Rachael Harris’s impressive range as an actor.

2

Suits (2012-2019)

Rachael Harris Plays Sheila Sazs

Suits is one of the streaming success stories of the 2020s, as the show gained an entirely new audience and renewed popularity when it arrived on streaming platforms several years after the final episode aired. While she wasn’t a part of the main cast, Rachael Harris’s Sheila Sazs was one of the show’s most popular recurring characters, and it’s safe to say that her time in Suits is where many fans first became aware of Harris as an actor.

Rachael Harris appeared in 27 episodes of Suits between seasons 2 and 9, first appearing in season 2, episode 3, “Meet The New Boss”. Sheila is an admissions officer for Harvard University who ends up in a romantic entanglement with Louis Litt (Rick Hoffman), the often-antagonistic rival of Harvey Specter at Pearson Hardman. They eventually married, leading to many further appearances for Rachael Harris in suits, and throughout she manages to be a supporting influence for Louis that sees him turn into a much more likable character.

1

Lucifer (2016-2021)

Rachael Harris Plays Linda Martin

Of the many dozens of appearances in her career, the best Rachael Harris movie or TV show is undoubtedly Lucifer, both in terms of the series as a whole, and when considering her performance and specific character. Lucifer sees the titular lord of hell grow tired of his duties overseeing the damned. He decides to retire and head to Earth, where he finds himself solving crimes alongside detective Chloe Decker. While he initially makes out to all concerned that he’s doing so only for a bit of fun, it becomes apparent the task actually holds some deeper meaning to him — which is where Rachael Harris as Linda Martin comes into play.

Linda Martin is Lucifer’s therapist, and — as one would expect — the dynamic leads to some absolutely hilarious moments. Rachael Harris is in her element playing Satan’s shrink, and as the show continues, Linda’s involvement in the wider narrative also becomes much heavier. She’s one of the first mortals whom Lucifer reveals his true nature to, and she even has a child with the angel Amenadiel. There have been many great ones Rachael Harris roles over her career, although none even come close to topping her performance as Linda Martin in Lucifer.