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Who is Wendi McLendon-Covey? Everything to Know about the St. Denis Medical Star
Wendi McLendon-Covey is coming from hits like Reno 911! and The Goldbergs to star on St. Denis Medical on NBC.
St. Denis Medical, a new medical mockumentary-style series from NBC, promises to be a comedy like no other. First, it’s created by the folks behind Superstore and American Auto, depicting hospital hijinks with a similar style of deadpan humor. But the series also marks the return of the inimitable Wendi McLendon-Covey to network TV.
The actress starred in The Goldbergs as the smothering mom, Beverly Goldberg, for ten seasons. We can’t think of a better follow-up than St. Denis Medical, a series that — judging by the trailer — brims with the smart humor and witty sarcasm that McLendon-Covey excels at. In the show, which debuts November 12 on NBC, she plays Joyce, an Oregon hospital executive director and former oncologist.
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The actress honed her comedy style for many years, from stand-up, improv to blockbuster movies, even recently embracing voice acting. Let’s look at her captivating career as we count down to the premiere of St. Denis Medical.
Performing came naturally to Wendi McLendon-Covey at a young age
As a child in Bellflower, California, Wendi put on spontaneous performances with her sister — much to the chagrin of her parents, who were less than thrilled about acting.
"It was not encouraged at all," she revealed in a 2015 Buzzfeed interview. "And yet, my parents, without knowing it, fostered all of this nonsense by giving us a lot of free time. So my sister and I had no choice but to put on our bedspreads and stage plays or throw parades or write our own scripts or whatever, because they did not schedule every minute of our day for us. It was like, 'Go entertain yourselves, we're barely hanging on to our sanity!' That's how we did things, and it really fostered our creativity.
Wendi McLendon-Covey’s got into improv at The Groundlings
Long after those living room performances, Wendi had a hotel job near Disneyland when inspiration struck. She decided to take a class with The Groundlings comedy troupe and suddenly found her tribe.
“I was like 27, and the company then had Jennifer Coolidge, Mindy Sterling, Ana Gasteyer, Cheri Oteri — all these heavy hitters. I was just like, if I could do what they’re doing, I’d feel like such a superhero,” she said in an August 2024 interview with “Closer Magazine.”
The connections she made led to her breakout role in Bridesmaids (2011). She played Rita, an unhappily married mother of three, alongside fellow Groundlings alums Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy. The comedy was a sleeper hit, earning the cast SAG and Golden Globe nominations — not to mention inspiring a new era of female-driven comedies on the big screen, later dubbed “The Bridesmaid Effect.”
Wendi McLendon-Covey always kept a part-time job, even when starring in Reno 911!
For over a decade, McLendon-Covey worked a side gig as an editor for a social work journal, even after landing the role of sassy Deputy Clementine Johnson on Reno 911!, another mockumentary about law enforcement that turned into a cult classic. A graduate of California State University, Long Beach, she described how, during the filming of projects like Bridesmaids, Lovespring International, and Rules of Engagement, she juggled her side gig with acting.
“I never wanted to be one of those desperate actors just waiting for their next gig, who might have to take something they didn’t want to do to pay the rent,” she told Wealthsimple via CNBC. “I’d be in my trailer on set editing things, and on location with my computer and my manuscript editing."
She added: “The thing about acting is everybody thinks you make a ton of money. And the money is good when you’re working. But you can go a long time between jobs."
The hard-working actress didn’t give up her side hustle until she was cast in The Goldbergs in 2013.
Wendi McLendon-Covey was once named “The Greatest TV Mom”
McLendon-Covey played a “smother” (smothering mother) to perfection as Beverly Goldberg in The Goldbergs, earning two Critics Choice Awards nominations and winning the title “The Greatest TV Mom of 2015” from “New York Magazine.” Set in the 1980s, the sitcom took viewers on a hilarious trip back in time during its successful ten-season run from 2013 to 2023. McLendon-Covey, who became executive producer, was pleasantly surprised by the show’s success.
“In the very beginning, we were only picked up for 13 episodes, so at first I was just like, 'Oh my God, I hope we get our back nine. That would be amazing if we could do a full season!' So thinking back to that time, there were rumors of ‘This show's kind of special, it could go for five seasons.’ And then, you know what? I heard somebody say we could maybe go for seven seasons. So back then, that was the goal,” she told "Entertainment Weekly."
You may recognize Wendi McLendon-Covey's voice from Disney movies
Since 2018, McLendon-Covey has voiced Nancy Green on the Disney Channel’s animated series Big City Greens. As with comedy, she jumped into voice acting whole-heartedly, playing Gale in the Oscar-nominated Pixar film Elemental (2023). Other highlights include Marvel’s adult stop-motion animated series M.O.D.O.K., where she voiced Monica Rappaccini, Scientist Supreme.
Wendi McLendon-Covey and her husband shared the secret to marriage
Wendi and her husband, Greg Covey, celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary on August 10. They met when they were both students at a community college in Los Angeles and are going stronger than ever. To commemorate the occasion, she posted a sweet tribute on her official Instagram.
“Happy 28th anniversary to Superhusband Greg Covey! Life is very good because I have this extraordinary human being to spend my life with! What are we doing today? Nothing interesting, but will we still have our arses off and have fun anyway? Hell Yes! Love you to the moon and back,” she wrote.
What’s the secret to their success? She revealed in 2022 that the couple does not celebrate Valentine's Day, and they've never once participated in the holiday. During an appearance on Live with Kelly and Ryan, she explained, "Listen, I've been married 25 years, just like [Ripa]. And here we are 25 years later, not celebrating Valentine's Day, which is the key to a lasting marriage."
Wendi McLendon-Covey had a podcast
“A podcast for teenagers over 40!” was the official tagline of “Generation Ripe,” her pandemic-era podcast with photographer and art director Dfernando Zaremba. Throughout 90 episodes, from 2020 to 2022, the two best friends shared their refreshing take on enjoying middle age.
Wendi McLendon-Covey’s St. Denis Medical character is “fun to play”
For an actress with some 40 movies and several iconic sitcoms on her resume, she knows an intriguing role when she sees one. She recently opened up to “Closer Magazine” about playing Joyce on St. Denis Medical.
“She is really fun to play but probably an annoying person to know. What I love about Joyce is that she is so corporate that it is her whole personality. Her whole life is about work. And she expects that from everybody else. She is also so efficient that it’s annoying. I think she is very good at what she does but she will die alone,” she joked.
It’s hard to believe, but at the beginning of her career, McLendon-Covey thought she was too weird for showbiz. She told Good Morning America, “That’s never gonna happen for me. I’m just a very different spice in the rack.” We now know at least one thing she’s not good at: Predictions.
Watch St. Denis Medical, premiering on NBC on November 12. Watch episodes next-day on Peacock.
