Theatre In 2001, Anders began her career in
theatre. She was an
understudy for
Mary-Louise Parker in the Broadway production of
Proof and later played the part of Elaine Robinson in
The Graduate. She also appeared in
On the Jump at the
Arena Stage,
New Doors at the
Guthrie Theater,
Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical and two New York Stage & Film productions:
Cold/Tender and
New World Rhapsody. In May 2007, Anders started in the
Geffen Playhouse performance of
Fat Pig. She played the part of Jeannie, an accountant.
Fat Pig closed on July 1, 2007.
Television and film One of Anders' first appearances on television was a commercial for
Danone that ran in the 1990s and then again around 2006. Her first acting credits came between 1998 and 2001 when she appeared on the
soap operas
One Life to Live and
Guiding Light, respectively as Elaine, one of
Starr Manning's nannies, and Ellie, an assistant to
Olivia Spencer. In 2001, she appeared in the
Law & Order episode "
The Fire This Time", as teenager Emily Hoyt. In 2003, she played the recurring role of Donna Degenhart for five episodes of the
HBO drama series
Oz. That same year, Anders was cast opposite
Richard Ruccolo as the original female lead in the failed
television pilot for the proposed series
Spellbound, about a warlock who falls in love with a mortal woman. After the pilot was not picked up by
NBC, Anders was replaced for the equally unsuccessful second pilot. In 2004, Anders made her film debut with a minor role in
The Stepford Wives, playing a secretary to
Nicole Kidman's main character. That same year, she was cast as Emma Leeds, the female lead in
News To Me, a proposed workplace sitcom inspired by
Joel Stein's experiences as the youngest-ever columnist at
Time magazine; the pilot was not picked up. That same year, Anders guest starred in one episode of the series
Tru Calling. In July 2004, Anders was cast in what would be her breakthrough role as Alex Garrett,
Joey Tribbiani's neighbor, landlady, friend and eventual love interest on the
Friends spin-off,
Joey. NBC cancelled the series during its second season. In between seasons of
Joey, Anders appeared as a "Christian Band Slut" in her older brother
Sean's directorial debut film
Never Been Thawed, marking the first of many collaborations between the pair. In February 2006, prior to
Joey's cancellation, Anders signed as a series regular of the sitcom
The Class as Nicole, the unfulfilled wife of a former pro-football player who reconnects with her high school boyfriend after a class reunion. Despite steady ratings and winning the Favorite New TV Comedy Award at the
33rd People's Choice Awards, CBS did not renew the show for a second season. In 2008, following
The Class' cancelation, Anders guest starred on the episode "
Power" of the crime drama
Numb3rs, and had a small role her brother's film,
Sex Drive. In May 2008, Anders was cast in the satirical workplace comedy
Better Off Ted, after creator
Victor Fresco was impressed with her work on
The Class. She played
Linda Zwordling, the love interest for main character
Ted Crisp, played by
Jay Harrington, and a co-worker of his at an evil
megacorporation. The series was a mid-season replacement,
premiering to low rating in March 2009, but critical acclaim kept the show going and even renewed for a second season, though it would be cancelled and pulled from the air with the last two episodes of that season unaired. The show enjoyed a mini-reunion in 2011 through the music video for "Revenge of the Nerds", a rap song recorded by co-star
Malcolm Barrett under the stage name "Verbal", which features all the main actors from the series in cameos either as their characters or, in the case of Anders, new characters. In April 2009, shortly after
Better Off Ted premiered, Anders joined the cast of
The Big D, a sitcom project centered on a New York City coupleplayed by Anders and
Ben Koldykewho move to Dallas, where the husband is from, and where the wife consistently clashes with her
southern belle mother-in-law. Despite her character being central to the premise, Anders was billed as a guest star in case she'd have to work on
The Big D and
Better Off Ted at the same time, with the latter having precedence. This issue was moot, as
CBS did not pick up the series. In February 2010, Anders was cast in
Mr. Sunshine, marking the return to comedy television for
Friends star
Matthew Perry. Anders played Alice, the
tomboyish co-worker and
friend with benefits who's looking for more commitment from Perry's character. It premiered as a
midseason replacement the following February, but was cancelled by
ABC just three months. Right after
Mr. Sunshine cancellation, Anders appeared in a four episode
story arc in the first season of
USA Network's series
Necessary Roughness, as a former girlfriend of
Marc Blucas' character. In the years following
Mr. Sunshine, Anders starred as a lead in a string of sitcom pilots, none of which were picked up to series. First was
Ladyfriends in 2012, for NBC, centered on two best friends leading very different lives, portrayed by Anders and
Minnie Driver. In 2013, ABC did not pick up
Divorce: A Love Story, an adaptation of the long-running Israeli sitcom
Ha-Chaim Ze Lo Hacol, about a happily divorced couple played by Anders and
Jason Jones. In 2014, CBS did not pickup the proposed
Cuz-Bros, in which Anders was cast as an anchorwoman and co-worker of
Geoff Stults' character. In 2015, Anders starred in two more failed pilots. First was
How We Live, where Anders played a stay-at-home mom and best friend of the female lead, played by
Briga Heelan. Next was
The Half of It, where Anders portrayed the ex-wife of
Jon Dore's character. In 2016, she starred in the failed pilot for the sitcom
Crunch Time, as the creator and producer of a game show hosted by
Craig Ferguson's character. In between acting in these television pilots, Anders had roles in a number of other projects. In 2012, she filmed a supporting part in the fact-based television film
Return to Zero, which premiered on the
Lifetime Network in 2014. She had recurring roles in the one season each of comedy series
About a Boy and of
Modern Family, appearing in the latter as the obnoxious new neighbor of the Dunphy family. In 2016, she was the main character in the comedy film
Is That a Gun in Your Pocket?, where women in a small Texas town withhold sex until their partners dispose of their guns. That same year, she also did a guest spot on the first season of
Speechless, a sitcom led by Minnie Driver, her co-star from the failed
Ladyfriends pilot. In 2019, she appeared as the aunt of
Sophia Lillis' character in the film
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase, and as the mother of
Elizabeth Lail's character in the film
Countdown, the latter produced by her brother Sean. That same year, Anders played the starring role in the sitcom
Mr. Mom, which was cancelled after 11 episodes. ==Personal life==