Mann began her career at 18, appearing in a number of television commercials. In 1996, she appeared in
The Cable Guy, followed with performances in
Freaks and Geeks,
Sam Weisman's
George of The Jungle alongside
Brendan Fraser,
Big Daddy with
Adam Sandler,
Orange County opposite
Jack Black, and
The 40-Year-Old Virgin with
Steve Carell. In 2007, Mann starred alongside
Seth Rogen,
Katherine Heigl, and
Paul Rudd in
Judd Apatow's comedy
Knocked Up, which grossed more than $218 million worldwide. Her performance brought rave reviews and a "Best Supporting Actress" nomination from the Chicago Film Critics Association. The film won the People's Choice Award for "Favorite Movie Comedy", was named one of AFI's "Top Ten Films of the Year", and received a "Best Comedy" nomination from the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards. In 2009, Mann reunited with her
Big Daddy co-star Adam Sandler and
Knocked Up co-star Seth Rogen for Apatow's
Funny People. This film was named to many of the year's top ten lists, including
The New Yorker and
The New York Times.
Elle writer Mickey Rapkin said that "[Mann] owns the second half of 2009's
Funny People, where her character does the most unlikely thing a woman can do in a major studio picture: has an affair with an ex-boyfriend on a whim." That same year, Mann also starred in
Burr Steers' successful comedy
17 Again opposite
Zac Efron and
Matthew Perry, which grossed over $125 million worldwide. in February 2012 She was also seen in the indie hit
I Love You Phillip Morris alongside
Jim Carrey and
Ewan McGregor. It premiered at the 2009
Sundance Film Festival and, on release, received critical acclaim, including a "Best Comedy" nomination for a 2011
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award. Mann also starred alongside
Elizabeth Banks in the film
What Was I Thinking?, based on the book by Barbara Davilman and Liz Dubelman, which was filmed in 2009 but never released. In 2011, Mann starred opposite
Ryan Reynolds and
Jason Bateman in
David Dobkin's comedy
The Change-Up. She also lent her voice to "Linda", the main human character in
Carlos Saldanha's animated film
Rio, which earned over $484 million worldwide and also featured vocal performances by
Jamie Foxx and
Anne Hathaway; as well as to
Jonah Hill's animated
FOX television series
Allen Gregory, as the title character's second-grade teacher. Mann continued her voice performance work in 2012 with her role in
ParaNorman, an animated 3D
stop-motion film from
Chris Butler and
Sam Fell. In December 2012, she appeared opposite Paul Rudd in Apatow's
This Is 40, the sequel to
Knocked Up. The movie reunited the trio from the first film, with Mann and Rudd reprising their characters. The sequel was written and directed by Judd Apatow, and included the couple's two daughters in the cast. In contrast to
Knocked Up,
This Is 40 centered squarely on Mann's character and her family. An early response to Mann's performance from
Elle Magazine states that "[she] doesn't just walk off with scenes—she steals the show". In 2013, Mann appeared in
Sofia Coppola's
The Bling Ring, with
Emma Watson. Inspired by actual events, the film follows a group of fame-obsessed L.A. teenagers who burgled celebrity homes by tracking their whereabouts on the Internet. In 2014, she narrated "Women in Comedy", an episode of Season 2 of
Makers: Women Who Make America. In 2015, Mann was nominated at the
MTV Movie Awards for
Best Kiss with
Chris Hemsworth, from the film
Vacation. In 2018, she starred as a single mother in the sex comedy
Blockers and reunited with Steve Carell in
Welcome to Marwen. ==Personal life==