Grand, Popular, Less Than Perfect
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Some actors only get one shot at being the star of a television show. Then, there are actors that always seem to get the call for a series, no matter how big or small it is. One actress that falls under the second category is Sara Rue, the redhead that’s seemingly been on the cast of a television series (and in some cases multiple shows at once) for 30 years now. Despite that, Rue is still only just now entering her 40s, and there are plenty of shows left to be had.
Rue’s parents were both involved in the performing arts. Her father focused more on theatrical work while her mother had acting experience of her own. Rue was born on January 26, 1979 in New York City, and it didn’t take long until Rue was following in her parents’ footsteps.
Rue’s first role came in film with the release of 1988’s “Rocket Gibraltar”, which included Macaulay Culkin’s first film appearance. Two years later, her TV career started when she took on the main role in the NBC sitcom “Grand”. The series was cancelled after the first season, however, leaving Rue to go in a different direction.
Rue still focused on television during the rest of the 1990s, but she did have a handful of films with “Passed Away”, “Can’t Hardly Wait” and “A Map of the World”. On top of guest appearances and recurring roles in TV, Rue had another starring role in the mid 1990s with “Minor Adjustments” that lasted for 20 episodes. In the later part of the decade, Rue had guest appearances in shows such as “ER”, “Ned & Stacy” and “Chicago Hope”.
Rue wrapped up the decade with another main role on the series “Popular”, this time sticking around for three seasons on the WB. When the series wrapped up in 2001, Rue quickly jumped onto a longer running role in “Less than Perfect”, lasting for more than 80 episodes. Other roles for Rue in the 2000s included “Eastwick” (a starring role that lasted one season), as well as “The Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men”.
“I loved those experiences so much,” she said. “I love Chuck Lorre...After ‘Less than Perfect’ was cancelled, he called me personally and said, ‘I want to talk to you about doing something on ‘Two and a Half Men’, will you come in? And I said, ‘Absolutely!’”
Many noted that Rue looked much different during this time, supposedly dropping a lot of weight. It’s been a topic of conversation for much of her career, and something that she’d rather not be identified with solely. “My weight has been an emotional rollercoaster for me, and I am ready to get off it,” she said. “I’m never going to be a skinny girl, which is good. That’s just not my thing. It’s more about health and truly being comfortable in your own skin.”
Rue became an activist for body positivity, especially when it came to young women. She continues to educate people that it’s more about health than an exact weight. “Right now, I’m very happy with where I am, but am I ever just complacent and content? No. I’m always striving for better health,” she said.
The 2000s included many movies for Rue, including some blockbusters like “Pearl Harbor” and “The Ring”. Since then, though, Rue has only been in a couple of movies, most recently in 2013 with “Miss Dial”. The regular appearances on television haven’t stopped, either. She’s had main roles in “Malibu County” and “Imapstor”, and recurring roles in shows like “Rules of Engagement”, “Mom” and “Bones”. Since 2017, she’s been a part of the cast of “American Housewife” on ABC.
Rue has also been busy in recent years as she’s become a mother. After her first marriage from 2001 to 2007 didn’t result in children, she’s been married to Kevin Price since 2011. Along the way, they’ve had two children with a daughter born in 2013 and an adopted daughter in 2016. “Motherhood is the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said.
Rue wants to continue being a caring mother and continue being a television actress. “Carrying my own show again is exactly what I want to do,” she said. “I loved my experience on ‘Less Than Perfect’ so much and I would like something like that again. I love half hour - I feel like it’s where my heart and soul is somehow. It’s the perfect combination of fun and light and extremely challenging.”
Rue knows that not every show is going to last for a decade, as she’s had several shows that have been cancelled early. “As an actor, we have selected this life of the gypsy, we move from city to city and we don’t know what’s coming next,” she said. “The truth is, I was raised in this theatrical family, sot his way of living is all I’ve ever known, so you just go with the flow. It’s a bummer, and we were sad, but there’s also, whenever one door closes another door opens, and that’s very true.”
“So it’s always like a sad thing to move on, but there’s also an element of excitement as to like what projects I am going to do next, where are we going to go next,” she continued. “I like to look on the bright side of things. It means that there’s more opportunity coming because when you’re under contract to a series, you’re not allowed to do another series as a regular.”
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