Alanna Ubach

Early life

Ubach was born in Downey, California, the daughter of Sidna and Rodolfo Ubach. Her sister Athena Ubach is a therapist. Her father was from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and her mother, raised in Los Angeles, was from Sinaloa, Mexico.

Since the age of two, she showed a conscious artistic inclination, and by age seven, she had already made her TV acting debut on Romper Room and was studying acting and dance. At 14, she was traveling with an actor's company composed entirely of adults, yet she managed to gain critical acclaim from the New York Times for her role as a Jewish girl from Brooklyn in Club Soda. During this stage, she also landed a regular spot as Josie the assistant in the TV series, Beakman's World. Her early film roles include Airborne (1993), Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), Renaissance Man (1994), and The Brady Bunch Movie (1995).

At 17, she starred in the play Kindertransport at the Manhattan Theatre Club. As she matured, her new interest led her into a series of indie films, like Denise Calls Up (1995), in which she played the title character, the Sundance-acclaimed film Johns (1996), playing David Arquette's girlfriend, and in Freeway (1996), playing a Latina gang girl. During this time, she also played roles in more mainstream films like Clockwatchers (1997), alongside Toni Collette and Parker Posey. Her Hollywood credentials also include her role as Elle Woods's best friend Serena McGuire in the two Legally Blonde films.

Career

Ubach stars with Lisa Edelstein as a regular cast member on Bravo's first-ever scripted series, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce. Ubach portrays Jo, who moves to Los Angeles to reinvent herself in the guest house of her just-divorced best friend from college, Abby. "Jo ditches the vegan bakery she owned in New York for a sugary one in LA, she's an outspoken New Yorker who rarely chooses her words wisely in public," explains Ubach. "Jo can be tough or tender, depending on what she has just ingested as food or drink—or if she's fueled by her inner strength, anger or grit." Ubach describes the show as "fun and stylish, it's very relatable." The role of Jo was created following the exit of Janeane Garofalo, who played Lyla, a lawyer and one of Abby’s best friends, for several of the show’s earlier episodes.

Ubach starred in DirecTV's Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight as Grace, a gallery curator and very neurotic sex maniac. She also became a first-time feature film producer, in addition to her co-starring role, in the upcoming feature, August Falls. From 2012 to 2015, she played Amy Hobbs on Nickelodeon's See Dad Run with Scott Baio playing her husband. Despite countless glowing reviews of her varied on-screen and stage performances, Ubach is still best known for her roles in both Legally Blonde films, Meet the Fockers and "Hung. Ubach, a self-confessed "drama queen," had humble beginnings and used her work ethic to transform herself into a goal-oriented risk-taker and a constantly working actress since childhood.

In 2004, Ubach starred in the movie Waiting..., alongside Ryan Reynolds and Anna Faris, and after a long casting process, landed the role of a Latina maid/caterer in the star-filled sequel to Meet the Parents, Meet The Fockers (2004). She remains active on television, with appearances in Hung (2009), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2011), and Californication (2013).

In January 2017, Glenn Howerton, star and executive producer of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, stated that he regretted killing Ubach’s character, Roxie, in season seven because she was, "such a funny character." Complex ranked "Frank's Pretty Woman," the episode guest-starring Ubach as Roxie, as the sixth best episode of the entire It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia series.

Theater

In June 2008, Ubach starred in and narrated her ongoing one-woman show, “Patriotic Bitch,” which ran at the Clurman Theatre in Theater Row. Reviewing "Patriotic Bitch," the New York Times stated that the show, "can’t hold a candle to the very best of the genre," but nonetheless described it as, "entertaining one-act series of character monologues," and noted that Ubach was, "seriously talented."