Aurora Starchild
Steve Carell is a revered comedian and actor, but did you know his wife is a comedy veteran, too? Steve Carell’s wife, Nancy Carell, made her career debut on Saturday Night Live and also appeared on The Office. Meet Nancy Carell, formerly Nancy Walls, the woman who makes Steve laugh more than anyone.
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Nancy Walls Met Steve Carell in The Second City Improv Troupe
Nancy Carell (Walls) was born on July 19, 1966, in Cohasset, Massachusetts. The coastal town of Cohasset is only an hour away from Steve Carell’s birthplace of Concord. Both hailing from the same part of New England, they may have picked up on some of the same humor!
She got her start in acting while performing as part of the improvisational troupe My Mother’s Fleabag at Boston College. After graduating in 1988, she joined Chicago’s famous improv troupe The Second City. In fact, that’s where she met her future husband.
She Was on Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show
Steve Carell’s wife landed a year-long spot on Saturday Night Live in 1995. Although she and Steve married in 1995, she continued to use her maiden name of Walls for her acting credits until 2009.
Nancy was on 20 episodes of SNL, often playing the parts of Cindy and doing CNN reporter Bobby Battista impressions. From there, she became a regular Correspondent on The Daily Show from 1999 through 2002. Steve Carell was also a Daily Show Correspondent, so you may have first spotted the couple together many years ago.
Nancy Carell has appeared alongside Steve Carell in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. They also co-created the Angie Tribeca TV Show starring Rashida Jones. The show ran for four seasons and was nominated for two Primetime Emmys. Nancy has also appeared in Bridesmaids, Anger Management, and of course, The Office. It wasn’t until she played the role of Helen Goode in The Goode Family that she started going by the name Nancy Carell.
Nancy Carell Played Steve Carell’s Girlfriend on The Office
The first time Nancy Carell appeared on The Office was in Season 2 Episode 3. She played Carol Stills, a real estate agent and short-term romantic interest of Steve Carell’s character, Michael Scott. Nancy came back for 6 more episodes: Season 2 Episodes 19 and 22; Season 3 Episodes 6 and 10; Season 7 Episode 4; and Season 9 Episode 23.
Carol and Michael’s romance begins after she sells him his condo. It later ends drastically for Michael in Season 3 Episode 10, “A Benihana Christmas.” She turns down Michael’s marriage proposal and he goes off the deep end and photoshops his face over her ex-husband’s in an old family Christmas photo. Michael eventually starts dating Jan Levinson. Carol returns later in the series a couple of times, once to sell a piece of property and another time to have Michael tell her she could have given him an STD.
Steve Carell and His Wife Have a Much Better Relationship Than Carol Stills and Michael Scott on The Office
Despite being happily married and sharing two children together, Nancy Carell was actually a bit intimidated to appear in The Office. According to Office Ladies podcasters Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, Nancy felt rusty but Steve would light up when she came on set.
Kinsey said Nancy had once said she was “so intimidated because [her husband’s] so good. I mean, he was really nice to me, of course. But I’ve sort of you know, I had retired and having our kids. That’s what I was doing. I was being a mom. So, I felt a little rusty. But it was so much fun.”
“And Steve’s face would just light up every time she came to set, either if she was in a scene or if she was just coming by with the kids for a visit,” added Fischer. “I mean, his adoration of her was just, would go all across his face.”
Steve and Nancy Carell Make Each Other Laugh a Lot
While some couples fare better than others when working together, it seems that the Carells are doing just fine. Steve and Nancy are both experts at comedy and even pull some improv out when they’re being interviewed in real life.
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight on how they work together, they jumped right into some jokes.
“Well, we’re legally separated, that’s how that works,” Nancy began.
“That’s exactly right,” Steve chimed in. “That and sedation. We’re so relaxed around each other now.”
“We tend to get along very well,” Nancy added. She needed no explaining as the two were making each other chuckle the entire time.
“She makes me laugh more than anybody,” said Steve. He added that he was hoping to win his most recent Golden Globe nomination, which was for The Big Short.
“I might finally gain my wife’s love and approval,” Steve Carell said of the nomination. Nancy Carell didn’t hesitate.
“I’m waiting for him to win a Golden Globe,” she said, eyes wide and nodding her head. Then she turned to her husband.
“Well, you already won one [for The Office in 2006]. That was good for ten years. But it’s worn off.”
They continued with the little joke until Steve said, “Either way, it’s gonna be a fun night,” his voice cracking at the end.
Steve Carell didn’t win but the two are still going strong. Go figure!
