Missi Pyle was born Andrea Kay Pyle on November 16, 1972 in Houston, Texas, and was raised in Memphis, Tennessee. The daughter of Linda and Frank Pyle, she has four older siblings, sisters Debbie and Julie, and brothers Sam and Paul. Pyle attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and graduated in 1995. Since then, Pyle has had a significant career in many films and television series. She has also established in parallel a singing career as a member of the country-rock band Smith & Pyle with actress
Shawnee Smith.
Pyle has started an acting career playing a minor role in the comedy film
As Good as It Gets (1997) starring
Jack Nicholson and
Helen Hunt. Her following notable roles were in the sci-fi parody
Galaxy Quest (1999),
Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002) where she played her first role as a villain,
Tim Burton films
Big Fish (2003) and
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) starring
Johnny Depp and
Christopher Lee,
Just My Luck (2006) starring
Lindsay Lohan, and
Soccer Mom (2008) where she had a double role. Pyle has also played guest roles on many television series such as
Mad About You (1992) also starring
Helen Hunt,
Frasier (1993),
The One with Ross' Teeth (1999),
Ally McBeal (1997), three episodes of
Two and a Half Men (2003), three episodes of
Boston Legal (2004),
Grey's Anatomy (2005), two episodes of
Heroes (2006), and two episodes of
The Mentalist (2008). Pyle is also an occasional voice actress, and has voiced characters in one episode of series
Family Guy (1999) and two episodes of
American Dad! (2005).
Pyle began a career as a singer when she met
Shawnee Smith in 2007 while filming an ABC comedy pilot. Pyle stated that her dream was to be in a rock band, and Smith gave her the opportunity by creating the country-rock band Smith & Pyle in Los Angeles, California. Their debut album "It's OK to Be Happy" (2008) was recorded in Joshua Tree, California and was released under their own record label when they became business partners. Their first live performance was in Texas on January 18, 2008 and since then, the band performed in many other states, especially in West Virginia, until May 29, 2010 in California. In 2011, the actresses officially disbanded before their second album was completed.