Thayer was born in Portland, Oregon, and spent her early life in the small town of Boring, east of Portland, where her parents owned a bee farm. During her childhood, the family relocated to Minnesota, where she attended Apple Valley High School in Apple Valley, Minnesota, and was a member of the award-winning forensics program and the National Forensic League, as well as Homecoming Queen. She studied acting at The Juilliard School in New York.
Maria Christina Thayer is an American actress and comedian. She first earned public recognition for her portrayal of Tammi Littlenut on the cult series
Strangers with Candy (1999) in 1999. Thayer has also had supporting roles in the comedy films
Hitch (2005) (2005),
Accepted (2006) (2006), and
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) where she plays a woman on holiday with a new husband, played by
Jack McBrayer (2008). In 2009, she appeared in the film
State of Play (2009) as Sonia Baker, the researcher and mistress of a congressman.
She has appeared in numerous television series, including a lead role on the Adult Swim series
Eagleheart (2011) (2011-2014), and a lead role as Abbey Logan on the comedy series . She played the title role in the movie,
Night of the Living Deb (2015). Starting in 2015, she starred in the TruTV sitcom
Those Who Can't (2016) as an incompetent teacher at a Denver high school.