Who's Here: Christa Miller, Actress

Christa Miller is one of those actresses that you’ve known for a long time if you are a television fan. She comes from a show business family, has accomplished enormous success in her acting career, and happens to be from the East End of Long Island. Miller likes to call the Hamptons home, even if she isn’t able to get out here as much as she’d like due to work.

“When I’m out east, I feel like I’m home. I grew up on Long Island in Quogue, so to me the East End is very much my home. I simply love it out there, I’m not sure if there is anybody in the whole world that can say that they don’t love it out there. It’s a place that everybody is hoping to spend as much time as possible in.”

Miller is known for her role in the hit show “Cougar Town,” where she stars alongside Courtney Cox. You would think it is about older women chasing younger guys, but it’s not that at all. Miller explains, “’Cougar Town’ isn’t really about cougars anymore. They changed the show and it is more about friendship between women. When the show began it was more about cougars, but a cougar by definition is an older woman hunting for a younger guy. After the first episode, my husband, who is the creator of the show, decided that he wanted to make it about adult friendships, who drink quite a bit I might add.” [expand]

It seems like every single show Miller has become a part of has been a hit. She appeared in episodes of “Northern Exposure,” “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and “Party of Five.” She even got to have a few roles on “Seinfeld,” which is described as a launching point in her career. She played two different characters in two different episodes. In one she played George Costanza’s boss in the 1993 episode, “The Sniffing Accountant.” She also was in the episode known as “The Doodle,”  playing George’s girlfriend Paula.

Miller credits these appearances with helping her career tremendously. The reason for this is because she was able to use a rough-cut video from “Seinfeld” when she auditioned for “The Drew Carey Show.” Larry David  helped convince the producers of that show that Miller was a good choice for one of the starring roles. “The Drew Carey Show” was where Miller was able to find really incredible success and become a household name in her role as Kate O’Brien.

Miller’s career is a classic example of what it means to be a hardworking actress in show business. She loves acting and has been doing it professionally for pretty much her entire life. “After high school I was modeling and living in Europe which was pretty amazing. But acting is what I’ve always known I’d do.”

But acting isn’t everything, family is central. She has three children with her husband Bill Lawrence, and among the things she loves to do with them in the Hamptons is to take them crabbing.

“I love going with my friend and her kids out to Mecox Bay and we all like to go crabbing with the kids. They have such a good time. We set them free, of course.”

Miller currently rents a home in Wainscott, “We’ve been renting in Wainscott for the summer and are looking for an opportunity to buy. I grew up in Quogue, so I was out there every single weekend all summer long. Even in the winter time, we would be out in Quogue. I like to feel like I can say I am local.”

And if you can believe it, pizza plays a big role as to why she likes to be out in the Hamptons. Everybody knows that finding a good bagel and a good slice of pizza in Los Angeles is not an easy task, so, in the Hamptons, she appreciates it very much. “I love going to the Meeting House in Amagansett. My husband and I love it there because we can take the kids. I also love going to Sam’s Pizza in East Hampton. The Hamptons really has amazing pizza. In L.A. there really isn’t very good pizza anywhere. I’m crazy about the pizza at La Capannina in Wainscott. The pizza there is just really incredible and it’s not that far from our house.”

This writer would have to agree with that statement, and it is very true, we are very spoiled when it comes to good pizza in the Hamptons.