Kali Rocha

Kali Rocha
Rocha in 2005
Born	(1971-12-05) December 5, 1971 (age 53) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Education	Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1996–present
Spouse	Michael Krikorian ​ (m. 2006)​
Children	2

Kali Rocha (born December 5, 1971) is an American actress. ^[1] She is known for portraying Karen Rooney, the mother of the four Rooney children and the school's vice principal, on the Disney Channel sitcom Liv and Maddie . ^[2] She also co-wrote four episodes of the show. ^[3]

Early life

Rocha was born in Memphis, Tennessee and grew up in Rhode Island, ^[4] graduating from Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in 1993. ^[5]

Career

Rocha's career began on stage in the August 1993 revival of the Jane Bowles play In the Summer House at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. ^[6] Since then she has been in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions including Noises Off and Nicky Silver's comedy The Altruists where she created the role of Cybil. ^[7]

Her on-screen debut was in the 1996 cinematic adaptation of Arthur Miller's The Crucible , as Mercy Lewis. She stood out when she played the Atlantic American flight attendant who argued with Ben Stiller's character at the airport in the 2000 comedy Meet the Parents , a role she reprised in the sequel Meet the Fockers . ^[8] She also had a recurring role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Anya's vengeance demon friend, Halfrek, and appeared as William the Bloody's love interest, Cecily. Rocha played Stonewall Jackson's wife, Anna in Ron Maxwell's Gods and Generals , an epic drama about the first two years of the American Civil War. Other films include The Object of My Affection , Autumn in New York , White Oleander , When Billie Beat Bobby , and Ready? OK! .

She has appeared on the Will & Grace episode "Strangers With Candice", as a straight woman who flirts with Will. In spring 2006, Rocha began acting in the short-lived NBC sitcom Teachers . She guest-starred in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Cindy Marino, an aggressive TV reporter. Also, she appeared on an episode of Bones as a victim's mother. Rocha has also played the character of a fourth-year resident surgeon, Dr. Sydney Heron, at Seattle Grace Hospital in the ABC TV series Grey's Anatomy .

In 2009, Rocha appeared with fellow Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Emma Caulfield in the film TiMER . ^[9] Rocha starred in the first and only season of Sherri starring Sherri Shepherd from The View which was loosely based on Shepherd's life. She played Summer, Sherri's boss and eventual friend. It aired on the Lifetime Network.

In 2016, Rocha was cast as Marcy Burns, a recurring character on the CBS sitcom Man with a Plan. In 2018, she was upgraded to a series regular for the third season. ^[10]

Personal life

In January 2008, Rocha announced that she was pregnant. ^[11] She gave birth to her son Barlow Aix Krikorian on August 4, 2008, and her daughter Savria Dune Krikorian on January 25, 2011. ^[12]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	The Crucible	Mercy Lewis
1998	The Object of My Affection	Melissa Marx
2000	Autumn in New York	Shannon
	Meet the Parents	Flight Attendant
2002	White Oleander	Susan Valeris
2003	Gods and Generals	Anna Morrison Jackson
2004	Stuck	Sasha	Short film
	Meet the Fockers	Flight Attendant
2005	Confessions of an Action Star	Beth
	Bam Bam and Celeste	Angela
	Seagull	Kali
2006	Falling for Grace	Carla
	Ira & Abby	Tracy
2007	Dead Write	Samantha
	Ripple Effect	Alex
2008	Over Her Dead Body	Angel
	Ready? OK!	Hallie Hinton
	John's Hand	Terry	Short film
2009	TiMER	Patty
	Stolen	Coral
2010	Video Night	Kali	Video short
2011	Mr. Stache	Narrator	Short film
	Serenity House	Marnie	Short film
2012	Brake	911 Operator
2014	Space Station 76	Donna
	The Loft	Mimi Landry
2016	Lend a Hand for Love	Ernestine	Short film
	Gary Got Involved!	Neighbor	Short film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Liberty! The American Revolution	Eliza Wilkinson	TV miniseries
1998	The Love Letter	Flossy Whitcomb	TV film
2001	When Billie Beat Bobby	Connie	TV film
	Cursed (aka The Weber Show)	Sophie	Episode: "...And Then Jack Had Two Dates"
	Becker	Kayla	Episode: "Psycho Therapy"
2002	Family Law	Kelly Gilbert	Episode: "Alienation of Affection"
	Hack	Joyce	Episode: "All Night Long"
2000–2002	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Cecily Addams/Halfrek	7 episodes
2003	Crossing Jordan	Felix Tate	Episode: "Sunset Division"
	Will & Grace	Stephanie	Episode: "Strangers with Candice"
2005	Family Plan	Stacy	TV film
	Without a Trace	Liz Murray	Episode: "Party Girl"
2006	Teachers	Principal Emma Wiggins	All 6 episodes
	Standoff	Leanne Benson	Episode: "Partners in Crime"
	Bones	Jackie Swanson	Episode: "The Girl with the Curl"
2006–2007, 2024	Grey's Anatomy	Dr. Sydney Heron	9 episodes [13]
2007	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Cindy Marino	Episode: "Haystack"
	Boston Legal	Allison Lovejoy	Episode: "Duck and Cover"
	The Call	Wendy 'The Wolf' Wolfram	TV film
2008	Notes from the Underbelly	Paige Bartlett	Episode: "Friends and Neighbors"
2009	Monk	Maria Scheter	Episode: "Mr. Monk Fights City Hall"
	Sherri	Summer Dickie	All 13 episodes
2010	$#*! My Dad Says	Roberta	Episode: "You Can't Handle the Truce"
2011	Drop Dead Diva	Dr. Audrey Foley	Episode: "You Bet Your Life"
	The Exes	Deanna	Episode: "An Inconvenient Tooth"
2012	Modern Family	Party Planner	Episode: "Leap Day"
	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Ms. Fowler	Episode: "Altered Stakes"
	Puppy Love	Gail	TV film
	Bits and Pieces	Jodi	TV film ( Liv and Maddie original pilot)
2013–2017	Liv and Maddie	Karen Rooney	Main role
2016–2020	Man with a Plan	Marcy Burns	Recurring: seasons 1–2; Main: seasons 3–4
2019	Harvey Street Kids	Marie Curie	Guest voice
2023	Waco: The Aftermath	Ruth Riddle	Main role
2024	That Girl Lay Lay	Dr. Hirt	Episode: Toothaches and CHOFMA Breaks"

External links

• Kali Rocha at IMDb
• Kali Rocha at the Internet Broadway Database
• Kali Rocha at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

References

1. "Kali Rocha". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
2. Quinn, Marie (September 8, 2014). "We talk to Kali Rocha (the mom on) Liv and Maddie on the Disney Channel Set Visit" Archived 2017-02-11 at the Wayback Machine . RedCarpetReportTV.com. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
3. Half Crazy Mama (March 26, 2015). "New Liv and Maddie Episode co-written by Kali Rocha!". HalfCrazyMama.com. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
4. "Kali Rocha". Hollywood.com. Retrieved February 12, 2017.
5. Staff (September 1, 2015). "Alumni on the Small Screen". Carnegie Mellon University. R12, 2017.
6. "In the Summer House". Playbill . Retrieved September 19, 2016.
7. Shapiro, Marjorie (March 5, 2000). "Marge Says: The Altruists". Talkin' Broadway. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
8. "Greg Has to Wait – Meet the Parents Movie Clip". YouTube. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
9. Genzlinger, Neil (May 14, 2010). "TiMER: A Sci-Fi Love Story". The New York Times . Retrieved April 14, 2011.
10. Petski, Denise (4 September 2018). "'Man With A Plan': Kali Rocha Upped To Series Regular For Season 3". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 3 October 2018.
11. TV Guide News (January 31, 2008). "Grey's Anatomy Doc Expecting". TV Guide . Retrieved March 27, 2011.
12. "Kali Rocha expecting first child". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
13. Andreeva, Nellie (August 15, 2024). "Blast From The Past: 'Grey's Anatomy' Brings Back Kali Rocha For Guest Arc As Sydney Heron After 17 Years". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved August 15, 2024.