Player Profile

Cheryl Hines - No Need to Curb your Enthusiasm

Cheryl Hines - No Need to Curb your Enthusiasm

Fact File

Age: 41

Born: Miami, FL

Resides: Los Angeles, CA

Featured in: Episode 1

Key stats: Emmy nominated for her role as Larry David’s wife on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Did you know?: A long-time poker enthusiast, this veteran of The Groundlings improv group often uses humor to disarm her opponents at the table.

Also in Episode: Erick Lindgren, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, Jose Canseco

Fact File

Cheryl Hines is so convincing at playing Larry David’s wife on the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm that her relatives were upset that they didn’t get invited to her wedding with the Seinfeld co-creator.

Cheryl was born and raised in Florida. She went to three different colleges before graduating with a degree in film and TV production. As it turned out she didn’t need to spend all that tuition, because her real education started when she moved to Los Angeles and joined the renowned improv comedy group, The Groundlings. Some of her fellow alumni include Will Ferrell, Phil Hartman, as well as Lisa Kudrow, who was one of Cheryl’s instructors.

As a Groundling, Cheryl would improvise comedy sketches in front of live audiences. It was the perfect proving ground when she became a cast member on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Since none of the shows are scripted, Cheryl makes up her dialogue on-the-fly while the cameras roll. In 2006, she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Besides her TV work, Cheryl has appeared in the movies Along Came Polly, Keeping Up with the Steins, and RV. In 2007, she’ll appear in The Grand, an improvised comedy about a poker tournament at the Golden Nugget. Her co-stars include Ray Romano, Jason Alexander and Woody Harrelson and poker greats such as Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth and Phil Laak.

Last year, when appearing on Celebrity Poker Showdown, Cheryl won her tournament, beating know-it-all Alex Trebek during heads-up play. Ask her about the victory, and she’ll tell you the tournament played out as though it was scripted that way.