Wendi McLendon-Covey: From Hotel Despair to Comedy Stardom
Before Wendi McLendon-Covey became the queen of awkward situations with her iconic roles in the 2011 romantic comedy “Bridesmaids” and ABC’s sitcom “The Goldbergs” (let’s face it—how many of us have had Beverly Goldberg’s hilarious conversations with our own mothers?), she was trapped in a job so soul-sucking that even a black hole would have had a hard time competing.
“I was working at a hotel near Disneyland with my best friend and thought, ‘This sucks so badly,’” McLendon-Covey recounted in an interview with Wealthsimple, as if the magic of Disney was completely lost on her because, you know, customers have their own brand of magic—usually in the form of complaints. They decided to take a chance on themselves and registered for comedy classes at The Groundlings, embarking on a journey that was certainly more fun than folding towels.
It quickly became “the highlight of our week,” she said—because nothing screams “highlight of your week” quite like gathering a bunch of aspiring jesters to train in the fine art of making strangers laugh instead of just rolling their eyes. “I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll keep going until they tell me to stop; surely, someone will break my dreams.’ Spoiler alert: nobody did.”
Though McLendon-Covey took the plunge into the wacky world of comedy, she had a practical side as well. She was not about to starve in the name of ‘art.’ “I never wanted to be that desperate actor just waiting for their next gig, possibly offered a role in a direct-to-video sequel to ‘Sharknado.’” Instead, she held at least a part-time job, maintaining a steady paycheck like it was her best friend, even after her breakout roles in “Reno 911!” and—yes, you guessed it—”Bridesmaids.”
She clung to her editing gig at a social work journal for a staggering 12 years. “I’d be in my trailer tweaking manuscripts while simultaneously wondering, ‘Is this really my life?'” she joked with Wealthsimple. “Playing the ‘glamorous actress’ while being overwhelmed by spreadsheets is truly the life of luxury.”
“Everyone thinks acting comes with king-sized checks,” she grimaced. “But the truth is, sometimes it’s golden goose eggs followed by long, barren stretches where you’re wondering if you’ve accidentally stepped into a desert of mediocrity.” This side hustle offered her a safety net, a sanctuary from the chaos of auditioning, additional pressure, and, you know, inevitable existential crises.
While McLendon-Covey no longer juggles editing with acting—her social work journal vanished in 2012, likely taken hostage by a rogue editor—she’s now reaping rewards from her real estate investments. “I’ve got four rental properties and I’m ready to add more, because why not enter the chaotic world of landlords while still pretending to be funny?” she laughed.
At 48, the comedic dynamo has no plans of slow retirement. “I plan on working until I’m 105,” McLendon-Covey declared. “Why retire when you can keep sowing seeds and creating stories that may or may not involve long-forgotten high school reunions? Besides, I can’t outlive my money; I need to outlive my own bad decisions!”
