Missi Pyle (born November 16, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in a number of successful films, including Galaxy Quest (1999), Big Fish (2003), Bringing Down the House (2003), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008), The Artist (2011), Gone Girl (2014), Captain Fantastic (2016), and Ma (2019). Pyle has also appeared in various television series, such as Cleaners (2013–2014), Jennifer Falls (2014), Another Period (2015–2018), Bordertown (2016), The Soul Man (2016), Mom (2017), Impulse (2018), The Mentalist (2010) and Dirty John (2020). In addition to acting, Pyle has also worked as a singer. With actress Shawnee Smith, she served as half of Smith & Pyle, a country rock duo. Early life Pyle attended the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and graduated in 1995. For her achievements, Pyle was honored by the Poplar Pike Playhouse at her alma mater Germantown High School in Germantown, Tennessee. Career Pyle has guest starred on many television shows, including Heroes, Mad About You, Boston Legal, Frasier, The Sarah Silverman Program, and 2 Broke Girls. She started her film career with a minor role in As Good as It Gets, starring Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson. After her breakout role in Galaxy Quest, she had supporting roles in Bringing Down the House (for which she and Queen Latifah were nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Fight), Josie and the Pussycats, Home Alone 4, Exposed, Big Fish, Along Came Polly, Soul Plane, Stormbreaker, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She was also the female lead in BachelorMan. She also appears in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. She also had a brief appearance in 50 First Dates and starred in A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song. Pyle played Jake's elementary school teacher Ms. Pasternak on Two and a Half Men. The role was recast in 2009 for undisclosed reasons, however it is believed that it was to show the emotional change she went through after Charlie dumped and hurt her [source IMDB]. Pyle returned to the series in the same role in 2011 and again in the series finale "Of Course He's Dead" in 2015. In 2008, Missi starred in the Broadway play Boeing-Boeing opposite Christine Baranski, Mark Rylance, Greg Germann, Paige Davis and Rebecca Gayheart. The play closed in January 2009.