How Do You Know Heather McDonald?

Even if you don't realize it, you know Heather McDonald, who will host The CW's Greatest Holiday Commercial Countdown on Monday night. She's kind of like the Judy Greer of comedy — everybody's seen her somewhere. I know her best from my former days of hoarding episodes of Chelsea Lately on my DVR, where she was a writer and performer, lovingly known by her boss and co-workers as Heather "Long Boobs" McDonald. A name like that sticks in your mind.

But McDonald is more than just a name and she's got a lot more than just E! on her resume (although, on that note, I think she would be an excellent E! News correspondent... or she and Giuliana Rancic really should have some sort of mockumentary Comeback-style show together — just spit-balling ideas here). I still remember coming across McDonald's first book, You'll Never Blue Ball in This Town Again, in a Barnes & Noble a few years ago, reading the inside flap, and thinking, "That is awesome." McDonald is an author, and a stand-up comedian, and an actor, and a whole lot more. Since Chelsea Lately ended earlier this year, McDonald has had more time to focus on her comedy and the next steps in her career. That includes hosting The CW's Greatest Holiday Commercial Countdown Monday night at 9 p.m., alongside comedian Matt Weinhold.

So, while you're watching the best holiday commercials The CW could find and trying to figure out all of the places you've seen (and loved) Heather McDonald, let me help you out.

A Start in Stand-Up

I really like McDonald's story: she's a working actress, a working comedian, a working mom... girl works, and she's worked to get where she is. As she explained to blog Tinseltown Mom, McDonald went to USC to study business, because growing up in the San Fernando Valley, she had seen the trials of trying to make it in Hollywood. But she couldn't resist.

After she graduated, she enrolled with the Groundlings school, started doing stand-up, and eventually got a job writing for Keenen Ivory Wayans’ late night talk show, and collaborated with the Wayans brothers White Chicks. Which led to...

Chelsea Lately

As she explained in an interview with Jim Halterman, McDonald took a few years off from performing when she had children, but when she heard that Chelsea Handler, who she knew from their days of performing in comedy clubs together, was getting her own show on E!, she let Handler know that she had experience writing for late night talk shows and wanted to get back in the ring. And get back in the ring, she did. McDonald was probably the best known sidekick to Handler's hosting role, always taking you off guard with her seemingly sweet persona on the round table, and serving up killer impressions in sketches.

New York Times Best-Selling Author & a Stand-Up Special

With the success of Chelsea Lately came the opportunity to pen a memoir: specifically, the story of why and how McDonald waited 27 years to lose her virginity. You'll Never Blue Ball in This Town Again spent seven weeks on the New York Times best-seller list in 2010, and in 2013 she followed it up with, MY INAPPROPRIATE LIFE: Some Material Not Suitable for Small Children, Nuns, or Mature Adults about balancing her life in comedy with her family life.

But what has to be McDonald's most exciting achievement to date is getting her own stand-up special on Showtime, I Don’t Mean to Brag, which aired in August, and will be available on DVD in January of 2015.