Lauren Holly is an American actress. She is known for her role as Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the TV series Picket Fences, as Mary Swanson in the 1994 film Dumb & Dumber, and her relationship with Canadian actor Jim Carrey. She also portrayed Jenny Shepard on the TV series NCIS between 2005 and 2008.

Holly was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania and was raised in Geneva, New York. She is a 1981 graduate of Geneva High School, where she was a cheerleader.

At age 23, Holly joined the cast of the iconic Abctelevision soap opera All My Children as Julie Chandler (1986–1989). She portrayed the comic book character Betty on television's Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again in 1990.

Perhaps her best known film role came as Mary Swanson, Lloyd Christmas's love interest in the 1994 Jim Carrey comedy Dumb & Dumber. She also portrayed Linda Lee Cadwell, the wife of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee, in 1993's Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story; a doctor in Sydney Pollack's 1995 remake of Sabrina; and Lieutenant Emily Lake, the only woman aboard a submarine, in the 1996 Kelsey Grammercomedy Down Periscope. She also starred in the movie Any Given Sunday along with Jamie Foxxand Dennis Quaid.

She also appeared in the music video for Dixie Chicks' single "Goodbye Earl", along with Jane Krakowski, Dennis Franz, Adrian Pasdar Michael DeLuise and Evan Bernard.

Holly starred as small-town Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in David E. Kelley's TV series Picket Fences. In 2005, she joined the cast of NCIS as Director Jenny Shepard, and in doing so was reunited with her former Chicago Hope co-star Mark Harmon.