Lauren Michael Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American-Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the TV series Picket Fences, as Mary Swanson in the 1994 film Dumb & Dumber, and as Jenny Shepard on the TV series NCIS. She was married to comic actor Jim Carrey from 1996 to 1997. Holly was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Her mother, Michael Ann, is an art historian, Starr Director of Research and Academic Program at The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, and former professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Her father, Grant Holly, is a screenwriter and professor of literature at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Holly was raised in Geneva, New York, and is a 1981 graduate of Geneva High School, where she was a cheerleader. In 1985, Holly earned an undergraduate degree in English from Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Holly, who now lives primarily in Canada with her husband and their three children, became a Canadian citizen in 2008. Her acting career began at the age of 20 when she appeared in Hill Street Blues as Carla Walicki for two episodes.