Meredith Kathleen Hagner is an American actress. She began her career portraying Liberty Ciccone on the soap opera As the World Turns, which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series in 2009. Following her departure from As the World Turns, she appeared as a series regular on Lights Out and Men at Work. Hagner gained further prominence for her role as Portia Davenport in the series Search Party, receiving critical praise for her performance. She has also appeared as a series regular on Strangers and Dummy. Hagner's film roles include Hits, Folk Hero & Funny Guy, The Oath, and Brightburn.
Early life
Hagner was born in New York on May 31, 1987, and grew up in Houston, Texas and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She attended Chapel Hill High School, graduating in 2005. She attended the Boston Conservatory for a year, but moved to New York City after being offered acting opportunities. While in New York, she was cast in television and radio advertisements for 3M, Acuvue, JCPenney, Levi's, Radio Shack, Subway, and Truth.
Career
Hagner made her screen debut in the CBS daytime soap operaAs the World Turns in 2008, as Liberty Ciccone, the illegitimate daughter of Brad Snyder and Janet Ciccone. She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series in 2009. Hagner ended her two-year run as the character in March 2010, for a career on primetime television and feature film. Hagner starred in the FX short-lived 2011 drama seriesLights Out. She later was cast as lead on The CW pilot Awakening, but it not was picked up to series. Hagner also appeared in a recurring role in the medical comedy Royal Pains on USA Network as Libby, a teenager with an extreme case of cyberchondria from 2009 to 2011, and guest-starred on In Plain Sight, , and The Following. In 2012, Hagner began starring as Amy Jordan in the TBS comedy series Men at Work. The series was canceled after three seasons in 2014. In 2016, Hagner returned to network television in TBS dark comedy Search Party. Hagner stars as the accidentally investigative sidekick, Portia Davenport. Her portrayal of the shallow hipster actress was named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the "20 Best TV Characters In 2016". On December 13, 2016, TBS renewed the show for a second season, which premiered on November 19, 2017. The series was renewed for a third season, relaunching on WarnerMedia’s HBO Maxstreaming service, with the third season scheduled to premiere on June 25, 2020.
