Sterling was born in Paterson, New Jersey. Her father is actor and comedian Dick Sterling. Her mother was a dancer. She has one brother, Mark Sterling. She is Jewish.
Career
Early career
Around 1973, Sterling landed a recurring role on the syndicated children's series Dusty's Treehouse. She later joined the L.A.-based comedy troupe The Groundlings.
Film career
Despite having starred in numerous films in the 1980s and 1990s, it was her character Frau Farbissina, the diminutive and domineering Germanic cohort of Dr. Evil in ', that brought Sterling high praise for her work in films. In 1999, following the success of ', Sterling appeared in Drop Dead Gorgeous, and later reprised the character in Austin Powers in Goldmember. In 2000, she played one of the townspeople in the live-action adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and also provided additional voices in the 2018 CGI version, The Grinch. In 2012, she appeared in a book trailer for a parody of The Hunger Games entitled The Hunger Pains.
Television career
From 1990-91, she was one of the comedians in the satirical show On the Television. Sterling plays Christian Slater's secretary Arlene Scott in the show My Own Worst Enemy. She also played Judge Foodie on the Disney show That's So Raven and a volleyball coach on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. She appeared as the wedding planner on the Friends episode "The One with Barry and Mindy's Wedding" in 1996, and in 2004, as the casting director on the episode "Joey and the Big Audition" of Joey. Sterling has achieved success in teen sitcoms, playing Ms. Francine Briggs on iCarly, and in A.N.T. Farm as Principal Susan Skidmore. On April 25, 2013 before the finale of the second season of A.N.T. Farm, Sterling announced she would not be appearing on the show's third season due to family obligations. She announced in June 2012 that she may return in the fourth season, with guest appearances in season three. In 2000, Sterling appeared as a celebrity guest on Hollywood Squares. She returned to the show in 2002. Between 2002 and 2004, Sterling made guest appearances on the Donny Osmond version of the game showPyramid. In 2010, she had a recurring role as bitter neighbour Mitzi Kinsky in Desperate Housewives. In 2013, she currently stars as Janice Nugent in the comedy series Legit. In 2018, she appeared in Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events.
From 2007-2010, Sterling played Ms. Endive, the main antagonist to Mung Daal in Chowder. She also voiced the character Lin Beifong, the second Police Chief of Republic City and daughter of original chief Toph Beifong, in The Legend of Korra. Her many other voice-over credits include guest roles on The Wild Thornberrys, Invader Zim, ', ', Higglytown Heroes, Robot Chicken, Mars Needs Moms, The Looney Tunes Show, Justice League Unlimited, Winx Club, and Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated.
Personal life
Family
Sterling has one son, Max, b. 1994, from her previous marriage to Brian Gadson. Max began a career in stand-up comedy in May 2016. Max reportedly has autism.
