Maurissa Tancharoen (/məˈrɪsə ˌtæntʃəˈroʊn/) is an American writer, producer, and actress. She is known for her work as the co-creator, show runner, and executive producer of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which aired on the ABC television network for 7 seasons from 2013 to 2020. She is from Los Angeles.^[1][2]

Tancharoen has worked as an actor, writer, production assistant, showrunner, and executive producer in television and film.

She began working as a production assistant under producer Mark Tinker on NYPD Blue and William M. Finkelstein on Brooklyn South.^[2] Along with brother Kevin Tancharoen, she co-executive produced of the series DanceLife in collaboration with Jennifer Lopez in 2007.^[2][3] She co-produced episodes of the Starz series Spartacus: Gods of the Arena and Spartacus: Vengeance.^[4]

Tancharoen sold her first script in 2001 when Revolution Studios bought an untitled pitch about two Asian American FBI agents investigating a gang in South Central Los Angeles while working undercover as store clerks at a Korean store.^[5] She was hired as a writer on the short-lived sitcom Oliver Beene in 2003.^[2][3]

During the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike, Tancharoen worked with her writing partner Jed Whedon and his brothers, Zack and writer/director Joss on the musical comedy-drama miniseries Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, which was produced exclusively for internet distribution and circumvented issues which were being protested during the strike. The musical was highly successful and won seven awards at the 2009 Streamy Awards for web television.^[6]

Tancharoen went on to work as a writer and story editor on Drop Dead Diva and Dollhouse. She worked unaccredited on The Avengers,^[7][8] with brother-in-law director Joss and husband Jed Whedon. The success of The Avengers opened the door for a successful pitch by the trio to create the Marvel universe TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.^[9][10] Tancharoen was the co-writer, showrunner, and co-executive producer with Jed for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for seven seasons (2013-2020).^[11][12]

In addition to her writing and production credits, Tancharoen has appeared on screen or contributed voice talent in episodes of Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and Joss Whedon's 2011 adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.^[13] She co-wrote and performed lyrics for "Remains" with Jed Whedon for the Dollhouse episode "Epitaph One". She was Zelda's singing voice in the season 2 episode "The Musical" of The Legend of Neil, a spoof based on the video game The Legend of Zelda. According to her Twitter posts, she performed backing vocals and danced in the video for The Guild parody song "(Do You Wanna Date My) Avatar" released on August 17, 2009.^[14] In the Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog DVD, "Commentary! The Musical", she sings about the scarcity of non-stereotyped roles in television and film for actors of Asian origin.^[15]

Tancharoen's name is of Thai origin (ตันเจริญ).^[16] She is the daughter of Asian immigrants. Her father Tommy Tancharoen is a transportation coordinator in Hollywood. Her younger brother Kevin Tancharoen is a director, whose feature film debut was 2009's Fame. On April 19, 2009, she married fellow writer Jed Whedon, brother of Joss Whedon.^[17][18] Their first child, a daughter, was born in 2015.^[1]

Tancharoen was a singer and dancer as a child and teenager. She appeared as a dancer in the "Badder" segment of Michael Jackson's Moonwalker in 1988. She was also a member of the all-girl multi-cultural R&B group Pretty in Pink which recorded a single album with Motown in 1991. Chaka Khan's daughter, Milini Khan was a member of the group; the other members of the group were Shey Sperry, Tameika Chaney, and Taniya Robinson. The band broke up without having recorded a hit song.^[17][19]

Tancharoen attended Occidental College, where she majored in English and comparative literary studies and minored in theater. She began writing during her time at Occidental and authored two plays which earned the school's Argonaut & Moore literary award.^[17]

Tancharoen was diagnosed with lupus at the age of 15. Her early symptoms of fatigue, joint pain, and a butterfly rash intensified as she aged resulting in periodic episodes in which the autoimmune disease attacks her organs and central nervous system. She has been an advocate for lupus awareness and research, talking about her personal experience with the disease during media interviews.^[20][21]

Tancharoen said, "Every year during May I do my part to raise lupus awareness, from conversations with friends and family to always wearing my purple during Lupus Awareness Month and definitely on Put On Purple Day."^[20]

Her friends and family formed Club Mo to raise money for the Walk for Lupus Now event in Los Angeles in 2011. The team raised about $80,000 for the event.^[22]

In 2009, Tancharoen won a Streamy Award for Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

• Wake Up (with Pretty In Pink) (Motown, 1991)^[23]