New Girl had lots of memorable guest stars over the course of its seven seasons on-air, and while it seems difficult to imagine any character swooping into the New Girl universe who could outshine Jess, Schmidt, Nick, Cece, and Winston, some of the show's hilarious guest stars definitely left a lasting impression.
From Jamie Lee Curtis and Rob Reiner guest-starring as Jess's angrily divorced parents to The O.C 's Adam Brody playing the role of Jess's oblivious ex-boyfriend, New Girl's guest stars had a variety of functions in the show's narrative, yet they all brought something new to the series.
Updated on December 26th, 2022 by Stacie Rook: Actress Zooey Deschanel, who played Jessica Day on New Girl, recently addressed the possibility of the show getting a revival (via ScreenRant). The beloved sitcom remains popular, thanks not only to its main ensemble, but also its extensive list of fantastic guest characters.
Zoe Lister-Jones - Fawn Moscato
Zoe Lister-Jones is best known for her role in Life in Pieces, and for her directorial work in indie movies like Band Aid. She appeared in several episodes of New Girl's fourth season as councilwoman Fawn Moscato, who Jess meets with in hopes of changing the city's construction schedule, so that the loft can get some sleep.
Fawn strikes up a relationship with Schmidt, and the two soon start dating. This gives Schmidt the chance to live out his dream of being involved in the political world, but he soon finds that it's not all that he had imagined it to be, and the pair don't last long.
Carla Gugino - Emma
Carla Gugino is an actress known for her roles in shows like The Haunting of Hill House. In New Girl she takes on the role of Schmidt's boss, Emma, who Schmidt hilariously tries to seduce, while he's met with a straight face.
Even though Gugino only has a minor role in the show—appearing in three episodes of the show's second season—it's an important one, as she is ultimately the character who is responsible for helping Schmidt realize that he is madly in love with Cece.
Dermot Mulroney - Russell Schiller
Dermot Mulroney appeared as Russell Schiller in several episodes of New Girl over the years, debuting in season one episode "Fancyman". A love interest for Jess, Russell is a successful older man who has his life together, especially when compared to Jess and her housemates.
Though he later tries to stand in the way of Nick and Jess' wedding, Mulroney largely portrays a lovable character, who in earlier seasons even the hard-to-impress Nick aspires to be like.
Dylan O'Brien - The Guy
Though he only made a single appearance on the show, Dylan O'Brien appeared in one of the most memorable episodes of New Girl—the aptly named "Virgins"—which saw the main characters tell the stories of when they each lost their virginity.
When it's Jess' turn, her hilarious story includes several different scenarios involving O'Brien as The Guy, from their experience at the high school prom to the time they were stuck in a mini-golf course windmill and had to call the fire department.
Linda Cardellini - Abby Day
Linda Cardellini, known for starring in shows like Freaks and Geeks and Dead to Me, appeared as Jess' sister, Abby, in a few episodes of New Girl's third season, and the character was basically the complete opposite of her sister.
Wild and irresponsible even though she tries her best, Abby often got into fights with her sister, and ends up dating Schmidt for a time. Abby's relatively few appearances seem like an oversight, particularly given that her later absence leads to some of New Girl's biggest plot holes, and ultimately, the character was underused.
Taylor Swift - Elaine
Taylor Swift had a cameo on New Girl in the season two episode "Elaine's Big Day", playing Elaine, and although it was only for a moment, it's still a memorable appearance for many fans of the singer and the show.
Elaine was Shivrang's ex-girlfriend, and she confessed her love for him at his and Cece's wedding, breaking the pair up for good. In a lot of ways, the drama was positive, though, as it meant that Cece was able to admit her feelings for Schmidt. The cameo was surprising and had an interesting impact on the rest of the episode.
Justin Long - Paul Genzlinger
First appearing in season one's "Thanksgiving", one of New Girl's many holiday episodes, Justin Long portrays Paul Genzlinger, a fellow teacher at Jess' school. In many ways, Paul is the male version of Jess, so it comes as no surprise that the two end up dating.
Watching the two be unapologetically quirky together on screen was not only adorable but also very funny. Unfortunately, Paul only appeared in five episodes, but his presence served as a great introduction to Jess' dating life.
Brenda Song - Daisy
Brenda Song, known for her role as London Tipton on the Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, appeared in New Girl's second and third seasons as Winston's romantic interest, Daisy, debuting in one of the best party episodes of New Girl, "Cooler".
While the two parted at the start of season three, Song's character was memorable for a few reasons. Daisy not only helped Winston to become more confident, but she was also the original owner of Ferguson the cat, who Winston took on after the breakup, and who quickly became very special to him.
Lizzy Caplan - Julia Cleary
Lizzy Caplan, best known for her role in Mean Girls, portrayed the role of Nick's girlfriend Julia Cleary for a couple of episodes in season one. Julia is a no-nonsense lawyer with no time for whimsy, which contrasts greatly with Jess' more lighthearted personality.
Though the two women are very different, the show points out their differences in order to show that neither is 'better' than the other because of their personalities. Julia and Jess come to appreciate each other's strengths, which makes Julia's inclusion an important part of season one.
Josh Gad - Bearclaw
Josh Gad, known as the voice of Olaf in Frozen, made hilarious appearances on New Girl as Bearclaw in the show's second, third, and fourth seasons.
Bearclaw is an awkward yet lovable guy who has a crush on Jess, who he first meets at the bar where Nick works. Whenever the character appears on the show he brings with him lots of mischief and humor, making Josh Gad a fantastic guest star.
Megan Fox - Reagan Lucas
First introduced in season five, Megan Fox played Reagan Lucas, a pharmaceutical salesperson who took Jess's place in the loft while Jess was on jury duty (mirroring Jess' actress Zooey Deschanel's time on maternity leave).
As well as stirring up the main cast's dynamic, Reagan also became a love interest for Nick. A side character with main character energy, Reagan's a well-rounded character who played a key role in the development of Nick's career and became a good friend to Jess, despite complications of feelings that arose.
Adam Brody - Berkley
On television, actor Adam Brody is best known as Seth Cohen from The O.C. Brody appeared in one episode of New Girl, season three's "Exes", where he portrayed Jess' clueless ex-boyfriend Berkley.
The character is a terrible individual, who attempts to cheat on his wife with Jess, but the entire situation plays out comically, and Berkley's lack of self-awareness is part of what makes the character's singular appearance so memorable, and continually funny.
Rob Reiner & Jamie Lee Curtis - Bob & Joan Day
Legends Rob Reiner and Jamie Lee Curtis make several appearances playing Jess's divorced parents Bob and Joan Day in New Girl. Though they can't stand each other and long ago put an end to their impossible marriage, it's revealed to Jess' shock that they still hook up from time to time.
Bob and Joan Day manage to act as a realistic depiction of a divorced couple while still being greatly funny. Their interactions with Jess make it easy to see how she became the woman that she is, while their conversations with Jess' friends are often awkward, but always hilarious.
Prince - Himself
Prince appeared as himself in season three, episode fourteen of New Girl, unsurprisingly titled "Prince", which saw him host a party that the show's main characters attended.
It's fun and a little surreal to see Prince hang out with the New Girl gang, and the loft mates freak out at the mere presence of the musical icon. It's an episode that will go down in history and Prince was undoubtedly the very best New Girl guest star.