Jane Lynch Plays a Mean Girl, with "Glee"

"Glee," the TV show about a glee club and the trials and tribulations of high school, has become a major hit, spawning loyal fans known as "Gleeks."

One member of the cast -- and actor with a familiar face you couldn't quite place -- is playing a character you love to hate, and she's loving every minute of it.

On "Glee," Sue Sylvester is the decidedly uncheery cheerleading coach. In fact, she's downright mean. Playing Sylvester is Jane Lynch, one of those actors you've seen before but you might not have known her name -- until now.

CBS News Anchor Katie Couric reports after 60 movies, 70 TV shows, and 30 years, Lynch is an overnight sensation.

"You know, in a way I do feel like I've just started," Lynch told Couric. "I still get very excited to go to work."

Fox might have made her a household name, but it's a tiger that launched her career. On the set of a Frosted Flakes commercial she met director Christopher Guest.

Impressed by Lynch's improvizational skills, Guest cast her in his mockumentary, "Best in Show." He said, "I just worked something out in my mind. I'd like you two to be a lesbian couple with a poodle."

An openly gay actor, Jane Lynch gives credit for that openness to a number of other entertainers.

"I have Ellen DeGeneres and Melissa Etheridge - all of them - to thank for kind of paving the way," Lynch said. "I'm kind of just very open about who I am."

Like the students Sue Sylvester picks on in "Glee," Jane was in her high school choir. She recently had a chance to show off her pipes -- singing a hit from the ultimate lady with an attitude: Madonna.