My Favourite TV Girls 1-100
Favourite TV Girls
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Francine Joy "Fran" Drescher was born on September 30, 1957 in Queens, New York City, New York to Sylvia Drescher, a bridal consultant & Mort Drescher, a naval systems analyst. Fran attended Hillcrest High School in New York with another now-famous name, Ray Romano. She was a studious girl and was quite popular. In fact, at age fifteen, she'd met the man she thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. That man was Peter Marc Jacobson. Her first break was in the unforgettable movie, Saturday Night Fever (1977) with John Travolta. She continued to play small roles in movies, until she came up with the idea for The Nanny (1993). She was visiting a friend in England and came up with the plot line. The Nanny (1993) became an instant success, and so did Fran. Since then, she has been in films such as The Beautician and the Beast (1997) (which she also produced) and Picking Up the Pieces (2000) co-starring Woody Allen. Fran has since divorced her husband Jacobson. She is a cancer survivor and an inspiration to women everywhere.the Nanny.The only girl I've ever loved was born with roses in her eyes...- Actress
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Lynsey Bartilson was born in Edina, Minnesota on July 1, 1983, and moved to Los Angeles with her family at four. A dancer from a very young age, Lynsey won her first talent competition at the age of seven, in solo dance. She discovered her love for comedy in a summer drama class, when she was cast as the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz, even though she was the smallest child in the class. With a soon-revealed instinct for comedic timing, Lynsey had 'Dorothy' shaking with fear, and the audience roaring with laughter.
Lynsey began acting professionally at the age of 9, with guest appearances on television and video. At the same time, she was performing in professional musical theater productions across Los Angeles. She played Annie in three different productions; starred as Ramona Quimby, and got great notices as Effie Lou in the world premiere of Amelia Bedelia. She won a Dramalogue Award for her performance as Young Maxine in Situation Tragedy. She also continued dancing professionally, appearing twice in the Joffrey Ballet's annual Nutcracker. All of that musical theater experience paid off when CBS began looking for a young triple-threat to star opposite Angela Lansbury in the Hallmark Christmas musical special, Mrs. Santa Claus. Lynsey was chosen from more than 500 girls who auditioned for the part.
Lynsey enjoys helping others achieve their goals. The director and choreographer for Celebrity Centre's Kids on Stage for a Better World, Lynsey works with 40-50 youngsters to create positive-message benefit concerts for the disadvantaged. Under Lynsey's direction, the group was awarded the Young Artists Awards Michael J. Landon Community Service Award. In addition, Lynsey is currently the International Spokesperson for Youth for Human Rights. The purpose of this group is: "To teach youth around the globe about human rights, thus helping them to become valuable advocates for the promotion of tolerance and peace."Grounded for Life- Actress
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Jane Leeves has made her mark in the entertainment world, acting in television, theater, and film over the past 20 years.
She is most famous for her role as "Daphne" in the award-winning show Frasier (1993). Leeves played one of the five main characters of the sitcom, a live-in physical therapist hired to take care of Frasier Crane's father. Leeves' character added a comical element to many scenes between Frasier and his family with her wit, down-to-earth remarks, and part-time, self-determined psychic abilities. Frasier Crane's brother becomes instantly smitten with her smile and Mancunian accent, which she had to fake for the whole duration of the show.
She became very good friends with the cast, including Peri Gilpin, David Hyde Pierce and John Mahoney, who are all godparents to her children.
Her role as Daphne Moon was awarded numerous awards nominations during the course of the TV series :- In 1994 she was nominated for the "Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film" Golden Globe Award.
- In 1995, she won the Q Award for "Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Comedy Series". She was nominated five more times in that same category (1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000).
- In 1998, she was nominated for the "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series" Primetime Emmy Award.
- In 1999 and 2003, she was nominated for the "Best Supporting Actress - Television Series, Musical or Comedy" Satellite Award.
- In 2001, she was nominated for the "Supporting Actress of the Vear in a Comedy Series" TV Guide Award.
Leeves stars in the Emmy® Award-winning TV Land series, Hot in Cleveland (2010), which in 2011 was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award® for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Leeves plays eyebrow archer to the stars, "Joy Scroggs". The comedy revolves around three fabulous LA women of a certain age, and best friends (Leeves, Valerie Bertinelli and Wendie Malick) whose lives are changed forever when their plane, bound for Paris, unexpectedly lands in Cleveland.
She graced the world of theater by starring as "Sally Bowles" in the Roundabout production of "Cabaret" on Broadway. Leeves has also lent her voice to various animated television series, including The Penguins of Madagascar (2008), Phineas and Ferb (2007), and The Simpsons (1989), as well as the major motion picture, James and the Giant Peach (1996). Leeves also appeared in the film, Music of the Heart (1999), which co-starred Meryl Streep. On June 16, 2011, Leeves -- along with Hot in Cleveland (2010) co-stars Valerie Bertinelli, Wendie Malick and Betty White -- was presented with the key to the city of Cleveland by the mayor.
She recently started the "Tellurian Foundation", a line of all-natural skin care and baby products. A portion of the profits will be donated to those who strive to provide help to those in need, most recently "Food Share".Frasier,Hot in Cleveland, Murphy Brown, Seinfeld- Actress
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Leah Marie Remini was born on June 15,1970 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York & was raised in Los Angeles, California. Leah was born to Vicki Julia Marshall, & George Anthony Remini, who owned an asbestos removal company. She has an older sister named Nicole and 4 half-sisters named Christine, Stephanie (died of cancer in 2013), Elizabeth & Shannon. She starred as Carrie Heffernan on the long-running CBS comedy series The King of Queens (1998-2007) and later co-hosted The Talk in 2010-11. Since 2016 she has created, hosted and executive produced co-produced the Emmy Award-winning A&E documentary series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. Since 2020 Remini is producing and co-hosting the iHeart radio podcast Scientology: Fair Game
She was baptized Roman Catholic. When she was 8 years old, her mother joined the Church of Scientology, and Remini was thereafter raised as a Scientologist. Remini and sister Nicole were then taken to join Scientology's Paramilitary organization called the Sea Organization, where they were forced to sign billion-year contracts and work for their room and board. Sea Org children do not live with their parents and children of the Sea Org are treated as adults and work around the clock. Remini's mother decided to take her children out of the Sea Org and return to civilian Scientology life when Remini was thirteen years old. Remini moved to Los Angeles, California, with her mother and sisters, where she spent the remainder of her teenage years working to pay off their debt to Scientology called a Freeloader's Debt. Remini and family worked regular jobs to pay for Scientology services.
Remini and husband Angelo Pagán, baptized their daughter Sofia as a Catholic.
Remini left the organization in 2013. Two years later, Remini released her book, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, her memoir became number one on The New York Times Best Sellers List. In 2016, she followed up her memoir with the two-time Emmy Award-winning documentary television series on the A&E network, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, where she created a platform for victims and survivors of Scientology. The Documentary Series received many awards in its three seasons; two Emmy Awards, 2019 Critics' Choice Real TV Impact Award, 2017 Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming, 2018 Producers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television, 2018 NATPE Unscripted Breakthrough Awards for Best Innovation, 2019 IDA Truth to Power Award, CHILD USA 2019 Barbara Blaine Trailblazer Award, The Gracie Awards presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation for On-Air Talent - Lifestyle and Entertainment and another Gracie Award for Non-Fiction Entertainment.
Remini reunited with her co-star Kevin James in CBS's Kevin Can Wait, as Vanessa Cellucci.
One of Remini's early television roles was on Who's the Boss? as Charlie Briscoe, which led to a spin-off series entitled Living Dolls, in which Remini starred with Halle Berry. The show premiered in late 1989 and ran for 12 episodes.
In 1991, Remini had a supporting role on the short-lived ABC comedy The Man in the Family. She then had recurring roles on Saved by the Bell, where she played Stacey Carosi, and on Evening Shade as Daisy, the girlfriend of Taylor Newton (Jay R. Ferguson). Remini then appeared in two more short-lived series, First Time Out (1995) and Fired Up (1997-98). In 1993, she appeared on Cheers as Serafina, the daughter of Carla and Nick Tortelli (Rhea Perlman and Dan Hedaya). In 1994, Remini auditioned for the role of Monica Geller on Friends, but the role went to Courteney Cox. Remini later appeared in the 1995 Friends episode "The One with the Birth" in which she played a pregnant woman. In 1998, Remini landed the role of Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens. The series was successful, and ran for nine seasons from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.
Remini had a supporting role in the comedy film Old School (2003). Remini also starred in her own reality show, Inside Out: Leah Remini, which was a documentary that aired on VH1 about Remini's wedding. Following the success of the wedding special, VH-1 documented the next phase of their lives with the birth of her daughter Sofia Bella. Remini has starred in nine-episode webisodes of In the Motherhood, along with Chelsea Handler and Jenny McCarthy.
In October 2011, Remini signed a talent development deal at ABC and ABC Studios that required the network and the studio to develop a comedy project for Remini to star in and produce.
Remini competed on season 17 of Dancing with the Stars, in which she was partnered with professional dancer Tony Dovolani. The couple made it to the 10th week of competition and reached 5th place. Remini later returned in season 19 as a guest co-host on week 6. She returned as guest co-host on season 21 during weeks 6 and 7.
In 2013, Remini joined the cast of the TV Land comedy The Exes, filling a recurring role starting in season three.
Remini created, produced, and starred in a reality television series titled Leah Remini: It's All Relative. The show focuses on Remini's family life. It premiered on TLC on July 10, 2014.
In August 2013, it was disclosed that Remini had filed a missing person report with the Los Angeles Police Department concerning Shelly Miscavige, the wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige, who had not been seen in public since 2007. After the report was filed, the Los Angeles Police Department investigated the matter, met, and spoke with her before closing the investigation and stating Remini's report was "unfounded". The Church said in a statement that the whole affair was simply harassment and a publicity stunt for Remini.
In 2020 Remini & her production company, "No, Seriously Productions" signed a production deal with Critical Content and continues to create content that is both entertaining and continuing to speak truth to power.
Remini released her memoir Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology on November 3, 2015. In a 2015 interview with People magazine, Remini stated that she was embracing Catholicism and found comfort in the religion's practices, contrasting her experiences with Scientology.King of Queens- Actress
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Mayim Bialik grew up in San Diego and got her first acting job (Pumpkinhead (1988)) when she was just 12 years old. A number of TV roles followed until in 1990 she was cast in Blossom (1990), the role which made her famous.
By 1993, while Blossom was still airing, she had already won a deferred place at Harvard and was also accepted by Yale but chose in the end to attend UCLA. She was awarded her Bachelor's degree in 2000 and began reading for a PhD in Neuroscience (studying Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome) which she eventually completed in 2007.
She continued working throughout her studies and was a regular on US TV screens, becoming a Prime Time face again in 2010 when she began her regular appearances as "Sheldon's friend who is not his girlfriend" in the hit series The Big Bang Theory (2007).the Big Bang Theory, Blossom, Til Death- Producer
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Sara Gilbert was born on January 29, 1975, as Sara Rebecca Abeles at St. John's Hospital and Health Center in Santa Monica, California, to Barbara Cowan and Harold Abeles. Barbara was previously married to the late Paul Gilbert. At the age of six, when Sara saw her sister Melissa Gilbert get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she told her mother that she wanted to be an actress, too. A string of commercials and, in 1984, an appearance in the CBS TV movie Calamity Jane (1984), led her to adopt the Gilbert family name. After failing to get the new The Facts of Life (1979) show, she eventually found success with Roseanne (1988). Sara spent a total of nine years on that show and was given time to be able to study at Yale University, graduating with honors in 1997. Aside from Roseanne (1988), she has provided the voice of Laura Powers on The Simpsons (1989), and starred in several movies including Sudie and Simpson (1990), Poison Ivy (1992) and Light It Up (1999).- Actress
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Shelley Lee Long was born at 7:15 am on Tuesday, August 23, 1949 in Indian Village, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, the only child of Ivadine (Williams), a schoolteacher, and Leland Long, a teacher who had previously worked in the rubber industry. Shelley attended school at Kekionga Junior High for grades 6-9 and at South Side High School for grades 10-12. She enrolled at Northwestern University in 1967 as an undergraduate studying drama. Her first job was at the university as a meal plan checker. She left Northwestern to pursue a dual career in acting and modeling. She also had a brief marriage to her first husband that ended in divorce. In Chicago, she became a member of the celebrated Second City troupe, in addition to writing, producing and co-hosting a popular Chicago magazine program called "Sorting It Out" in 1975. The show ran for three years on a local NBC station and won three Emmy Awards for Best Entertainment Show.
She met her second husband, Bruce Tyson (a securities broker), on a blind date in 1979. They were married in October, 1981. In 1982, she played the character Diane Chambers in the new NBC comedy series, Cheers (1982). She played the part for five years, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1983, winning Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1983, for Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 1985 and a Quality TV Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1986. She gave birth to a daughter, Juliana, on March 27, 1985. On her summer hiatus from "Cheers", Long made feature films, receiving a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress for Irreconcilable Differences (1984). In 1987, she starred in the hit comedy Outrageous Fortune (1987) with Bette Midler. Soon after, she left "Cheers" after five years to embark on a film career. However, her films Hello Again (1987) and Troop Beverly Hills (1989) were not hits, and she returned to television appearing in the final episode of Cheers in 1993. That same year, she appeared in her own television series "Good Advice" (1993) which was canceled. She returned to feature films playing Carol Brady in the The Brady Bunch Movie (1995). The film became a hit and spawned a sequel, A Very Brady Sequel (1996), which wasn't a hit. She returned to television playing the title role in "Kelly Kelly" (1998), which was canceled after a few episodes. She also played Diane Chambers a few times on "Frasier", the spinoff of Cheers. Her personal life took a huge blow when her husband divorced her in 2004 after more than 20 years of marriage. She recovered and continued on with her career, appearing in guest-starring roles on television, including a recurring role on Modern Family (2009). She supported her daughter Juliana Long Tyson's decision to follow in her footsteps as an actress. She also encouraged Juliana to get married, which she did in 2015, to management consultant Ryan Kissick. Shelley herself never remarried after her two divorces but continues to work in television.Cheers- Actress
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Rhea Perlman was born on 31 March 1948 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Cheers (1982), Barbie (2023) and Matilda (1996). She has been married to Danny DeVito since 28 January 1982. They have three children.Cheers, Pearl- Actress
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Miranda Taylor Cosgrove was born May 14, 1993 in Los Angeles, California, to Christina (Casey) and Tom Cosgrove, who owns a dry-cleaning business. She was discovered at a young age singing and dancing around a table in a restaurant, where an agent saw her talent and quickly signed her. Miranda's career started with commercials for Burger King, McDonalds and more as she auditioned for many roles and finally won her first role as the band's manager in the movie, School of Rock (2003).
While filming School of Rock (2003) in New York, she was informed that her pilot Drake & Josh (2004) had been picked up. She co-starred as Drake and Josh's little sister, while making brief appearances on other Nickelodeon shows, before landing in her own show for the network, iCarly (2007). Her iCarly (2007) popularity helped her launch a singing career, and she was named an MTV Pop Rookie for 2009. Her debut album, "Sparks Fly", was released in 2010 and reached #8 on the Billboard 200 chart, along with two EPs: "About You Now" in 2009, and "High Maintenance" in 2011.
While continuing her singing career, Miranda has expanded upon her voice-over work for the children's movies, including Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie (2005), and the Despicable Me (2010) films and related shorts, as well as expanding her film work with Yours, Mine & Ours (2005), Keeping Up with the Steins (2006) and The Wild Stallion (2009). Her TV reach has extended beyond Nickelodeon, with an appearance on the CBS legal drama The Good Wife (2009) during the show's second season. She has served as a spokesperson for Neutrogena skin care products since 2010.
She lives in Los Angeles with her family.Drake & Josh, iCarly- Actress
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With over 300 television appearances to her credit, Debra Jo Rupp is perhaps best known for her role as the hilarious and beloved high-strung mom 'Kitty Forman' in the long-running FOX comedy series "That '70s Show." Her performance established her as a sitcom legend, and one of TV's Favorite Moms of all time!
Debra Jo was welcomed into the Marvel Universe with her memorable turn as 'Mrs. Hart' in Marvel Studios' "WandaVision" for Disney+.
Fans of "That '70s Show" can now look forward to Debra Jo reprising her iconic role of 'Kitty Forman' in the upcoming "That '90s Show" for Netflix! Debra Jo and Kurtwood Smith ('Red Forman') will anchor the new spin-off series, for which they will also serve as executive producers. Set in Wisconsin in 1995, they play grandparents to 'Leia' (daughter of 'Eric' and 'Donna') who visits over the summer and bonds with a new generation of Point Place kids, under the watchful eye of 'Kitty' and the stern glare of 'Red.' Production is scheduled to begin Q1 2022 on 10 episodes.
Debra Jo's memorable television roles include Phoebe's sister-in-law 'Alice' on "Friends," Jerry's Booking Agent 'Katie' on "Seinfeld," and more recently as Beth and Randall's social worker 'Linda' on "This is Us" and Abby's mother, 'Janice Phillips,' on "The Ranch." Notable guest-starring roles include "NCIS: Los Angeles," "From the Earth to the Moon" directed by Sally Field, and "The Office." She also previously starred in the ABC comedy series, "Better With You."
She made her feature film debut with Tom Hanks in "Big." She went on to play Jay Baruchel's mom in "She's Out of My League" and Jamie Kennedy's mom in "Kickin It Old Skool." Additional feature credits include "The Opposite Sex" with Mena Suvari, Geoff Stults and Kristin Chenoweth, "She Wants Me" with Josh Gad, Charlie Sheen and Hilary Duff, "Clockwatchers" with Toni Collette and Parker Posey, "Lucky 13" and "Sgt. Bilko" with Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd.
Debra Jo has lent her voice to the Emmy-winning "Teacher's Pet" with Nathan Lane (both cartoon and feature film), "Garfield," "Air Buddies" and various other projects with tiny animals.
Debra Jo has a rich and impressive theatre background and has appeared on and off-Broadway for the past four decades. She appeared on Broadway with Kathleen Turner and Charles Durning in the 1990 revival of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." She starred off-Broadway in Cynthia Heimel's "A Girl's Guide to Chaos" (American Place Theatre), "Frankie and Johnnie in The Clair de Lune" (Westside Arts) and "The Butcher of Baraboo" (Second Stage Theatre) directed by Judith Ivey. She has also starred in numerous regional productions at Williamstown Theatre, Barrington Stage Company, Chester Theatre Company and Berkshire Theatre Group.
In recent years, Debra Jo has enjoyed getting back to her theater roots. She starred off-Broadway in the one-woman show, "Becoming Dr. Ruth," based on the life of pioneering radio and television sex therapist, Dr. Ruth Westheimer. She was nominated for both a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award, in the category of Outstanding Solo Performance.
In 2019, she starred off-Broadway in Bekah Brunstetter's play, "The Cake," at The Manhattan Theatre Club, after originating the role at The Echo Theater Company (Los Angeles), Barrington Stage Company (Pittsfield, MA) and Geffen Playhouse (L.A.). For her performance in "The Cake," Debra Jo won the L.A. Stage Ovation Award and L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award.
Aside from acting, Debra Jo's eclectic interests range from gardening, needlepointing and grilling, to playing Bridge, video war games and Fantasy Football. During Covid lockdowns, she kept herself occupied by taking long walks in the snow and ordering huge boxes of Nacho Cheese Doritos in small bags in order to consume as much salt as possible! She also recorded a multitude of Cameo videos, with proceeds helping to keep local restaurant workers afloat in The Berkshires. Ever by Debra Jo's side are her loyal Yorkies, Olive and Martini, who have both had all their knees replaced and are looking forward to their impending move to the west coast where "That '90s Show" will film.That 70s Show- Actress
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Megyn Price is one of the more familiar faces in the world of television sitcoms. A gifted college student with a mind for figures, Price initially embarked on a career in finance, before making the jump to acting. Her television debut on the final season episode, Liberation - October 16, 1968 (1993), of the sci-fi adventure, Quantum Leap (1989) (NBC, 1989-1993), soon led to more TV guest spots and a regular cast role on the exceptionally short-lived legal sitcom, Common Law (1996) (ABC, 1996). Although Price occasionally picked up smaller parts in feature films, like the Russell Crowe vehicle, Mystery, Alaska (1999), it was on the small screen that she truly excelled. While another co-starring role on the Al Franken sitcom, LateLine (1998) (NBC, 1998-2000), lasted a mere two seasons, Price's turn as thirty-something mom "Claudia Finnerty" on the family comedy, Grounded for Life (2001) (The WB, 2001-05), helped establish her as a recognizable screen presence. Surrounded by a popular ensemble cast, that included Patrick Warburton and David Spade, she enjoyed her lengthiest series run on the relationship sitcom, Rules of Engagement (2007) as matrimonial veteran, "Audrey Bingham".Grounded for Life- Actress
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Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis is a Ukrainian-American actress born to a Jewish family in Chernivtsi, Ukraine.
Her mother, Elvira, is a physics teacher, her father, Mark Kunis, is a mechanical engineer, and she has an older brother named Michael. Her family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1991. After attending one semester of college between gigs, she realized that she wanted to act for the rest of her life. She started acting when she was nine years old, when her father heard about an acting class on the radio and decided to enroll Mila in it. There, she met her future agent. Her first gig was when she played a character named Melinda in Make a Wish, Molly (1995). From there, her career skyrocketed into big-budget films.
Although she is mostly known for playing Jackie Burkhart on That '70s Show (1998), she has shown the world that she can do so much more. Since 1999, she provided the voice of self-conscious daughter Meg Griffin on the animated sitcom Family Guy (1999). Her breakthrough film was Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), in which she played a free-spirited character named Rachel Jansen. She has since starred or co-starred in the films Max Payne (2008), The Book of Eli (2010), Black Swan (2010), Friends with Benefits (2011), Ted (2012) and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013).
Mila Kunis is married to actor Ashton Kutcher, with whom she has two children.That 70s Show- Actress
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Sarah Jessica Parker was born March 25, 1965, in Nelsonville, Ohio, to Barbra Forste (née Keck), a teacher who ran a nursery school, and Stephen Parker, a journalist. Her parents divorced, and her mother later remarried to Paul Forste and had four more children, bringing the total to eight. Sarah now had 3 full siblings and 4 half siblings. Her father was of Eastern European Jewish ancestry, and her mother had German, and some English, roots.
Trained in singing and ballet, Sarah was cast in the Broadway production of "The Innocents", which prompted her family to relocate to New Jersey. Already a professional performer (she studied at the American Ballet School and the Professional Children's School), Sarah was cast in "The Sound of Music" (along with four of her siblings), and landed the lead in the Broadway run of "Annie". After a year as the free-spirited orphan, Sarah attended Dwight Morrow High School, while continuing to add more credits to her acting resume. She landed a role in the made-for-TV movie My Body, My Child (1982), before being cast as one of the lead roles in the 1982 sitcom Square Pegs (1982), as high-schooler Patty Green.
Once a graduate, Sarah decided to pursue a full-time acting career rather than further her education. Since Square Pegs (1982) did not last more than a year, Sarah moved on to supporting film roles in movies such as Footloose (1984), Firstborn (1984), and the lead role in the teenage film Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985). Sarah was having lots of fun, although she had yet to land a star-turning role. After more television appearances in series and made-for-TV movies including A Year in the Life (1986), The Room Upstairs (1987) and Dadah Is Death (1988), Sarah finally landed the role of Steve Martin's bubbly lover in the 1991 comedy L.A. Story (1991). More substantial film roles soon followed, starting with a role opposite Nicolas Cage in Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) (which foreshadowed her comedic talent), Hocus Pocus (1993) and Ed Wood (1994).
A big Woody Allen fan, she starred opposite the renowned filmmaker in the television movie The Sunshine Boys (1996), and that same year, she landed a starring role in Miami Rhapsody (1995). 1996 was a film intensive year with roles in The First Wives Club (1996), If Lucy Fell (1996), and Mars Attacks! (1996). All the while making a name for herself in film, Sarah was gaining respect as a theater actress, with her lead role as a dog (hard to imagine, but true) in the off-Broadway "Sylvia", and her Broadway roles in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (starring her present husband, Matthew Broderick), and the Tony-Award nominated "Once Upon a Mattress".
But Sarah's star has shot up since her portrayal of Manhattan sex-columnist Carrie Bradshaw in the HBO series Sex and the City (1998). Sarah's Golden Globe Best Actress victory in 2000 only underscores the fact that she plays the role of Carrie as though it were literally written for her. Sarah has been happily married to fellow actor Matthew Broderick for quite a while now. Before the marriage, she dated Robert Downey Jr. (who she also lived with), and the late John Kennedy Jr. When not serving as lead actress and producer of Sex and the City (1998), Sarah is a member of Hollywood's Women's Political Committee, and is UNICEF's representative for the Performing Arts.Sex and the City- Actress
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Kristin Lee Davis was born on February 23, 1965 in Boulder, Colorado. An only child, her parents divorced when she was a baby. She was adopted by her stepfather, psychology professor Keith Davis, after he married her mother, Dorothy, a university data analyst, in 1968. Early in her childhood, Kristin and her parents moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where her stepfather was transferred to a university. She lived in South Carolina until she graduated high school in 1983. She then moved to New Jersey, where she attended Rutgers University. After graduation, she moved to New York and waited tables before opening a yoga studio with a friend. In 1995, she got her big break when she landed the role of Brooke Armstrong Campbell on Melrose Place (1992). She left the show after one year when producers found that audience members hated her bitchy character. In 1998, Kristin was cast as Charlotte York in Sex and the City (1998), of which she remained an integral cast member until the series ended in 2004. Kristin Davis resides in Los Angeles.Sex and the City- Actress
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Kim Victoria Cattrall was born on August 21, 1956 in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England to Gladys Shane (Baugh), a secretary, and Dennis Cattrall, a construction engineer. At the age of three months, her family immigrated to Canada, where a large number of her films have been made. At age 11, she returned to her native country and studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA). She returned to Vancouver and, at age 16, graduated from high school and won a scholarship to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) in New York City. During her final year at the Academy, she won a role in Otto Preminger's action thriller Rosebud (1975). Following her film debut, Kim returned to the theatre, first in Vancouver and then in repertory in Toronto before winning a contract at Universal Pictures in Los Angeles, California.
Kim continued to work steadily through the late 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including roles in 1980s cult classics such as Police Academy (1984), Big Trouble in Little China (1986) and Mannequin (1987), and as Mr. Spock's protegee Lieutenant Valeris in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). However, it was her portrayal of sexually liberated public relations executive Samantha Jones on the HBO sitcom Sex and the City (1998) and its two feature film follow-ups that brought her worldwide attention, and gained her five Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations including winning the 2002 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.Sex and the City- Marcia Anne Cross was born on March 25, 1962 in Marlborough, Massachusetts. As a child, Marcia always wanted to be an actress, so she set out to have a career in acting. Cross graduated from the Juilliard School in New York, a naturally gifted girl. Her career began in 1984, when she joined the cast of the daytime soap opera The Edge of Night (1956). After six months, the show ended its 28-year run. The following year, in 1985, she starred opposite Carroll O'Connor in the television film Brass (1985). Then she landed the lead role in Pros & Cons (1986) with comedienne Sheryl Lee Ralph. She kept busy by starring in The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (1986) with many famous figures in Hollywood - including June Carter Cash, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. Marcia's career was looking up when she was cast as Kate Roberts in another daytime soap opera, One Life to Live (1968), and as Tanya in Another World (1964). Marcia was then seen opposite Tim Daly in the tearjerker romance Almost Grown (1988). Almost Grown (1988) was a television pilot that never got picked up, but is still very acclaimed to this day. Marcia was then cast as Ruth Fielding in Bad Influence (1990), a thriller that starred Cross, Rob Lowe and James Spader.
She joined the cast of Knots Landing (1979) - an incredibly famous nighttime soap opera in 1991. After a year, she left to do work on a new television series called Melrose Place (1992). She was cast as the psychotic Dr. Kimberly Shaw on the prime-time soap opera. The show was a pop-culture phenomenon, going down in history as one of the most entertaining and memorable shows of the 1990s. Marcia, who was starring opposite Heather Locklear, Courtney Thorne-Smith and others, emerged as the fan favorite of the show. Then her longtime companion and fiance, Richard Jordan, died in 1993. Marcia reigned on, starring in films like Female Perversions (1996) opposite Tilda Swinton and Always Say Goodbye (1997) opposite Emmy-nominee Polly Draper, throughout her long run on "Melrose Place". In 1997, she left the show in order to get her Master's Degree in Psychology. From 1997 to 2003, she continued to act regularly. She starred in Dancing in September (2000), a critically acclaimed film, got herself the lead role in Living in Fear (2001), starred in The Wind Effect (2003), a disturbing film about family, and even filmed Eastwick (2002), a television pilot that never was picked up. Eastwick (2002) was based on the film The Witches of Eastwick (1987), and Marcia was cast in the Susan Sarandon role.
She got back into the public eye by joining the cast of the critically-acclaimed television series Everwood (2002) with Treat Williams. After a year on the show, she left it when she auditioned for a new television series, Desperate Housewives (2004). In 2004, Marcia was cast as Bree Van De Kamp in Desperate Housewives (2004), which went on to be a monster-hit with the critics and audiences. Marcia began to be nominated for very prestigious awards - including the Emmy Award, Golden Globe, Golden Satellite Award, and a Television Critics' Association Award. Marcia even won a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2005.Desperate Housewives,Cheers - Actress
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Teri Hatcher is an American actress, writer, presenter, and former NFL cheerleader. She is known for her television roles, portraying Lois Lane on the ABC series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997), and as Susan Mayer on the television series Desperate Housewives (2004-2012), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
Teri Lynn Hatcher was born in Palo Alto, California, the only child of Esther (Beshur), a computer programmer, and Owen Walker Hatcher, Jr., a nuclear physicist and electrical engineer. She has Syrian (from her immigrant maternal grandfather), Frisian, English, and Irish ancestry. Teri grew up in Sunnyvale, California, and spent her childhood dancing, and fishing with her father. While at Fremont High School, she was captain of the Featherettes, a dance team that had the look of regular cheerleaders, with the exception of the large headdresses they wore. She was voted "Most Likely to Become a Solid Gold (1980) Dancer" by her graduating class in 1982. Hatcher studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco while taking a degree course in mathematics and engineering at De Anza College in Cupertino, California. She became a member of the 1984 Gold Rush, the name of the professional cheer leading squad of the American football San Francisco 49ers.
Hatcher went to Hollywood to lend moral support to a friend during a open casting call. She, however, auditioned and won the role of the singing and dancing mermaid for the television series The Love Boat (1977). She went on to play "Penny Parker," a ditsy but sweet-hearted struggling actress on MacGyver (1985). When that show ended, she auditioned for and won the role of smart and savvy "Lois Lane" on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993), saying that she didn't want to be stuck with the pretty airhead image she had acquired as "Penny Parker."
She married actor Jon Tenney in May 1994. She gave birth to daughter Emerson Tenney on November 10, 1997. Later, she signed to play "Sally Bowles" in a road tour of Cabaret. The tour debuted in Los Angeles on March 2, 1999. Her final show was on September 4, 1999. She stayed out of the industry for a little bit before nabbing a role on the darkly comedic soap opera Desperate Housewives (2004), which could have been a huge mistake. The show turned out to be a mega-hit, which skyrocketed Hatcher to the A-list. Her portrayal of a divorced mother, "Susan Mayer," was consistently named as America's favorite "Desperate Housewife." Hatcher won both a Golden Globe for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and the SAG Award for Female Actor in a Comedy Series before the show's first season was even over.Desperate Housewives,Murphy Brown,Seinfeld- Actress
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Eva Jacqueline Longoria was born on March 15, 1975 in Corpus Christi, Texas to Ella Eva Longoria (née Mireles), a special education teacher & Enrique Longoria Jr., a rancher. The youngest of four sisters who grew up in a Mexican-American family on a ranch near Corpus Christi, Longoria attended Texas A&M University-Kingsville, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. After graduating from college, she entered a talent contest that brought her to Los Angeles, where she was spotted and subsequently signed by a theatrical agent. After landing roles on The Bold and the Beautiful (1987), General Hospital (1963) and co-starring on Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990), she auditioned for and won the role of Isabella Braña on the popular series, The Young and the Restless (1973). After Y&R, Eva became well known worldwide thanks to Desperate Housewives (2004), where she played a main character, Gabrielle Solis. She also has a contract with L'Oreal and has been named one of the most beautiful people. A passionate advocate of education, she founded The Eva Longoria Foundation which helps Latinas build better futures for themselves and their families through education and entrepreneurship and earned a Masters in Chicano Studies presenting her thesis on "Success STEMS From Diversity: The Value of Latinas in STEM Careers." Eva has also contributed writing to publications on the subject of education.Desperate Housewives- Actress
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Dana Welles Delany was born on March 13, 1956, in New York City and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. Dana knew early in life that she wanted to be an actress. Following graduation from Wesleyan University, this tall (5'6") beauty moved to New York and developed her skills working in daytime television and theater. Dana starred in the Broadway show "A Life" and received critical acclaim in a number of off-Broadway productions as well. Her role in Nicholas Kazan's controversial "Bloodmoon" in New York led her to Hollywood. Dana acted in a number of TV series, working steadily until she could get her own starring vehicle. That happened in 1988 when Dana became identified with Army nurse Colleen McMurphy in ABC TV's critically acclaimed series China Beach (1988), the role earning her four Emmy nominations and two Emmy Awards as Best Actress.
Dana moved on to movies and eventually started getting starring roles in films such as Tombstone. With over a dozen TV and movie projects within the last few years, Dana is one of the busiest actresses in Hollywood.Desperate Housewives- Actress
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- Additional Crew
Vanessa Lynne Williams was born on March 18, 1963 in Tarrytown, Greenburgh, New York and raised in Millwood, New Castle, New York to Helen Williams & Milton Williams, both music teachers. Vanessa and her brother grew up in suburban New York in comfortable surroundings. Vanessa sang and danced in school productions and signed her high school yearbook with a promise to "see you on Broadway". After winning a performing scholarship to Syracuse University, she left school and tried to make it in New York show business. She began entering beauty contests in 1984, eventually winning Miss New York and then becoming the first African-American Miss America. During her reign, some nude girl-girl photos, taken while she was in New York, surfaced in Penthouse magazine. Although the photos were taken before her beauty contest victories, she was forced to resign her crown. Many predicted that her future in show business was over. She went on to land a recording contract and released several albums, including "The Comfort Zone" and "The Sweetest Days".
Vanessa made her film debut in 1986 in Under the Gun (1987) and appeared in the films The Pick-up Artist (1987), Another You (1991) and Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991). She starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Eraser (1996), opposite Laurence Fishburne and Andy Garcia in Hoodlum (1997) and the box office hit, Soul Food (1997). She also starred in Dance with Me (1998), Light It Up (1999), Shaft (2000), opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Johnson Family Vacation (2004). She starred recently in the independent features, My Brother (2006) and And Then Came Love (2007) (aka "Somebody Like You"). On television, Vanessa starred in such movies and mini-series as Stompin' at the Savoy (1992), The Kid Who Loved Christmas (1990), The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992), ABC's revival of Bye Bye Birdie (1995), Nothing Lasts Forever (1995), The Odyssey (1997), Don Quixote (2000) and Keep the Faith, Baby (2002), and she executive-produced and starred in Lifetime's The Courage to Love (2000) for Lifetime and the VH1 Original Movie, A Diva's Christmas Carol (2000).
Her albums "The Right Stuff", "The Comfort Zone and "The Sweetest Days" earned multiple Grammy nominations and have yielded the Academy Award-winning single "Colors of the Wind", from Disney's Pocahontas: The Musical Tradition Continues (1995). Her recordings also include two holiday albums, "Star Bright" and "Silver & Gold", "Vanessa Williams Greatest Hits: The First Ten Years" and "Everlasting Love", a romantic collection of love songs from the 1970's. In 1994, Vanessa took Broadway by storm when she replaced Chita Rivera in "Kiss of the Spider Woman", winning the hearts of critics and becoming a box-office sensation. She garnered rave reviews and was nominated for a Tony Award for the 2002 revival of "Into the Woods". She also headlined a limited special engagement of the classic, "Carmen Jones", at the Kennedy Center and starred in the Encore! Series staged concert production of "St. Louis Woman".
She stars in ABC's critically-acclaimed hit series, Ugly Betty (2006), for which she has won or been nominated for numerous individual and ensemble awards, including the Emmy, SAG Award, Golden Globe and NAACP Image Awards. Vanessa achieved a career pinnacle, with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her accomplishments as a performer. Her charitable endeavors are many and varied, embracing and supporting such organizations as Special Olympics and many others.Desperate Housewives- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Nicollette Sheridan has won a worldwide audience with her past television and film roles. With her Golden Globe-nominated role of "Edie Britt," the blonde bombshell of Wisteria Lane, on ABC's hit show Desperate Housewives (2004); the show's cast won both the 11th (2005) and 12th (2006) Screen Actors Guild Awards for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series."
Sheridan was born as Nicollette Adams in Worthing, Sussex, England, the daughter of actress Sally Sheridan (née Adams). She discovered a passion for ballet as a small child and studied intensely, broadening her love of the arts as a student at the Arts Educational School in London. In addition to the theatre, she nurtured her talents as an avid equestrienne along with a rigorous thirst for reading and a love of the works of William Shakespeare. Moving to Los Angeles and being courted to explore her talents was a natural progression.
Sheridan exploded on the small screen as the beautiful and manipulative Paige Matheson on Knots Landing (1979). This led to a variety of roles in other projects, including The People Next Door (1996) (with Faye Dunaway), A Time to Heal (1994) (opposite Gary Cole), Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995) (with James Woods), and Dead Husbands (1998) (with John Ritter), along with a special guest appearance on the season finale of Will & Grace (1998).
Sheridan was first introduced to film audiences in Rob Reiner's The Sure Thing (1985) opposite John Cusack, going on to appear in other film comedies, such as Noises Off... (1992) (opposite Michael Caine), Spy Hard (1996) (opposite Leslie Nielsen), Beverly Hills Ninja (1997) (with Chris Farley), I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998) (with Billy Zane), and Code Name: The Cleaner (2007) (opposite Cedric The Entertainer and Lucy Liu).
She brought her English accent to the Disney animated series The Legend of Tarzan (2001) and was also heard as a Russian fly in the animated feature Fly Me to the Moon 3D (2007) (with Tim Curry, Kelly Ripa, Christopher Lloyd and Buzz Aldrin). She voiced the role of "Zenna" in Promenade Pictures' animated film Noah (2012), which starred Michael Keaton, Rob Schneider, Marcia Gay Harden and Sir Ben Kingsley. Sheridan also appeared in the independent comedy Jewtopia (2012).
She has supported philanthropic causes including those focused on cancer, women and children at risk, and natural disaster relief (e.g., Hurricane Katrina), as well as such entities as the Red Cross, Humane Society, Last Chance for Animals, Best Friends Animal Society and The Amanda Foundation. In September 2010, she teamed up with Natural Balance Pet Foods to raise money for National Guide Dog Awareness Month.
She resides in Los Angeles, California.Desperate Housewives- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Calista Kay Flockhart was born 11 November, 1964 in Freeport, Illinois. Her mother, Kay (Honohan), was a school teacher, and her father, Ronald Flockhart, worked for Kraft Foods Inc. She has Irish, Scottish, German, and English ancestry. Calista was named after her great-grandmother.
Flockhart attended Rutgers University in New Jersey to study acting. After college, she worked in regional theatre in Cleveland, Louisville, Chicago and Houston for $400 for eight weeks of work. In 1994, she got her first Broadway role playing "Laura" in Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie", for which she was recognized with the Theater World and Clarence Darwent Awards. She's also played in an all-star production of Anton Chekhov's "The Three Sisters" playing "Natasha". She wasn't too fond of TV before Ally McBeal (1997), but did take part in a 1992 episode of the HBO series Lifestories: Families in Crisis (1992). She did take part in many movies, but among them is the remake of The Birdcage (1996). Calista played the fiancée of Robin Williams's son. In 1997, she appeared in Telling Lies in America (1997) as the object of Brad Renfro's obsession.
Calista has established herself in New York, Chicago and elsewhere with an impressive stage and theater repertoire. She worked in the off-Broadway productions of "The Loop", "All for One", "Sophistry", "Wrong Turn at Lungfish", "Beside Herself" and "Bovver Boys". She also starred in non-NYC productions, such as "The Three Sisters" in Chicago, and "Our Town" and "Death Takes a Holiday" at the Williamstown Theater Festival.Ally McBeal,Brothers & Sisters- Actress
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Jane Krakowski was born in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, to Barbara (Benoit), a college theater instructor, and Edward Krajkowski, a chemical engineer. Her father was of Polish descent and her mother has French-Canadian and Scottish ancestry.
Jane was the winner of the 2003 Tony Award for her stunning and sultry portrayal of "Carla", in the Broadway musical "Nine", opposite Antonio Banderas. Her performance also earned her the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critic's Award. Krakowski also stars in Alfie (2004), the remake of the famous 1966 film, alongside Jude Law. Krakowski recently filmed Pretty Persuasion (2005) starring Evan Rachel Wood and James Woods. Other recent film credits include When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (2003), Go (1999), The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000) as "Betty Rubble", Dance with Me (1998), Mrs. Winterbourne (1996), Stepping Out (1991), Fatal Attraction (1987) and Vacation (1983). For television, Jane received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her portrayal of "Elaine Vassal" on Ally McBeal (1997).
She also stars in NBC's remake of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol: The Musical (2004), opposite Kelsey Grammer. Other recent television credits include: Law & Order (1990), Everwood (2002), the ABC family movie Just a Walk in the Park (2002), and the miniseries, Queen (1993) (aka Alex Haley's "Queen"). Other Broadway credits include "Grand Hotel" (Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominee), "Company", "Once Upon a Mattress", "Tartuffe" and "Starlight Express". In Los Angeles, California, she starred at the Mark Taper Forum in "Henceforward", for which she won the LA Drama Critics Award and the Dramalogue Awards, and played "Mabel" in the Reprise production of "Mack and Mabel". In addition to singing on several original Broadway cast recordings of shows in which she appeared, and the Ally McBeal (1997) Christmas episode compilation CDs, Krakowski also recorded the hit single track "You" with A/C hitman Jim Brickman on his recent album "Lovesongs and Lullabies".Ally McBeal, 30 Rock- Actress
- Soundtrack
Emily Irene VanCamp (born May 12, 1986) is a Canadian actress, known for her lead roles on the WB series Everwood (2002), the ABC dramas Brothers & Sisters (2006) and Revenge (2011), and as Sharon Carter / Agent 13 in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Captain America: Civil War (2016). VanCamp stars as the female lead in the Fox medical drama series The Resident (2018), which debuted in January 2018 as a midseason entry in the 2017-18 US television season. VanCamp was born in Port Perry, Ontario. She is the third of four daughters born to Cindy and Robert VanCamp. Her father is an animal nutritionist and her first job was working for her father, delivering food to clients in and around her hometown. VanCamp started studying dance at age three, and wanting to become a professional dancer, at the age of 11 convinced her parents to let her attend a summer training program in Montreal. At 12, she was accepted at the École supérieure de ballet du Québec, the training program of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and moved in with a local French Canadian family.
In 1998, VanCamp became interested in acting after visiting her sister Katie on the set of the film Ladies Room (1999). She started taking acting classes on Saturday afternoons, found an agent and, after working on a few commercials, was cast in the second part of the three-part season-seven premiere of the Canadian children's horror anthology television series Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990)Her character was present in one scene and spoke no dialogue, playing opposite a 17-year-old Elisha Cuthbert.Everwood, Brothers & Sisters- Actress
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Laura Helene Prepon was born on March 7, 1980, in Watchung, New Jersey. She is the daughter of Marjorie (Coll) and Michael Prepon. Her father died in 1993, when she was 13 years old. Laura is the youngest of five children--she has a brother named Brad and three sisters: Danielle, Jocelyn, and Stephanie. She attended Watchung Hills Regional High School. She studied at the Total Theater Lab in New York City, where she appeared in a number of theatrical productions.
Before acting became her profession, Laura was a model, working in Paris, Milan, and elsewhere in Europe. She began acting at the young age of 15 as well as dancing--ballet, jazz, and modern. She also played soccer and other sports. Laura loves vintage clothes. Her hobbies include cooking, traveling, horseback riding, playing piano, and dancing. Her favorite book is 'The Hobbit' by J.R.R. Tolkien. Laura resides in New York when not filming in Los Angeles.That 70s Show- Actress
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- Executive
While studying acting in New York with drama teacher William Esper, Heaton made her Broadway debut in the gospel musical "Don't Get God Started." She and her fellow students then formed Stage Three, an acting company that produced plays Off-Broadway. They took one production, "The Johnstown Vindicator," to Los Angeles, where Heaton's performance caught the eyes of casting directors. Consequently, Heaton portrayed the producer/daughter in the television series Room for Two (1992). Her additional television credits include a starring role in the series Someone Like Me (1994), a regular role in Women of the House (1995), and a recurring role on Thirtysomething (1987). She also starred in the highly rated television movie Miracle in the Woods (1997), with Della Reese. Her feature film credits include Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), Beethoven (1992), The New Age (1994) and Space Jam (1996).
For her role in Everybody Loves Raymond (1996), Heaton won 2 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She was nominated for a 1999 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and won the 1998-99 Viewers for Quality Television Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Award.
Heaton was born in Cleveland and lives with her husband, David Hunt, and their four sons in Los Angeles.Everybody Loves Raymond, Back to You- Actress
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- Additional Crew
Doris Roberts was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Ann (Meltzer) and Larry Green. She was raised in New York, and took her stepfather's surname. Roberts was a 20-year veteran of the Broadway stage before she began appearing steadily in character roles in film and on television during the 1970s. A versatile player with an inescapably "mom-like" presence, she was adept at playing sympathetic roles but made her most memorable mark as hard-boiled dames, gossips, and nags who were often too savvy of the ways of the world to be fooled by anyone. Roberts built up some face recognition with regular appearances in the sitcoms Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976) (syndicated) and Angie (1979) (ABC), but truly came into her own as a widely known comedienne when she was cast as the meddling, strong-willed family matriarch on Everybody Loves Raymond (1996) (CBS). The show became of the best-loved sitcoms in history, and Roberts earned seven Emmy nominations and four wins for her colorful characterization. Well past the common age of retirement and well past the show's celebrated end, Roberts maintained a reputation as one of the big and small screen's most iconic mothers, and she continued to be a welcome sight as a television guest star and film player.Everybody Loves Raymond- Actress
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Georgia Engel was born on 28 July 1948 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. She was an actress, known for Everybody Loves Raymond (1996), The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) and Open Season (2006). She died on 12 April 2019 in Princeton, New Jersey, USA.Everybody Loves Raymond- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Christina Applegate was born in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, to record producer/executive Robert Applegate and singer-actress Nancy Priddy. Her parents split-up shortly after her birth. She has two half-siblings from her father's re-marriage - Alisa (b. October 10, 1977) and Kyle (b. July 15, 1981). Alisa and Christina are best friends and even lived together while Alisa was going to college. Christina's mother took her along on all of her auditions and acting jobs. She made her acting debut at age five months, when her mother got her in a commercial for Playtex nursers. Her mother never remarried, but kept company with Stephen Stills. Christina still cherishes a guitar Stephen gave her when she was young. She played in a number of TV series before landing her breakout role in Married... with Children (1987). Christina still studies jazz dance.Married with Children, Samantha Who- Actress
- Producer
- Music Department
An extremely gifted, versatile performer adept at both comedy and drama, actress/singer Katey Sagal became a household name in the late 1980s as the fabulously brazen, undomesticated Peg Bundy on the enduring Fox series Married... with Children (1987). During its lengthy run she received three Golden Globe and two American Comedy Award nominations. As popular and identifiable as her Peg Bundy persona was, Katey assertively moved on after the show went off the air, not only starring in other sitcoms and television movies, but portraying characters that were polar opposites of the outrageous role that first earned her nationwide attention. For example, in 2008 she took on the role of Gemma Teller Morrow, the matriarch of a Hell's- Angels-esque California biker gang, on the series Sons of Anarchy (2008), and in 2011 her portrayal earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in the Television Series--Drama.
Catherine Louise Sagal was born on January 19, 1954, to director and singer Sara Zwilling and noted television and film director Boris Sagal. The Los Angeles native began performing at age 5 and studied voice and acting at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California.
A singing waitress during her "salad" years, she started performing with the band "The Group With No Name," then caught a break after hooking up with Gene Simmons and his 1970s rock band KISS. In the meantime, she gained valuable experience as a backup recording singer for Simmons and other established stars like Bob Dylan, Olivia Newton-John, Etta James, and Tanya Tucker. She was also dynamic performing live with diva Bette Midler as one of her "Harlettes" in Bette's wildly avant-garde stage shows during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1985, while performing on stage in a musical, she was spotted by talent agents who subsequently cast her as Mary Tyler Moore's feisty co-worker Jo Tucker in Mary (1985), a short-lived comedy series. From that point on she focused on film and television. In 1987 she won the role of voluptuous "housewife" Peg Bundy in the irreverent comedy Married... with Children (1987), and the rest is history.
In addition to her busy on-camera scheduling, Katey has retraced her steps to her first love: singing and songwriting. With the support of her record label Valley Entertainment, she released the album "Room" in 2004 that combined classics like "Feel a Whole Lot Better" and "(For the Love of) Money" with original songs she penned, including "Life Goes Round," "Daddy's Girl," and "Wish I Were a Kid." "Room" is her first CD since her 1994 debut "Well."
In her post-Bundy career, Katey has continued to demonstrate a strong range, playing a much more responsible parent in the popular sitcom 8 Simple Rules (2002), co-starring the late John Ritter and valiantly moving to single-household-head after Ritter's sudden passing in 2003 with highly successful results.
She has earned earned equally-fine kudos for her television movies like Chance of a Lifetime (1998), a charming romantic comedy that also co-starred John Ritter, God's New Plan (1999), a tearjerker in which she played a dying mother, and the Disney offerings Smart House (1999) and Mr. Headmistress (1998). The voice of Turanga Leela, the beautiful one-eyed sewer mutant in the animated series Futurama (1999), she has also guested on Ghost Whisperer (2005), Lost (2004), Boston Legal (2004), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000), and Eli Stone (2008). Feature films have included Maid to Order (1987), The Good Mother (1988), the Sundance Film Festival favorite Dropping Out (2000), Following Tildy (2002), and the indie I'm Reed Fish (2006).
Playing Jack's mother in a live-action/adventure retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk (2009) that also featured the talents of Christopher Lloyd, James Earl Jones, and Chevy Chase, Katey's more recent efforts include recurring role on TV's Lost (2004), a role in the mini-series The Bastard Executioner (2015) and a regular role in the series Superior Donuts (2017). She would also join the cast of the sitcom The Conners (2018) as a love interest to widower Dan John Goodman.
Following brief marriages to musician Freddie Beckmeier, Fred Lombardo, and former Steppenwolf drummer and "Mighty Ducks" hockey film advisor Jack White, Katey resides in the Los Angeles area with fourth husband writer/producer/director/creator Kurt Sutter, whose acclaimed work includes The Shield (2002) and the offbeat Sons of Anarchy (2008), which Sutter created. She had three children by White: Ruby (died at birth), Sarah, and Jackson; and one daughter by Sutter, Esme Louise.Married with Children, 8 Simple Rules- Actress
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Amanda Bearse was born on 9 August 1958 in Winter Park, Florida, USA. She is an actress and director, known for Fright Night (1985), Married... with Children (1987) and Bros (2022). She has been married to Carrie Schenken since 2010. They have two children.Married with Children- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Melissa Ivy Rauch was born in Marlboro, New Jersey. She attended Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, where she received a BFA degree. While going to school, Melissa performed stand-up comedy around Manhattan, and soon made a name for herself on the NYC comedy scene. Her one-woman show, "The Miss Education of Jenna Bush", in which she portrayed Jenna Bush Hager, the former President's daughter, garnered critical acclaim and played to sold-out audiences (Outstanding Solo Show and TheaterMania's Audience Favorite Award--New York International Fringe Festival/HBO's US Comedy Arts Festival).
Melissa resides in Los Angeles, California, with Winston Rauch, her husband and writing partner.the Big Bang Theory- Actress
- Producer
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Hardly the dumb blonde of Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), Lisa was born in Encino, California on July 30, 1963. Her mother, Nedra S. (Stern), worked as a travel agent, and her father, Lee N. Kudrow, is a physician. Her parents are both from Jewish families (from Belarus, Russia, and Hungary). Lisa was raised in Tarzana and played varsity-level tennis in high school and college, and is a pool shark who has mastered some of the more difficult trick shots (so beware). She graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychobiology. At first, she wanted to pursue a career in research, so she returned to Los Angeles to begin working with her father. However, Lisa got inspired to perform by one of her brother's friends, comedian Jon Lovitz, and so the tall (5' 8") blonde-haired, green-eyed beauty entered show biz. Lisa auditioned for the improv theater group, The Groundlings, based in Los Angeles. Cynthia Szigeti, a well-known improv teacher, took Lisa under her wing. In that class, Lisa became a friend of Conan O'Brien. Graduating with honors in 1989, Lisa became a full-fledged member of The Groundlings. Breaking into TV, she got a recurring role as Ursula, the ditsy waitress on Mad About You (1992). This led to her starring role on Friends (1994). In the debut season (1994-95) of Friends (1994), Lisa earned an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series; in 1998, she won that award for her role as Phoebe, the ditsy but lovable folk singer. Lisa has also been nominated for Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and American Comedy Awards for her performances.
Lisa made the transition to the big screen with a lot of success. In 1997, she starred opposite Oscar winner Mira Sorvino in the above-mentioned Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997). Lisa garnered more praise for her film work when she got the New York Film Critics Award for her starring role in The Opposite of Sex (1998).
Lisa married Michel Stern, an advertising executive, on May 27, 1995. On May 7, 1998, they were blessed with a son, Julian Murray; they live in Los Angeles.Friends- Actress
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Courteney Cox was born on June 15th, 1964 in Birmingham, Alabama, into an affluent Southern family. She is the daughter of Courteney (Bass) and Richard Lewis Cox (1930-2001), a businessman. She was the baby of the family with two older sisters (Virginia and Dottie) and an older brother, Richard, Jr. She was raised in an exclusive society town, Mountain Brook, Alabama. Courteney was the archetypal daddy's girl, and therefore was understandably devastated when, in 1974, her parents divorced, and her father moved to Florida.
She became a rebellious teen, and did not make things easy for her mother, and new stepfather, New York businessman Hunter Copeland. Now, she is great friends with both. She attended Mountain Brook High School, where she was a cheerleader, tennis player and swimmer. In her final year, she received her first taste of modeling. She appeared in an advert for the store, Parisians. Upon graduation, she left Alabama to study architecture and interior design at Mount Vernon College. After one year she dropped out to a pursue a modeling career in New York, after being signed by the prestigious Ford Modelling Agency. She appeared on the covers of teen magazines such as Tiger Beat and Little Miss, plus numerous romance novels. She then moved on to commercials for Maybeline, Noxema, New York Telephone Company and Tampax.
While modeling, she attended acting classes, as her real dream and ambition was to be an actress. In 1984, she landed herself a small part in one episode of As the World Turns (1956) as a young débutante named Bunny. Her first big break, however, was being cast by Brian De Palma in the Bruce Springsteen video "Dancing in The Dark". In 1985, she moved to LA to star alongside Dean Paul Martin in Misfits of Science (1985). It was a flop, but a few years later, she was chosen out of thousands of hopefuls to play Michael J. Fox's girlfriend, psychology major Lauren Miller in Family Ties (1982).
In 1989, Family Ties (1982) ended, and Cox went through a lean spell in her career, featuring in unmemorable movies such as Mr. Destiny (1990) with Michael Caine. Fortunes changed dramatically for Cox, when in 1994, she starred alongside Jim Carrey in the unexpected hit Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), and a year later she was cast as Monica Geller on the hugely successful sitcom Friends (1994). It was this part that turned her into an international superstar and led to an American Comedy Award nomination. In 1996 Cox starred in Wes Craven's horror/comedy Scream (1996) . This movie grossed over $100 million at the box office, and won Cox rave reviews for her standout performance as the wickedly bitchy and smug TV reporter Gale Weathers. She went on to play this character again in each of the three sequels. Not only did her involvement in this movie lead to critical acclaim, but it also led to her meeting actor husband David Arquette. He played her on-screen love interest Dewey, and life imitated art as the two fell in love for real. Their wedding took place in San Francisco, at the historic Grace Cathedral atop Nob Hill, on June 12th, 1999. Joined by 200 guests, including Cox's film star friends Liam Neeson and Kevin Spacey, the happy couple finally became Mr. and Mrs. Arquette.Friends- Actress
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Debra Messing was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, the daughter of Jewish American parents, Sandra (née Simons), who has worked as a professional singer, banker, travel and real estate agent, and Brian Messing, a sales executive for a jewelry manufacturer. When Messing was three, she moved with her parents and her older brother, Brett, to East Greenwich, a small town outside Providence, Rhode Island.
During her high school years, she acted (and sang) in a number of high school productions, including the starring role in the musical "Annie" and "Fiddler On the Roof." Messing took lessons in dance, singing, and acting. In 1986, she was Rhode Island's Junior Miss and competed in Mobile, Alabama in the America's Junior Miss scholarship program. While her parents encouraged her dream of becoming an actress, they also urged her to complete a liberal arts education before deciding on acting as a career. Following their advice, she attended Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.
In 1990, after graduating summa cum laude from Brandeis with a bachelor's degree in theater arts, Messing gained admission to the elite Graduate Acting Program (which accepts only about 15 new students annually) at New York University, where she earned a master's degree in fine arts after three years.
In 1998, Messing played a lead role as the bio-anthropologist Sloan Parker on ABC's dramatic science fiction television series Prey. During this time her agent approached her with the pilot script for the television show Will & Grace. Messing was inclined to take some time off, but the script intrigued her, and she auditioned for the role of Grace Adler, beating out Nicollette Sheridan, who later guest-starred on the show as a romantic rival of Grace's. Will & Grace became a ratings success, and Messing gained renown.
In 2002, she was named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People Magazine. TV Guide picked her as its "Best Dressed Woman" in 2003. Messing met her husband, Daniel Zelman (an actor and screenwriter), on their first day as graduate students at NYU. The two were married on September 3, 2000, and live in New York City. On April 7, 2004, Messing gave birth to their son, Roman Walker Zelman.- Actress
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Courtney Thorne-Smith is an American actress. She is best known for her starring roles as Alison Parker on Melrose Place, Georgia Thomas on Ally McBeal, Cheryl Mabel in According to Jim and her recurring role on Two and a Half Men as Lyndsey McElroy. Thorne-Smith was born in San Francisco, California, and grew up in Menlo Park, a suburb south of San Francisco. Her father, Walter Smith, was a computer market researcher, and her mother, Lora Thorne, was a therapist. They divorced when Courtney was seven years old and she lived with both parents at different stages. She has an older sister, Jennifer, who is an advertising executive. She attended Menlo-Atherton High School, in Atherton, California, and graduated from Tamalpais High School, in Mill Valley, California, in 1985. She also performed with the Ensemble Theater Company in Mill Valley while attending high school.According to Jim- Actress
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Kimberly Payne Williams-Paisley is an American actress known for her co-starring roles on According to Jim and Nashville, as well as her breakthrough performance in Father of the Bride (1991), for which she was nominated for several awards, and its sequel, Father of the Bride Part II (1995). Throughout her acting career, she has guest-starred on TV shows including Tales from the Crypt, George Lopez and Less Than Perfect. She is also known for her roles in made-for-TV movies, including Safe House, The Christmas Shoes, and Lucky 7, and also her role as Laura Parker in Shade, a short film that she also wrote and directed. Williams is married to country musician Brad Paisley, with whom she has two sons; actress Ashley Williams is her sister.According to Jim- Actress
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Actress and activist Shailene Woodley was born in Simi Valley, California, to Lori (Victor), a middle school counselor, and Lonnie Woodley, a school principal. She has one brother, Tanner. She was educated at Simi Valley High School in California. When Woodley was four years old she began commercial modeling. Acting roles followed, and she made her screen debut in 1999's Replacing Dad (1999). More parts followed in The District (2000), The O.C. (2003) and Crossing Jordan (2001),amongst others. When Woodley was 15, she was diagnosed with Idiopathic Scoliosis and wore a chest-to-hips plastic brace for two years, which proved a successful treatment.
In 2008 Woodley was cast in the lead role of Amy Juergens in The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008) and in 2011 she had her big screen breakthrough when she appeared in Alexander Payne's The Descendants (2011), opposite George Clooney. Her performance in the role of Alexandra King brought critical acclaim and recognition by the movie industry. She won an Independent Spirit Award and the 2012 MTV Movie Awards Breakthrough Performance Award, as well as a Golden Globe nomination. She gained more prominence for portraying Tris from the Divergent film trilogy based on the book series. She portrayed Mary Jane Watson in deleted scenes of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. She had roles in The Fault in Our Stars, The Mauritanian, White Bird in a Blizzard, Big Little Lies, Adrift and The Fallout. She was engaged to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers but broke up.- Music Artist
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Actress and singer Selena Gomez was born on July 22, 1992 in Grand Prairie, Texas. She is the daughter of Mandy Teefey and Ricardo Gomez. Her mother is of part Italian ancestry, and her father is of Mexican descent. She was named after Tejano singer Selena, who died in 1995.
Her first acting role was as "Gianna" in the popular '90s children's television show Barney & Friends (1992), alongside Demi Lovato from 2002-2004. Gomez also had roles in Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003), Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire (2005), and House Broken (2006).
Gomez moved to Los Angeles, California when she booked the lead role of "Alex Russo" and rose to fame in the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place (2007). She then starred in Another Cinderella Story (2008) on ABC Family, had her first voice-role in the animated film Horton Hears a Who! (2008), and co-starred with childhood friend, Demi Lovato, in Princess Protection Program (2009).
In 2009, Gomez released her first album with her band called "Selena Gomez & the Scene," which ranked #9 on the Billboard 200 album charts. Gomez later released two other albums with her band and starred in Monte Carlo (2011), Spring Breakers (2012), and Hotel Transylvania (2012).
In 2013, she released her first solo album "Stars Dance" and the lead single "Come & Get It" from the album, became Gomez's first top ten entry on the Billboard Hot 100 list. She starred in Getaway (2013), Rudderless (2014), and Behaving Badly (2014).
In 2015, she released her second solo album "Revival," which debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 list, and starred in Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015), The Fundamentals of Caring (2016), In Dubious Battle (2016), and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016). She made her third solo album "Rare" in 2020.Wizards of Waverly Place- Actress
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Kristin Kreuk was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Deanna Che, who is of Chinese ancestry, and Peter Kreuk, who is of Dutch descent. Her parents are landscape architects. She attended and graduated from Eric Hamber Secondary School. Although she did some stage work in school, she focused more on her studies. She described herself as shy and boring.
For her first professional work, she went to an open casting audition for Edgemont (2000), a teen drama series aired on CBC Television in Canada. She plays the role as "Laurel Yeung". Laurel was the last main character to be cast because the casting director was having a problem finding an actress. Fortunately, for them (and us), they found Kristin just in time.
Her career was set to take off when she landed on the highly acclaimed serial drama series for The WB, Smallville (2001). It follows the story of "Clark Kent" in his pre-Superman days in a small town of Smallville, Kansas. Kreuk played the role as "Lana Lang", Clark Kent's object of desire before he meets "Lois Lane".
Smallville (2001) proved to be a giant step for Kristin's acting career, as she landed several interviews with several magazines, including YM (Young and Modern) and Rolling Stone. She also did a commercial for Neutrogena, popular for its skin care products.- Actress
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Brenda Song was born in Carmichael, California. Her father is Hmong and her mother is Thai-American. Brenda, her parents, and her younger brothers Timmy and Nathan now live in a suburb of Los Angeles.
Brenda was named an All-American Scholar in ninth grade and holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
She stars as London Tipton, the hotel owner's spoiled daughter, in the Disney Channel's sitcom The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005). Having acted since age six, Brenda is already a familiar face to Disney Channel viewers. Before beginning production on the new series, she had a recurring role as the hip and trendy Tia on Phil of the Future (2004). She also starred in the top-rated Disney Channel Original Movies Stuck in the Suburbs (2004), the mystery Get a Clue (2002) with Lindsay Lohan, and The Ultimate Christmas Present (2000) with Hallee Hirsh and Spencer Breslin.
Her other television credits include guest starring roles on That's So Raven (2003), George Lopez (2002), The Bernie Mac Show (2001), 7th Heaven (1996), One on One (2001), The Nightmare Room (2001), Judging Amy (1999), Popular (1999), Once and Again (1999), and as a panelist on Small Talk (1996). Brenda also had a starring role on the series 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd (1999).
On the big screen, she starred in Like Mike (2002) opposite Shad Moss and Jonathan Lipnicki, and appeared in Leave It to Beaver (1997) and Santa with Muscles (1996) starring Hulk Hogan.
A self-proclaimed total dork, she loves sampling international cuisine, shopping and studying. She is an avid Los Angeles Lakers fan.- Actress
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Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress, singer, and producer. During her childhood, she appeared in more than 100 TV advertisements and had roles in theatre and television shows. In 2004, she was cast as Maddie Fitzpatrick in Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and rose to prominence in 2006 as Sharpay Evans in the television film High School Musical. The High School Musical series included three films and the spin-off Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure (2011). Tisdale's resultant popularity led her to sign a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 2006. Her debut album, Headstrong (2007), was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and features the single "He Said She Said". Two years later, Tisdale released her second studio album, Guilty Pleasure. In 2013, she announced plans to make music again and confirmed that she has been recording her third studio album.- Actress
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Grew up doing theatre in NYC -Studied at Northwestern University. -Her career started in 1995, when she was cast on Mad TV (1995) for 6 seasons. Cast member of The King of Queens (1998) for 5 seasons, playing opposite Jerry Stiller. Enjoys working in TV. Recurs on ABC's Black-ish (2014) Sex Lives of College Kids, and Bob Hearts Abishola. Scrubs (2001) and Cougar Town (2009). Was a regular on many shows, including ABC's Talk to Me (2000) with Kyra Sedgwick; ABC's Hot Properties (2005) with Gail O'Grady; NBC's Raines (2007) with Jeff Goldbloom; Lifetime's Rita Rocks (2008); CBS's $#*! My Dad Says (2010) with William Shatner; and Wendell and Vinnie (2013) on Nickelodeon. Guest-starred on many shows, such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999); Monk (2002); My Boys (2006); CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000); Leverage (2008); Numb3rs (2005); The Game (2006); The Exes (2011); Whitney (2011); The Middle (2009) and, more recently, on Cougar Town (2009); Devious Maids (2013) and Black-ish (2014). Has been working in voice over animation for years. Family Guy (1999) for 15 years; Baby Blues (2000); Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000); Clone High (2002); Kim Possible (2002); Clone High (2002); The Secret Saturdays (2008); The Penguins of Madagascar (2008). Enjoyed talk show appearances Late Show with David Letterman (1993) 3 times; The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) 4 times;The Sharon Osbourne Show (2003); Dennis Miller (2004);Hollywood Squares (1998); The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2005).- Actress
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One cool, eternally classy lady, Candice Bergen was elegantly poised for trendy "ice princess" stardom when she first arrived on the '60s screen, but she gradually reshaped that débutante image in the '70s, both on- and off-camera. A staunch, outspoken feminist with a decisive edge, she went on to take a sizable portion of those contradicting qualities to film and, most particularly, to late 1980s TV.
The daughter of famed ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and former actress and "Chesterfield Girl" model Frances Bergen (née Westerman), Candice Patricia Bergen was born in Beverly Hills, California, of Swedish, German, and English descent. At the age of six, she made her radio debut on her father's show. She attended Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles, the Cathedral School in Washington D.C. and then went abroad to the Montesano (finishing) School in Switzerland. Although she began taking art history and creative drawing at the University of Pennsylvania, she did not complete her studies.
In between she also worked as a Ford model in order to buy cameras for her new passion--photography. Her Grace Kelly-like glacial beauty deemed her an ideal candidate for Ivy League patrician roles, and Candice made an auspicious film debut while still a college student portraying the Vassar-styled lesbian member of Sidney Lumet's The Group (1966) in an ensemble that included the debuts of other lovely up-and-comers including Kathleen Widdoes, Carrie Nye, Joan Hackett and Joanna Pettet.
Film offers started coming her way, both here and abroad (spurred by her love for travel). Other than her top-notch roles as the co-ed who comes between Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel in Carnal Knowledge (1971) and her prim American lady kidnapped by Moroccan sheik Sean Connery in The Wind and the Lion (1975), her performances were deemed a bit too aloof to really stand out among the crowd. During this time, she found a passionate second career as a photographer and photojournalist. A number of her works went on to appear in an assortment of magazines including Life, Playboy and Esquire.
Most of Candice's 1970s films were dismissible and unworthy of her talents, including the campus comedy Getting Straight (1970) opposite the hip counterculture star of the era -- Elliott Gould; the disturbingly violent Soldier Blue (1970); the epic-sized bomb The Adventurers (1970); T.R. Baskin (1971); Bite the Bullet (1975); The Domino Principle (1977), Lina Wertmüller's long-winded and notoriously long-titled Italian drama A Night Full of Rain (1978); and the inferior sequel to the huge box-office soaper Love Story (1970), entitled Oliver's Story (1978) alongside original star Ryan O'Neal. Things picked up toward the second half of the decade, however, when the seemingly humorless Candice made a clever swipe at comedy. She made history as the first female guest host of Saturday Night Live (1975) and then showed an equally amusing side of her in the dramedy Starting Over (1979) as Burt Reynolds' tone-deaf ex-wife, enjoying a "best supporting actress" Oscar nomination in the process. She and Jacqueline Bisset also worked well as a team in George Cukor's Rich and Famous (1981), in which her mother Frances could be glimpsed in a Malibu party scene.
Candice made her Broadway debut in 1985 replacing Sigourney Weaver in David Rabe's black comedy "Hurlyburly". In 1980 Candice married Louis Malle, the older (by 14 years) French director. They had one child, Chloe. In the late 1980s, Candice hit a new career plateau on comedy television as the spiky title role on Murphy Brown (1988), giving great gripe as the cynical and competitive anchor/reporter of a TV magazine show. With a superlative supporting cast around her, the CBS sitcom went the distance (ten seasons) and earned Candice a whopping five Emmys and two Golden Globe awards. TV-movie roles also came her way as a result with colorful roles ranging from the evil Arthurian temptress "Morgan Le Fey" to an elite, high-classed madam -- all many moons away from her initial white-gloved debs of the late 60s.
Husband Malle's illness and subsequent death from cancer in 1995 resulted in Candice maintaining a low profile for an extended period. In time, however, she married a second time (since 2000) to Manhattan real estate developer Marshall Rose and returned to acting with a renewed vigor (or vinegar), with many of her characters enjoyable extensions of her sardonic "Murphy Brown" character. As for TV, she joined the 2005 cast of Boston Legal (2004) playing a brash, no-nonsense lawyer while trading barbs with a much less serious William Shatner, earning an Emmy nomination in the process. In 2018, Candice revisited her Murphy Brown character in a revised series form with many of the cast back on board. The show, however, was cancelled after only one season.
Candice also ventured into the romantic comedy film genre with a spray of crisp supports -- sometimes as a confidante, sometimes as a villain. Such films include Miss Congeniality (2000), Sweet Home Alabama (2002), The In-Laws (2003), Sex and the City (2008), The Women (2008), Bride Wars (2009), A Merry Friggin' Christmas (2014), Rules Don't Apply (2016), The Meyerowitz Stories (2017), Home Again (2017) and Book Club (2018).- Actress
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Beatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth is the daughter of Sydney Anne, an artist, and Lee Paul Neuwirth, a mathematician. Born and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, she started out as a dancer. Her New York career started out in "A Chorus Line". She won a Tony Award for her part in "Sweet Charity" and two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for playing Lilith Sternin Crane of Cheers (1982).- Actress
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Kirstie Louise Alley was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom Cheers (1987-1993), receiving an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991 for the role. From 1997 to 2000, she starred in the sitcom Veronica's Closet, earning additional Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.- Actress
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Born in Portland, Oregon, Kaitlin cultivated her passion for acting at the University of Oregon, where she got her Bachelor's degree in Theatre Arts. After her stint on stage, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting professionally. She began at The Groundlings Theatre in Hollywood, training ground to comic greats such as Will Ferrell and Phil Hartman. Kaitlin secured a coveted spot in The Groundlings Sunday Company, which proved to be an amazing showcase, leading to recurring roles on both Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000), where Kaitlin plays "Becky", Larry's sister-in-law, and The Drew Carey Show (1995), where she played "Traylor", Mimi's nemesis, for two seasons.
Olson also had the honor of joining Drew Carey and several cast members of Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1998) on a USO tour, performing improv shows for US troops in Bosnia, Kosovo and Norway.
Soon after The Drew Carey Show (1995) ended, Olson was cast as a series regular on the Fox series Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show (2005).
Previously, Olson has been a series regular on the Fox improv/hidden camera series Meet the Marks (2002) and recurred on Punk'd (2003) and The Jamie Kennedy Experiment (2002). She has also had notable guest starring roles on Out of Practice (2005) and Miss Match (2003), opposite Alicia Silverstone.
Olson currently stars as "Sweet Dee" on the FX breakout sitcom, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005).- Actress
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Mo was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota where started her improv and sketch career with Dudley Riggs BNW in Minneapolis. In 1998 she moved to LA where she landed Mad TV ,giving birth to many unforgettable characters such as Lorraine, Stuarts Mother, Trina and many more. She has since built her credits up with hit shows such as Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Parks and Recreation as scandal-wrangler "Joan Callamezzo" and "Gyna" in "40 Year Old Virgin". Mo can be seen as "Sarah Rabinowitz" on "Fear the Walking Dead" seasons 4-7. She is a woman of many voices in animation, notably on the animated show "F is for Family" on Netflix where she earned her first Emmy nomination in 2017. Mo is an avid animal advocate, and enjoys doing stand-up/improvisation. Mo has one son, and is married to actor, Alex Skuby- A veteran TV actress, Amy Davidson has seamlessly navigated the worlds of both comedy and drama with her undeniable talent and vivacious personality. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, she studied dance as a child, but soon discovered her true passion was acting. Amy moved to Los Angeles, where she continued to study her craft with a variety of coaches and as a result of her dedication and perseverance, she soon began what would be a long and fruitful relationship with television. After landing the role of "Kerry Hennessy," Davidson spent three seasons on the hit comedy 8 Simple Rules opposite Katey Sagal, Kaley Cuoco and the legendary John Ritter and James Garner. When the show ended its successful run, Amy continued to make audiences laugh opposite Betty White in Annie's Point, and then showcasing her range with dramatic turns starring in Lifetime's Limited Series Capture of the Green River Killer, with various appearances on All Rise, The Rookie, Better Call Saul, Criminal Minds, CSI, CSI:NY, Ghost Whisperer, House, Major Crimes, Vegas, Bones to name a few. Amy enjoyed filming Somebody to Love, the Brittany Murphy biopic, Finding Rose opposite Cybil Shepherd, James Brolin and Pam Greer, Girl on the Edge and Battle Scars, all films based on true stories. Finding her way back to her roots, Amy made audiences laugh with an appearance on the sitcom, Marlon and most recently is recurring on Killing It which premiers April 2022 on Peacock.
Always ready for her next challenge, Davidson continues to stretch her limits in every medium, as she remains one of Hollywood's multidimensional actresses. Amy resides in Los Angeles with her husband Kacy Lockwood, her son Lennox and her furry baby, Sophie. When she isn't in front of the camera, Amy is planting, running, hiking, and doing yoga. Anywhere and Everywhere. - Actress
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Megan is an only child born in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Martha, was a model, and her father, Carter Mullally Jr., was a contract player for Paramount. Megan first entered Northwestern University intending to study acting, but switched to English literature. However, she still ended up starring in several campus musicals, which gained attention from producers and prompted her to drop out of school. In 1985, she moved to Los Angeles with no particular success. But, in 1994, she co-starred in "Grease" on Broadway with Rosie O'Donnell and, in 1995, in "How To Succeed In Business" with Matthew Broderick. Her star has been rising ever since. Her band Nancy and Beth have recorded two albums and tour extensively. She has directed four music videos for Nancy and Beth, which can be found at nancyandbeth.com.- Actress
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Kristen Johnston studied acting at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School in New York City.
She won two Emmys for her role on 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996). She has appeared on many other television shows, including Ugly Betty (2006), ER (1994), Bored to Death (2009) and, perhaps most memorably, as the party girl whose famous final words were "I'm so bored I could die" on Sex and the City (1998). She's currently, on television, on TV Land's hit series, The Exes (2011), which is now in its fourth season. Just a few of Johnston's many stage credits are "So Help Me God!" (Drama desk nomination), "The Women", "Aunt Dan & Lemon", "Love Song" on the West End, as well as starring in three "Shakespeare in Central Park" productions, "Much Ado About Nothing", "12th Night", and "The Skin of our Teeth". She is a long-time member of The Atlantic Theater Company, and her roles over the years have included "The Lights" (Drama Desk Nomination) and "Scarcity". Kristen's film credits include Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), the 2nd Austin Powers film (as "Ivana Humpalot"), Finding Bliss (2009), Bad Parents (2012), Bride Wars (2009), Life Happens (2011), Vamps (2012), Strangers with Candy (2005), and the upcoming independent film, Lovesick (2014), with Matt LeBlanc. Johnston teaches acting at The Atlantic Theater Company's Acting School at NYU. She founded an organization called SLAM, whose goal is the creation of a desperately needed sober high school in New York City. Johnston's first book was a New York Times Bestselling memoir, entitled "GUTS: the endless follies and tiny triumphs of a giant disaster".- Actress
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Born to immigrants in New York City, Lucy Liu has always tried to balance an interest in her cultural heritage with a desire to move beyond a strictly Asian-American experience. Her mother, Cecilia, a biochemist, is from Beijing & her father, Tom Liu, a civil engineer, is from Shanghai. Once relegated to "ethnic" parts, the energetic actress is finally earning her stripes as an across-the-board leading lady.
She graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1986 & enrolled in NYU. However, she was discouraged by the dark and sarcastic atmosphere, so she transferred to the University of Michigan after her freshman year. She graduated w/ a degree in Asian Languages & Cultures, managing to squeeze in some additional training in dance, voice, fine arts & acting. During her senior year, she auditioned for a small part in a production of Alice in Wonderland and walked away with the lead. Encouraged by the experience, she decided to take the plunge into professional acting. She moved to L.A., splitting her time between auditions & food service day jobs. She eventually scored a guest appearance as a waitress on Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990). That performance led to more walk-on parts in shows like NYPD Blue (1993), ER (1994) & The X-Files (1993). In 1996, she was cast as an ambitious college student on Rhea Perlman's ephemeral sitcom Pearl (1996).
She first appeared on the big screen as an ex-girlfriend in Jerry Maguire (1996) (she had previously filmed a scene in the indie Bang (1995), but it was shelved for 2 years). She then waded through a series of supporting parts in small films before landing her big break on Ally McBeal (1997). She initially auditioned for the role of Nelle Porter, which went to Portia de Rossi. However, writer-producer David E. Kelley was so impressed w/ her that he promised to write a part for her in an upcoming episode. The part turned out to be that of growling, ill-tempered lawyer Ling Woo, which she filled w/ such aplomb that she was signed on as a regular cast member.
The "Ally" win gave her film career a much-needed boost-in 1999, she was cast as a dominatrix in the Mel Gibson action flick Payback (1999) & as a hitchhiker in the ill-received boxing saga Play It to the Bone (1999). The following year brought even larger roles: first as the kidnapped Princess Pei Pei in Jackie Chan's western Shanghai Noon (2000), then as one-third of the comely crime-fighting trio in Charlie's Angels (2000).
When she's not hissing at clients or throwing well-coiffed punches, she keeps busy w/ an eclectic mix of off-screen hobbies. She practices the martial art of Kali-Eskrima-Silat (knife-and-stick fighting), skis, rock climbs, rides horses &plays the accordion. In 1993, she exhibited a collection of multimedia art pieces at the Cast Iron Gallery in SoHo (New York), after which she won a grant to study & create art in China. Her hectic schedule doesn't leave much time for romantic intrigue, but she says she prefers to keep that side of her life uncluttered.- Actress
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Portia de Rossi was born and raised in Geelong, Australia. Originally born Amanda Rogers, at 15 she changed her name to Portia, saying that it was the most daring thing she had ever done up until that point. After graduating from high school, she attended the University of Melbourne, and studied law. Although she studied diligently, in 1993, Portia found herself giving special notice to a casting director who saw her in a commercial, and she soon auditioned for Sirens (1994), a low budget comedy starring Hugh Grant. She was cast in the role of Giddy, one of the three gorgeous models in the movie. It wasn't until 1997, however, that Portia at last began to attract real attention. She turned an unforgettable role as Murphy in Scream 2 (1997), and in 1998 she joined the cast of Ally McBeal (1997) as the "Ice Queen", Nelle Porter. She has also worked on such projects as Stigmata (1999), Girl (1998), and The Invisibles (1999), and she has appeared on several magazine covers, including Shape. After more than a decade of hard work, Portia is finally beginning to win real recognition, not only for her long golden tresses, but also for her wonderful talent.- Actress
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Molly Parker, the extremely talented and versatile Canadian actress is best known in the United States for playing the Western widow "Alma Garret" on the cable-TV series Deadwood (2004). Raised on a commune, she described as "a hippie farm" in Pitt Meadows, B.C., Parker got the acting bug when she was 16 years old, after 13 years of ballet training. Parker's uncle was an actor, and his agent took her on as a client, enabling her to launch her career in small roles on Canadian television. She enrolled at Vancouver's Gastown Actors' Studio after she graduated from high school, and continued to act on TV in series and TV-movies while learning her craft at acting school.
Parker began attracting attention when she appeared as the daughter of a lesbian military officer in the TV-movie Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995). She earned a Gemini nomination (the Canadian TV industry's equivalent of the Emmy) for her performance in the TV-movie Paris or Somewhere (1994). However, it was her debut in theatrical films that gave her her big breakthrough, playing a necrophiliac in Lynne Stopkewich's 1996 film Kissed (1996). It was "Kissed" that set Molly's career into overdrive.
A friend got her an audition for the low-budget independent feature film, and she hit if off with the director, who not only cast her, but became her friend. As the character "Sandra Larson", a poetic soul obsessed with death who engages in sexual congress with a corpse, Parker created a sympathetic character in a difficult role. The film garnered her rave revues and she won a Genie Award, the Canadian cinema's Academy Award, for her performance. She parlayed the accolades into a sustained career on film and in TV.
On TV, Parker was part of the cast of CBC-TV's six-part sitcom Twitch City (1998), playing the girlfriend of Don McKellar, which enabled her to showcase her comedic skills. Other memorable TV roles was the female rabbi on Home Box Office's series Six Feet Under (2001) and, of course, the regular role on HBO's Deadwood (2004). She has appeared in many ambitious films, including Jeremy Podeswa's The Five Senses (1999), István Szabó's Sunshine (1999) and Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland (1999). She also re-teamed with director Lynne Stopkewich for Suspicious River (2000).
Parker made waves with another provocative film with sex as its subject, director Wayne Wang's The Center of the World (2001). In the movie, Parker played a San Francisco lap dancer who becomes a paid escort to a Silicon Valley nerd. For her performance, she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. In 2002, she was nominated twice as best supporting actress at the Genies for her roles in the British/Canadian co-production War Bride (2001) and Bruce Sweeney's Last Wedding (2001), winning for her appearance in the latter film.
Parker's reputation as an outstanding actress is based on her assaying of strong, yet flawed, definitely complex women in character-leads and supporting parts in challenging films. Not only does she convey intelligence, but there is an unconscious elegance to her, a true inner beauty that radiates on-screen. She will be gracing the screen, both large and small, with her unique presence for many years to come.- Actress
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Jenna Elfman began her career as a professional dancer, appearing in music videos by Depeche Mode and Anthrax, and danced on the 1991 Academy Awards live broadcast, choreographed by Debbie Allen.
She ultimately transitioned to acting, best known for her role as Dharma in the hit television series "Dharma and Greg," for which she garnered a Golden Globe Award, three Emmy Award nominations and two TV Guide Awards.
Most recently on television, Elfman played Alice on ABC's comedy series "Imaginary Mary," which followed on the heels of "Growing Up Fisher" with J.K. Simmons, "1600 Penn" with Josh Gad, and critically-acclaimed guest appearances on "Shameless" and the final season of the award-winning drama "Damages," with Glenn Close and Rose Byrne.
Other notable television credits include a guest appearance on "The Mindy Project," as well as appearances on "Two and a Half Men," "My Name is Earl," and "Royal Pains."
She appeared in the hit comedy feature film Friends with Benefits, starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, and her film credits also include Keeping the Faith, opposite Ben Stiller and Edward Norton, the cult classic Can't Hardly Wait, Big Stone Gap alongside Ashley Judd, Patrick Wilson, and Whoopi Goldberg, and Ron Howard's Edtv, opposite Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.
As a classically trained ballerina, Jenna has been invited twice to be a guest judge on the hit dance competition show "So You Think You Can Dance". She also proudly serves on the board of trustees of the Dizzy Feet Foundation (founded by producer Nigel Lythgoe and Adam Shankman), whose mission is to support, improve, and increase access to dance education in the United States.
Jenna was born and raised in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband, Bodhi Elfman, and their two young sons.
She films a video podcast with her husband Bodhi called Kicking and Screaming in which they humorously discuss their 2+ year marriage together.- Actress
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Born on July 11, 1971 in Okinawa, Japan, she is an American actress and musician, best known for the role of Alice Pieszecki in The L Word (2004) and for being one half of the electropop duo Uh Huh Her. She was born to American parents in the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands and grew up in Bellevue, Nebraska. At 17 she moved to New York City, where she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 1991 she and her classmate Heather Grody started a pop group they called the Murmurs, and which was later renamed Gush. In 1996 she debuted in TV in an episode of Boy Meets World (1993) and a year later she got her first major role in All Over Me (1997). In 2004 she got the role of Alice Pieszecki in The L Word (2004), which became her most recognizable role and which she played till the show's end in 2009. In 2007 Hailey and Camila Grey started an electropop duo Uh Huh Her and the following year the band released its first album, "Common Reaction". In 2019 she returned to the role of Alice in The L Word: Generation Q (2019).- Actress
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Born on December 29, 1977 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US as Katherine Sian Moennig, she is an American actress and producer, best known for the role of Shane McCutcheon in The L Word (2004). Her father was William H. Moennig III and her mother was Mary Zahn, a Broadway dancer. She is of Irish and German ancestry. At 18 she moved to New York City, where she studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 2000 she got her first TV role as Jacqueline 'Jake' Pratt in Young Americans (2000). From 2004 to 2009 she played the iconic role of Shane McCutcheon in "The L Word". 2006 marked her Off-Broadway debut in "Guardians", in which he played opposite Lee Pace. From 2013 to she played an assistant to the eponymous character in Ray Donovan (2013). In 2019 she came back to the role of Shane in The L Word: Generation Q (2019). She's been married to a Brazilian film director and musician Ana Rezende since 2017.- Actress
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Michelle is well known around the world from her early work as a regular cast member on the Australian show "Neighbours" and the hit teen shows "The Tribe" and "Underemployed".
Emmy-nominated for her role of Alex in "Fear the Walking Dead; Flight 462", she won "Best Actress in A Feature Film" at the New Zealand Film and Television Awards 2011 for "My Wedding and Other Secrets" and was nominated for a Logie for her role in "Neighbours".
Her film work has screened in many festivals and won awards including those at Sundance, Cannes and Berlin.
She has worked with Oscar-winning director Jane Campion on BBC mini-series Top of the Lake, Jodie Foster, John Hillcoat and Steven Soderbergh.
Most recently she can be seen in Jordan Peele's Twilight Zone on CBS All Access where she plays a Chinese national marine biologist Dr Ling Hai in "8".- Actress
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Holland Taylor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the third-born (and last) daughter of her mother, Virginia (Davis), a painter, and the only child of her father, C. Tracy Taylor, an attorney. She spent her teen years in nearby Allentown, PA, where Holland got the nickname, "Penny Taylor" because of her coppery hair color. Holland attended Quaker schools, then majored in drama at Bennington College. At the age of 22 Holland moved to New York with the desire to become a "great big Broadway star." After fifteen years of "disappointments and near misses" in New York and California, Holland was cast as Ruth Dunbar in the sitcom Bosom Buddies (1980) with Tom Hanks. It was Holland's "breakout" role and it led to many other TV and film offers including the movie Romancing the Stone (1984) as Kathleen Turner's book publisher and friend. Holland had hesitated to accept the role but her acting coach and mentor Stella Adler encouraged her not to be so "stage minded." In 1992 Holland was still living in Greenwich Village, New York and traveling back and forth between a rented apartment in Hollywood and New York in order to work on both coasts. Holland has said her first love was the theater but the work for her in TV and films was better. However, by 1992, Holland said she was dealing with traveling back and forth "less and less well". Over the next few years, Holland moved to California full-time. In the last couple of years, she gave up her apartment in West Hollywood for her own home in the Hollywood Hills. Holland won an Emmy in 1999 for her work in The Practice (1997).- Actress
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At sixteen years old, Melanie Lynskey dazzled the film world with an audacious debut in Peter Jackson's revered psychological crime picture, Heavenly Creatures (1994). Her electrifying portrait of Pauline Parker - high school misfit whose fierce rapport with her only friend (a pre-fame Kate Winslet) spirals dangerously out of control - was deemed "perfect" (Richard Corliss, TIME) and secured the humble New Zealander a Best Actress trophy in her motherland. Following a three-year interval spent studying at university and relocating to Los Angeles, Lynskey made a welcome return to the silver screen when she was cast as Drew Barrymore's sweet-natured stepsister in Andy Tennant's 'girl power' twist on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998). Parts in But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), Coyote Ugly (2000), Snakeskin (2001), Sweet Home Alabama (2002), Shattered Glass (2003), and Clint Eastwood's Oscar-nominated war epic Flags of Our Fathers (2006) came next.
In the consequent years, Lynskey emerged as one of the industry's most celebrated character actors, picking up plaudits for a host of appearances in prestige vehicles such as Sam Mendes's Away We Go (2009), Jason Reitman's Up in the Air (2009), Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! (2009), Tom McCarthy's Win Win (2011), Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), and Adam McKay's Don't Look Up (2021). Prolific supporting roles - opposite the calibre of George Clooney, Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio - aside, spotlight turns in Hello I Must Be Going (2012), Happy Christmas (2014), The Intervention (2016) - for which she scored a Special Jury Prize at Sundance - and the genre-bending I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017) have equally proved her mettle as a dynamite leading lady.
Since entering the annals of 21st century popular culture with her riotous embodiment of Rose - on the toweringly successful Two and a Half Men (2003), where she appeared for over a decade as Charlie Sheen's duplicitous admirer - Lynskey has injected her scene-stealing prowess into a multitude of small-screen gigs: among them, HBO's exalted tragicomedy Togetherness (2015), which showcased her "sublime" (Vanity Fair) depiction of a dissatisfied stay-at-home mom; macabre Stephen King spookfest Castle Rock (2018), where she headlined as pill-popping psychic Molly Strand; and all-star political period piece Mrs. America (2020), in which she joined forces with Cate Blanchett. For her spellbinding work on Showtime's Yellowjackets (2021) - where she's front-and-centre as Shauna, a suburban housewife consumed by horrific secrets - Lynskey collected the coveted Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series (2022), with Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall describing her turn in the runaway cult smash as the "dark, messy, charismatic part she's been waiting her whole career to play".- Actress
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Kristen Anne Bell (born 1980) is an American actress and singer. She was born and raised in Huntington Woods, Michigan, and is the daughter of Lorelei (Frygier), a nurse, and Tom Bell, a television news director. Her ancestry is Polish (mother) and German, English, Irish, and Scottish (father). Kristen found her talent in entertainment at an early age. In 1992, she went to her first audition and won a role in Raggedy Ann and Andy. Bell's mother established her with an agent before she was 13, and she was cast in newspaper advertisements and television commercials. At this time, she also began private acting lessons. Bell had an uncredited role in the film Polish Wedding (1998) in 1998.
Bell attended Shrine Catholic High School, where she took part in drama and music club. She won the starring role of Dorothy in her high school's production of The Wizard of Oz. After graduation Bell moved to New York City to attend prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied musical theater. In 2001, Bell left university to play the role of Becky in Tom Sawyer. That same year, she made her first credited debut in Pootie Tang (2001), but her scene was cut and her appearance exists only in the credit sequence. In 2002, Bell appeared in the Broadway revival of The Crucible with Liam Neeson and Angela Bettis. She then moved to Los Angeles, California, and appeared in a handful television shows as a special guest, finding trouble gaining a recurring role in a television series.
In 2004, Bell appeared in the Lifetime's television film, Gracie's Choice, which received high ratings. At the age 24, Bell won the title role in Veronica Mars (2004), which started broadcasting in the fall of 2004, created by Rob Thomas. Bell starred as a seventeen-year-old detective, which put her alongside actors Enrico Colantoni who played her father, Percy Daggs III, Jason Dohring and Ryan Hansen. This series received very positive reviews, and Bell received much attention for her performance. Bell and the cast of Veronica Mars were nominated for two Teen Choice Awards.
In 2005, Bell starred in Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2005) in the role of Mary Lane. Reefer Madness debuted on the Showtime network on April 16, 2005. The following year, Bell won the Saturn Award for 'Best Actress on Television' for her performance in Veronica Mars.
In 2013, Bell voiced the main character, Princess Anna of Arendelle, in the Walt Disney Pictures animated movie, Frozen (2013), which received the 'best animated feature' award at the 86th Academy Awards. She performed the songs: 'For the First Time in Forever', 'Love is an Open Door', 'Do You Want to Build a Snowman', and 'For the First Time in Forever (Reprise)'. Frozen (2013), which was released on November 22, 2013, was hugely successful worldwide.
On March 13, 2013, it was confirmed that a Veronica Mars (2014) movie would finally be coming to fruition. Bell and creator, Rob Thomas, launched a fund raising campaign to produce the film through Kickstarter and attained the $2 million goal in few hours. The movie was released on March 14, 2014.
Bell married Dax Shepard in October, 2013.- Actress
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American stage, screen and television actress, and comedian Carol Kane (b. Carolyn Laurie Kane, June 18, 1952, in Cleveland, Ohio), was born to Elaine Joy (née Fetterman), a jazz singer and pianist, and Michael Myron Kane, an architect. Her family is Jewish (from Russia, Poland, and Austria). Due to her parents' divorce, Carol spent most of her childhood in boarding schools until 1965. She also attended Professional Children's School in Upper West Side New York, and made her professional theater debut in a 1966 production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) starring Tammy Grimes. Kane, just 14 years old.
At 20 years old, Kane landed the lead role in William Fruets World War II film, Wedding in White (1972). Kane starred as Jeannie Dougall, a teenager whom after is raped is left with a moral dilemma when she discovers that the incident has left her pregnant. The actress received a surprise Academy Award nomination for her performance in the 1974 independent film, Hester Street (1975); Times of Israel describes Kane's character, Gitl, as "a straight-from-the-shtetl immigrant who, with her young son, joins her husband (Steven Keats) who is already halfway assimilated in New York's Lower East Side; the push and the pull between tradition and change drive the story to its bittersweet conclusion."
The following decade, from 1980-1983, she appeared on the television series Taxi (1978). Kane portrayed Simka Dahblitz-Gravas, wife of Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman). She received two Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe nomination for her work in the series. Over the years, Kane racked up tons of credits from Taxi and The Princess Bride (1987), to Scrooged (1988), and more recently, the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015); the actress is making audiences laugh by playing Lillian Kaushtupper, in a recent interview, Kane described Lillian as "a hardworking landlady in Harlem who is very attached to the life in New York as she's known it."- Actress
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Anne Celeste Heche was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She came to recognition portraying Vicky Hudson and Marley Love in the soap opera Another World (1964), which won her a Daytime Emmy Award and two Soap Opera Digest Awards. She came to mainstream prominence in the late 1990s with roles in the crime drama film Donnie Brasco (1997), the disaster film Volcano (1997), the slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), the action comedy film Six Days Seven Nights (1998), and the drama-thriller film Return to Paradise (1998).- Music Artist
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Miley Ray Cyrus was born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992 in Franklin, Tennessee and raised in Thompson's Station, Tennessee to Tish Cyrus & Billy Ray Cyrus. She has five siblings - two half-brothers, a half-sister, and a younger brother and sister. Her parents named her because they hoped she would achieve greatness. Her childhood nickname, Smiley, due to her cheerful disposition, was eventually shortened to Miley. Her paternal grandfather was Democratic politician Ron Cyrus.
Cyrus was initially educated at Heritage Elementary School in Tennessee. When she turned eight, her family moved to Toronto, Canada, where Cyrus' father Billy Ray took a role in the TV series Doc (2001). It was around this time that Cyrus decided she wanted to act too. Her first role came alongside her father in Doc (2001). She also scored a small role in Tim Burton's Big Fish (2003).
In 2005, Cyrus was cast as the lead in the Disney series Hannah Montana (2006), about a teen leading a double life as a pop star. Again her father acted alongside her. The show was a smash and hit records, sell-out tours and merchandising deals soon followed. Cyrus became a teen superstar.
Following the success of Hannah Montana (2006), Cyrus made the move into other roles - including playing Ronnie Miller in The Last Song (2010) and Lola in LOL (2012) alongside Demi Moore.- Actress
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Jennifer Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks, California, to actors John Aniston and Nancy Dow. Her father was Greek, and her mother was of English, Irish, Scottish, and Italian descent. Jennifer spent a year of her childhood living in Greece with her family. Her family then relocated to New York City where her parents divorced when she was nine. Jennifer was raised by her mother and her father landed a role, as "Victor Kiriakis", on the daytime soap Days of Our Lives (1965). Jennifer had her first taste of acting at age 11 when she joined the Rudolf Steiner School's drama club. It was also at the Rudolf Steiner School that she developed her passion for art. She began her professional training as a drama student at New York's School of Performing Arts, aka the "Fame" school. It was a division of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and the Arts. In 1987, after graduation, she appeared in such Off-Broadway productions as "For Dear Life" and "Dancing on Checker's Grave". In 1990, she landed her first television role, as a series regular on Molloy (1990). She also appeared in The Edge (1992), Ferris Bueller (1990), and had a recurring part on Herman's Head (1991). By 1993, she was floundering. Then, in 1994, a pilot called "Friends Like These" came along. Originally asked to audition for the role of "Monica", Aniston refused and auditioned for the role of "Rachel Green", the suburban princess turned coffee peddler. With the success of the series Friends (1994), Jennifer has become famous and sought-after as she turns her fame into movie roles during the series hiatus.- Actress
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Autumn Reeser saw her breakout role as the individualist Taylor Townsend on the popular Fox drama series "The O.C." Since then she's become known for her intelligent and heartfelt performances in roles such as firecracker junior agent Lizzie Grant on HBO's "Entourage" and become an in-demand and beloved star in Hallmark movies.
Acting came into Autumn's life as a clear calling when she was six years old and her parents took her to see her first play at the community theater in the small surf town of Carlsbad, California. She begged to audition for the next one, the jumping off point for a lifelong love-affair with art, musical expression and the exploration of the human character and psyche. Strongly connected to Spirit, she followed her guidance to apply for only one college, a new musical theatre program being launched at UCLA, and was accepted. After many late nights waitressing to support herself and rigorous training at various acting programs throughout Los Angeles, she began working steadily in film and TV and has not stopped since.
Her first role was as an alien girl on 'Star Trek: Voyager' at the age of 20, followed by honing her comedic chops on sitcoms such as 'The George Lopez Show' and 'Grounded For Life', and pouring her heart out in dramas such as 'Cold Case' and 'CSI'. Her breakout role came in 2005, as the quirky-cute and socially awkward Taylor Townsend on the final two seasons of The O.C. (2003), for which she received high critical acclaim. She's also known for her role as firecracker junior agent Lizzie Grant on HBO's 'Entourage' as scientist Katie Andrew in ABC's No Ordinary Family (2010), along with actors Michael Chiklis, Julie Benz. In 2012, she starred as sexy weapons expert Kylie Sinclair in Shawn Ryan's short-lived political thriller Last Resort (2012), on ABC. She also appeared as Dr. Gabrielle Asano on Hawaii 5-0, sports agent Abby Bruce opposite John Stamos on Necessary Roughness, and lead the cast in numerous romances for Hallmark.
In 2021 she directed her first short film and earned her first executive-producer credit for developing Hallmark's "The 27-Hour Day," followed by 'The Wedding Veil' trilogy with Lacey Chabert and Ali Sweeney, which was Hallmark's most-watched series of 2022.
In addition to her film and television career, she has appeared onstage in "For the Record: Tarantino" at Rockwell, "The OC Musical" at the Montelban, "Too Much Sun" at the Odyssey, and numerous cabarets. She is a member of The WorkJuice Players alongside Paul F. Tompkins and Busy Phillips, best known for their ongoing radio play series and podcast, "The Thrilling Adventure Hour." In the last few years, she has directed two new musicals: 'City of Light' at Feinsteins 54 Below in New York and 'Modern' in USC's LiveRead Workshop program and is the co-creator of the musical 'Particle.'
Autumn lives in Los Angeles with her sons Finn & Dash and has served on the board of the SAG-AFTRA union. She is an advocate for women, performers and working parents, as well as a counselor and intuitive guide. She offers mentorship to artists through her website.- Actress
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Rachel Bilson was born in Los Angeles, to Janice (Stango), a sex therapist, and Danny Bilson. Her father is Ashkenazi Jewish and her mother is of Italian descent. She began acting while still at Notre Dame High School. She graduated high school in 1999 and went to Grossmont College but dropped out after a year and was encouraged to pursue a career in acting by her father, himself a writer, director and producer.
She worked in commercials and landed a few one-off roles in high profile TV shows before landing the part of Summer Roberts in the hit TV series The O.C. (2003), establishing herself as a household name.- Actress
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An actress who always attracts audiences' attention, Jennifer Tilly is by turns funny, sexy, compassionate, compelling and often all at once. She has been playing unforgettable characters ever since she started her career as an actress.
Jennifer Tilly was born Jennifer Ellen Chan in Harbor City, Los Angeles, to Harry Chan, a used car salesman, who was of Chinese origin, and Patricia (née Tilly), a schoolteacher and stage actress. Her sister is actress Meg Tilly. They were raised on rural Texada Island, British Columbia, by her mother and stepfather, John Ward.
Jennifer successfully cultivated another fan base with the revitalization of the "Child's Play" horror comedy franchise. For Ronny Yu's Bride of Chucky (1998), the filmmakers turned to Jennifer to create the character who would spark the series in a new direction. She met the challenge and established a new horror icon in Tiffany. In Rogue Pictures' Seed of Chucky (2004), written and directed by series creator Don Mancini, Jennifer again took the popular series to the next level; starring as Tiffany and as herself, the deadly doll's favorite actress, who soon becomes an unwitting hostess in more ways than one.
Jennifer's pitch-perfect voiceover work as Tiffany is not the only instance of her being able to incarnate a character from the vocal chords out. Families know her distinctive cadences from the Disney hits Home on the Range (2004), directed by Will Finn and John Sanford; The Haunted Mansion (2003) (in which Jennifer acted from the neck up only), directed by Rob Minkoff; and the Pixar blockbuster Monsters, Inc. (2001) (voicing Mike's love interest Celia), directed by Pete Docter, David Silverman and Lee Unkrich. She began her acting career as a teenager, putting herself through the theater program at Stephens College in Missouri by winning writing competitions. She then headed to Los Angeles, California. While she continued to act on the stage (earning a Dramalogue Award for her performance in "Vanities"), movies and television immediately came calling for the actress with the unique voice and visage.
In 2001, she starred in the Broadway revival of "The Women" with Cynthia Nixon and Kristen Johnson, which was later taped for, and broadcast on, PBS. In 2008, she appeared with Miranda Richardson in the critically acclaimed production of Wallace Shawn's play "Grasses of a Thousand Colors" at the Royal Court Theatre in London. Other plays include "Tartuffe" (LAAT) "Boy's Life" (LAAT) "Baby with the Bathwater" (LAPT) and others too numerous to mention. In 2005, Jennifer met her boyfriend, professional poker player Phil Laak (also known as the Unabomber). That summer at the World Series of Poker, she bested a field of 601 to take down the Ladies Event and win a coveted gold bracelet. She followed this up by winning the WPT Ladies Invitational, making her one of a small but elite group holding both a WSOP bracelet, and a WPT title. In summer 2010, she also won the Bellagio Cup 5k tournament.- Actress
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Hilary Erhard Duff was born on September 28, 1987 in Houston, Texas, to Susan Duff (née Cobb) and Robert Erhard Duff, a partner in convenience store chain. When Hilary was six, she had been traveling in the Cechetti Ballet with her sister Haylie Duff but decided she wanted to fulfill her dream of acting. Her first starring role was when she played the young witch "Wendy" in Casper Meets Wendy (1998).
Duff became a teen idol when she starred in the #1 hit Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire (2001).
She has also starred in the movies The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), Agent Cody Banks (2003), Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), A Cinderella Story (2004), Raise Your Voice (2004), The Perfect Man (2005) and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005).
Additionally, Duff stormed the music charts, with singles "So Yesterday" and "Come Clean" settling nicely into the top 40. Hilary's first album, "Metamorphosis", debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, and eventually ascended to #1 in the following weeks.
She starred in Material Girls (2006) with her sister Haylie Duff and released her fourth studio album, Dignity (2007), with Hollywood Records.
In 2015, she released her fifth studio album, Breathe In. Breathe Out. She stars as Kelsey Peters in Younger (2015).- Actress
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Kimmy Robertson began her career as a ballet dancer but her distinctive sense of humor and quirky style brought her to the attention of an agent who happened to worked in the same office as her ballet company. After at first being unsure about becoming an actor, Kimmy was then hired for the first role she auditioned for in the teen comedy The Last American Virgin (1982). She then returned to ballet but appeared in the occasional film such as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) and My Mom's a Werewolf (1989) before being cast as the Sheriff's ditsy secretary, Lucy, in the groundbreaking TV series Twin Peaks (1990). Creators Mark Frost and David Lynch recognized Kimmy's comedic talent and exploited it by encouraging her to ad-lib her lines, some of which turned into the funniest moments of the series. Since then, she has appeared in such films as Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991), Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) and Stuart Little (1999).- Actress
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Katy Mixon is an American actress. She began her career playing supporting roles in films such as "The Quiet" (2005), "Four Christmases" (2008), and "State of Play" (2009), before landing the female leading role in the HBO comedy series "Eastbound & Down" (2009-2013).
From 2010 to 2016, Mixon starred as Victoria Flynn, sister to Melissa McCarthy's character, on the CBS sitcom "Mike & Molly." She had dramatic parts in films "Take Shelter" (2011), "Drive Angry" (2011), and "Hell or High Water" (2016), and did voiceover work in "Minions" (2015). From 2016 to 2021, Mixon starred as the lead character Katie Otto in the ABC comedy series "American Housewife."- Actress
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Kelly Michelle Stables was born in St. Louis, Missouri where she performed at The Muny Opera. She graduated cum laude from The University of Missouri, Columbia with a BA in Communications and Theater. Upon moving to Los Angeles she quickly got involved in theater arts, acting and choreographing in over 2 dozen plays and musical productions including The Little Foxes, Brady Bunch: The Musical, Peter Pan at the Thousand Oaks Civic Light Opera and 7 title roles in LA's award winning Storybook Theatre. While continuing to study improvisation at The Groundlings and becoming a company member of Theatre West, Kelly also started landing roles on television and in film. Her unique voice and petite stature has allowed her to take on a wide variety of colorful characters. She is known for her work alongside Naomi Watts, taking over the role as the evil Samara in The Ring 2, but is also more commonly recognized as the bubbly, bright receptionist on Two and a Half Men. From 2011-2015 Kelly played a paralegal at-day/party hopper at-night, as a Series Regular on the TV Land sitcom The Exes. She was also a Regular as the sassy sexpert little sister to Alyssa Milano on ABC's Romantically Challenged, as well as the stressed out suburban mom on the CW's No Tomorrow. She has lent her soprano singing voice to several cartoons including Doc McStuffins, Tom & Jerry and Sofia the First. Most recently she can be seen as the dim but lovable Cloud 9 employee on NBC's hit comedy Superstore. She lives a quiet, private life with her husband and two young children and enjoys sewing, writing and volunteering at school activities.- Actress
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Tisha Michelle Campbell was born on October 13, 1968 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma & raised in Newark, New Jersey. Her first TV appearance was at the age of 8 on episode #006 of the PBS show, The Big Blue Marble (1974). The show featured stories on the life and culture of children from around the world. In her segment, Tisha was shown playing with her brother, going to school with her mother who was also her voice coach, and singing at a jazz concert in New York's Greenwich Village.- Actress
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus was born on January 13, 1961, in the New York City borough of Manhattan, to Judith (LeFever), a special needs tutor and author, and Gérard Louis-Dreyfus, a billionaire businessman. Her parents divorced when she was young, and she spent her childhood in Washington, D.C., and New York. She met her husband, Brad Hall, while in college, and made her feature movie debut in the Woody Allen film Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). She lives in Los Angeles with Brad and their two children. Her father was born in France, and her grandfather Pierre Louis-Dreyfus was in the French Resistance against the Nazis.- Actress
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Her classic beauty, combined with wit and comedic talent, earned Ford five Emmy nominations and two consecutive Golden Globe Award nominations for her ten-year portrayal of reporter 'Corky Sherwood' on the CBS series "Murphy Brown." Prior to Murphy Brown, Ford landed a reoccurring role playing a fumbling secretary named Janine on "Thirtysomething". Ford also starred in the ABC hit comedy series "Hope & Faith" with Kelly Ripa for three seasons and later co-starred opposite Fred Goss and Jerry O'Connell in the ABC comedy series, "Carpoolers." Ford has a wide range of guest starring roles, from "My Name is Earl", "Criminal Minds" to "The Middle" and also co-starred opposite Vin Diesel in Touchstone Pictures' "The Pacifier, " and "Prom." Ford has starred in several TV movies, ABC Family's "Mom's on Strike", NBC/Walmart movie "Field of Vision", Hallmark movies, "A Kiss at Midnight", "Trading Christmas" and "The Bridge 1 and 2" along with Lifetime movies, "Sorority Wars" and 2017' "Christmas in Mississippi." Faith co-starred and produced a feature thriller, "Escapee", starring Dominic Purcell and Christine Evangelista along with producing the well-received short films, "Citation of Merit" and "The Day I Finally Decided to Kill Myself". In addition to her acting career, Ford made her writing debut in 2004 with an exciting cookbook, "Cooking With Faith", co-written with Melissa Clark. This multi-generational Southern cookbook draws on Ford's childhood in Louisiana where she learned how to cook down-home food at the knees of her Grandmother and Mother. Along with the traditional family recipes, the cookbook includes updated healthier versions sprinkled with familiar anecdotes of good ole' Southern hospitality and charm. Ford never forgot her roots being raised in the quiet community of Pineville, Louisiana. In high school, Faith acted in school plays, and in her senior year she was a finalist in Teen Magazine's annual model search. Faith moved to New York City when she was 17 where she worked in commercials, took acting classes, and did some modeling. Ford was 18 when she landed a role on the soap "Another World," and later "One Life to Live." Faith continues to act and produce films and television.- Actress
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Madeline Zima was born in New Haven, Connecticut, to parents Dennis and Marie, and is the sister of actresses Vanessa Zima and Yvonne Zima. "Zima", a Polish surname, is her mother's maiden name; Madeline's maternal grandfather was of Polish descent, while her other ancestry is Italian, German, and Irish.
She and her sister Vanessa were discovered by Woody Allen for his movie, Alice (1990). She actually quit show business, the week when she was urged to come in for her sixth call back for The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992). She came back for one more audition and booked the role of "Emma". She booked the movie and has never stopped working since. It was both Madeline and Julianne Moore's first film and was directed by Academy Award-winning director and writer, Curtis Hanson. Madeline won critical notice for her first film role.
Madeline followed that dramatic thriller with a short film that Daryl Hannah directed. It was a Sundance favorite called The Last Supper (1995), where Madeline, as a tiny wily child, scared away her mother's abusive boyfriend by convincing him that she and her mother were cannibals. She followed that with the comedies, Mr. Nanny (1993), Our Song, a pilot with George Hamilton, and finally The Nanny (1993). By this time, the pilot of The Nanny (1993) was picked up and Madeline moved from New York to L.A., when The Nanny (1993) became a hit show.
She has starred in TV films: The Secret Path (1999). Her sister, Yvonne Zima played the seven-year-old counterpart to her characters. She played the daughter of the late John Ritter and Marg Helgenberger on Lethal Vows (1999).
After a worldwide search in all English-speaking countries, Madeline was the choice to play Lucille Ball as a teenager, in the CBS mini-series, Lucy (2003) (aka "Redhead"). She followed that up playing the wicked stepsister of Hilary Duff in A Cinderella Story (2004).
In a return to television, she agreed to play the mysterious and destructive character "Mia" on the hit Showtime series, Californication (2007).- Actress
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In Joely Fisher's recent unflinching memoir, she comes clean and bares her soul about growing up in what she describes as "The Fishbowl".Daughter of Hollywood legendary crooner Eddie Fisher and entertainment icon Connie Stevens, Joely was raised in the Los Angeles area educated in a dozen LA schools, continuing on to the Université de Paris/Sorbonne and Emerson College in Boston. From the time she hit the boards in the multi-purpose room in her Catholic elementary school musical, Mama said, "I couldn't stop her with a train". Triple threat, Joely Fisher stands out as a star of television, musical theatre, and motion pictures. Her "sensational and sexy" turn as Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall's critic darling revival of "Cabaret" on Broadway as well as the National touring company earned her rave reviews. Joely made her Broadway debut as "Rizzo"in "Grease!." However, it was her 5 seasons as "Paige Clark ,"Ellen's best friend ,the monstrously ambitious, seductive Hollywood executive on the historic and groundbreaking ABC show, Ellen (1994), that introduced her to television audiences around the world, and earned her a Golden Globe nomination. She next starred opposite John Goodman in FOX's series Normal, Ohio (2000) playing the hilariously fascinating combo of a young caring mother who just happened to be a "bit of a slut." She spent two seasons starring in her own series Wild Card (2003) for Lifetime. In 2005, Joely joined the cast of the hit television series Desperate Housewives (2004) where she played Felicity Huffman's tough and very complex boss Nina Fletcher. Fisher then returned to television opposite Brad Garrett for four seasons in FOX's 'Til Death (2006). Their incredible chemistry kept audiences rolling with laughter. Next, Joely reoccurred on ABC's Last Man Standing (2011) opposite Hector Elizondo. Joely's film credits have placed her opposite some of the finest actors in film, like Jim Carrey in The Mask (1994), Steve Martin in Mixed Nuts (1994), and Nick Nolte in I'll Do Anything (1994). Her crowning achievement to date was starring with Matthew Broderick in the $100 million-grossing Disney film Inspector Gadget (1999). She is a stand out in such indie films as Perfect Prey (1998), Slingshot (2005), Killing Winston Jones, and Search Engines (2016). Recently seen in The Tribes of Palos Verdes (2017) opposite Jennifer Garner as well as The Disappointments Room (2016), and By the Rivers of Babylon. Her television movies include the lead in NBC's Thirst (1998), Showtime's Jitters (1997), ABC's Seduction in a Small Town (1997), and Cupid, Inc. (2012) for Hallmark. No matter how much the focus of her career seems to be acting, the underlying accompaniment throughout is her love of singing and performing. She tells the tale of sleeping in the orchestra pit during one of mother Connie Stevens' performances, and by 12 she was singing all over the world, including a USO tour with Bob Hope during the Persian Gulf War, which led to her performance for President and Mrs. George H. W. Bush at the Kennedy Center. Joely has written, directed and performed multiple one-woman shows .She was even featured at a young age on the Tony awards, the Academy Awards, and was Miss Golden Globe. In recent years Ms. Fisher has embarked on a directing career ranging in television shows, "Sunset Fever" a black comedy short as commentary on reality television and the Hollywood family, to the socially conscious PSA campaigns for IFAW the International Fund for Animal Welfare and for Welcome.US an organization started by Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg on Immigrant Heritage. Her first music video, "Sonte" by European artist Mirud has a million views and she is on a short list of women called upon to direct multi-camera television for the Disney Channel and this year will make her feature directorial debut with Oliver Storm and the Curse of Sinbad's Treasure, a family adventure film. Joely hopes to continue on this path and give the world delicious and compelling stories and lead the pack of women who make change in the world. In her book she also writes in gut wrenching detail how the sudden loss of her sister, Carrie Fisher, inspired her creativity and the recognition that she could indeed write. Joely has been married more than 2 decades to cinematographer and director Christopher Duddy. Together they have five children Cameron, Collin, daughter Skylar Grace, True Harlow 12 yrs old, and in 2008 they adopted Olivia "Luna "- Actress
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Lewis was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Marlene, a nursing administrator, and Jim Lewis, an air traffic supervisor. She has a sister, Denise. She most recently starred as Countess Lili in Darko Tresnik's production of 'Anastasia' on Broadway. She starred as Velma Kelly in the Broadway revival of 'Chicago' opposite Charlotte d'Amboise, and played Gloria Thorpe in the Broadway revival of 'Damn Yankees', directed by Jack O'Brien. She portrayed Mary Warren in the Roundabout's production of 'The Crucible', directed by Gerald Freedman. She appeared in 'Pal Joey' with Bebe Neuwirth and Patti LuPone for Encores at the NY City Center. Off-Broadway productions in which Lewis has appeared include: Nassim, Snoopy, and Angry Housewives.
She starred as Beth on the critically acclaimed NBC series NewsRadio (1995) for its full run of 4.5 seasons. She also appeared on Three Sisters (2001) and Betsy's Kindergarten Adventures (2006) for their full runs. She had recurring roles on How I Met Your Mother (2005) on Sonny with a Chance (2009). Guest roles include such series as Modern Family (2009), The Blacklist (2013), Angie Tribeca (2016), Doll & Em (2013), Melissa & Joey (2010), Bones (2005), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000),Murphy Brown (1988), Seinfeld (1989), Grey's Anatomy (2005), The Middle (2009), Pushing Tin (1999), Grace Under Fire (1993), Norm (1999), and Caroline in the City (1995). She has appeared in such films as The Ugly Truth (2009), Breakfast of Champions (1999), Mousehunt (1997), California Dreaming (2007), and Godzilla (1998). She has voiced hundreds of animation characters, most notably Deb/Flo in Pixar's blockbuster films, Finding Nemo (2003) and Finding Dory (2016), and such animated TV series as The Wild Thornberrys (1998), Rugrats Pre-School Daze (2005), Mission Hill (1999), and Rugrats (1991).- Actress
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Eden was born December 26, 1991. She was raised in Los Angeles, California, where she resides with her family. Eden began acting at the age of 8, participating in school plays and local theater. She has done numerous commercials, including voice-over work. Eden also appeared in the short film Stuck (2001), a few years before landing a permanent role on ABC's short-lived sitcom Sons & Daughters (2006), as Carrie -- the precocious teenage niece. Shortly after hearing that her contract would not be renewed for a second season, Eden was soon booked to appear in episodes of Showtime's Weeds (2005) for its second run.
She plays the role of Sue Heck, the middle child, in the TV series The Middle (2009).
She also gained her first voice acting role as Star Butterfly in the Disney XD series Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2012).- Actress
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Renée Taylor was born in the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA to Frieda (née Silverstein) and Charles Wexler. She worked as a comedian in the early 1960s at the New York City nightclub Bon Soir. Her opening act was a then unknown Barbra Streisand. She earned notice for her portrayal of Eva Braun in Mel Brooks's The Producers (1967), and continued to act in several film, television, and theater productions. However, despite an impressive, 60-year resume, she is better remembered as Sylvia Fine, the overbearing, classic Jewish mother of Fran Drescher's title character in The Nanny (1993).- Producer
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Firebrand Roseanne Barr has long been one of America's funniest and most controversial comedians.
She was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Helen (Davis), a cashier and bookkeeper, and Jerome Hershel "Jerry" Barr, a salesman. Her family was Jewish, and had moved to the U.S. from Russia, Lithuania, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. She dropped out of high school when she was seventeen, and, after a car accident, was admitted to a mental institution, claiming she was having nightmares and memory loss. She left the institute less than a year later. At seventeen, she gave birth to her first daughter, Brandi Brown, and gave her up for adoption. She began working at a restaurant as a dishwasher and waitress. Her hilarious comments to the customers she waited on led her to doing stand-up comedy at the restaurant. She married Bill Pentland and they had three children together, Jessica, Jennifer, and Jacob Pentland.
Roseanne worked doing stand-up comedy until her August 23, 1985 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) thrust her into the limelight. In 1987, HBO offered her a show of her own, On Location: The Roseanne Barr Show (1987). It was canceled after a short time. In 1989, Roseanne starred opposite Meryl Streep and Ed Begley Jr. in She-Devil (1989). Though her first picture wasn't as successful as she might have hoped, her sitcom, Roseanne (1988), debuted in 1988 and ran for 9 seasons on ABC, co-starring John Goodman. It dealt with real-life issues in a lower middle-class working family. During its first season on ABC, it leaped to #2 in the ratings. After the sitcom's first season, Roseanne gained notoriety when she gave a screeching, crotch-grabbing performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" at a baseball game.
When Roseanne divorced her first husband, Bill Pentland, after 16 years of marriage in 1990 and married Roseanne (1988) co-star Tom Arnold only four days later, her sitcom was already beginning its downward spiral. In 1991, she started to be billed as Roseanne Arnold. Around this time, she began to claim that she, as well as her siblings, had been physically and sexually abused as a child. Both her siblings and parents denied the charges, and lie detector tests used on Roseanne's parents came back negative. The court battles led to ten years of estrangement with her parents and siblings. Her marriage with Arnold lasted four years before she filed for divorce from him for physical abuse and domestic violence. It is still not known if the accusations were true. Although she insisted that he hit her, she admits that he never abused her three children from her previous marriage:
In 1996, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won, but she was not there to accept it. Luckily, Tom Arnold's exit from "Roseanne" happened towards the end of the sixth season, allowing the show to have an almost smooth ending. However, after the sixth season of Roseanne (1988), the plots started to run dry and ratings began to drop. During the season following her divorce, she insisted on being billed as simply "Roseanne." After Roseanne (1988) was canceled, she went on Broadway to play "The Wicked Witch of the West" in "The Wizard of Oz" to rave reviews.
On Valentine's Day 1995, Roseanne married former bodyguard Ben Thomas. With Thomas, she had her tubal ligation surgery reversed in order to become pregnant with her fifth child, Buck Thomas. In 1997, she slowly began being billed as "Roseanne Thomas", as in the last 11 episodes of Roseanne, as executive producer (she was still "Roseanne" in the cast credits). She guest-starred in The Nanny (1993) as Roseanne Thomas in late 1997. In 2002, she filed for divorce against Thomas for the second time (the first time, in 1998, she dropped the suit), accusing him of being disturbed and claiming that he threatened to run off with their son.
After the divorce, she began to study the Kabballah, a form of Jewish mysticism, and those around her said she became amazingly centered and stable. In the 2000s, she ended the feud with her parents and siblings and went back to being billed as Roseanne Barr. Today, Roseanne Barr Pentland Arnold Thomas spends her time with her family in her home in El Segundo, California.
Always outspoken, Roseanne began commenting on politics in earnest in the 2000s, and unsuccessfully ran for the Green Party's presidential nomination in 2012. She was subsequently chosen as the Peace and Freedom Party's candidate for President of the United States in '12, receiving 61,971 votes in the general election, and placing sixth. Her run is depicted in the documentary Roseanne for President! (2015).
Initially a left-leaning liberal, she became considerably more right-wing throughout the 2010s. Her show Roseanne returned for a tenth season in 2018, to blockbuster ratings, but was canceled after Roseanne sent a racially-offensive tweet that capped off a longer run of incendiary comments.- Actress
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Elizabeth Téa Pantaleoni was born on February 25, 1966 in New York City. Her father, Anthony Pantaleoni, was a corporate lawyer, and her mother, Emily Ann (Patterson), worked as a dietitian and nutritionist. She is of Italian (from a paternal great-great-grandfather), Polish, English, Irish, Scottish, and German descent. Téa attended but did not complete studies at Sarah Lawrence College. She started out in acting as Lisa DiNapoli in Santa Barbara (1984) in 1989 and followed up with small roles in Switch (1991) and A League of Their Own (1992).
In 1992 she starred in the short-lived sitcom Flying Blind (1992). In 1994 she appeared in Wyatt Earp (1994) opposite Kevin Costner and The Counterfeit Contessa (1994) opposite D.W. Moffett. In 1995 she starred opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the popular film Bad Boys (1995). She also had a guest appearance on Frasier (1993) that same year.
She appeared in many successful films after that, such as Flirting with Disaster (1996), Deep Impact (1998), The Family Man (2000), Spanglish (2004), You Kill Me (2007) and most recently, she starred in the film Ghost Town (2008) opposite Greg Kinnear.
Tea was married to television commercial producer Neil Joseph Tardio Jr. from 1991 to 1995. In 1997 she married actor David Duchovny, with whom she has two children: Daughter West Duchovny (born April 24, 1999) and Son Kyd Miller Duchovny (born June 15, 2002).- Actress
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Alicia Goranson was born on 22 June 1974 in Evanston, Illinois, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Boys Don't Cry (1999), The Conners (2018) and Roseanne (1988).- Actress
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Sarah Alexander was born on 3 January 1971 in London, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Stardust (2007), Green Wing (2004) and Coupling (2000). She is married to Peter Serafinowicz. They have two children.- Gina Bellman was born on 10 July 1966 in Auckland, New Zealand. She is an actress, known for Leverage (2008), Coupling (2000) and Jekyll (2007). She has been married to Zaab Sethna since September 2013. They have one child. She was previously married to Lucho Brieva.
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Betty White was born in Oak Park, Illinois, to Christine Tess (Cachikis), a homemaker, and Horace Logan White, a lighting company executive for the Crouse-Hinds Electric Company. She was of Danish, Greek, English, and Welsh descent.
Although she was best known as the devious Sue Ann Nivens on the classic sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) and the ditzy Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls (1985), Betty White had been in television for a long, long time before those two shows, having had her own series, Life with Elizabeth (1952) in 1952.
She was married three times, lastly for eighteen years, until widowed, to TV game-show host Allen Ludden.
She was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and she was known for her tireless efforts on behalf of animals.
Betty White died on 31 December 2021, at the age of 99.- Actress
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Cute as a button and with a petite, porcelain prettiness and vulnerability that endeared her to the American public, Sally Struthers nabbed a series role in the early 1970s and became a solid part of TV history as a member of a dysfunctional family quartet in the milestone sitcom, All in the Family (1971).
She was born Sally Ann Struthers, the daughter of a surgeon, on July 28, 1948, in Portland, Oregon. Raised there, she pursued an acting career following high school. She eventually moved to Los Angeles and trained at the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theatre Arts, earning a scholarship as its "most promising student." She performed briefly in regional stock plays until finding her break as both a commercial actress and dancer on TV.
A recurring dancer/performer on such variety shows as The Smothers Brothers Summer Show (1970) and The Tim Conway Comedy Hour (1970), the pert-nosed, blue-eyed, curly blonde cutie showed starlet promise in films, offering ditsy support in the Jack Nicholson starrer, Five Easy Pieces (1970), and the chase film, The Getaway (1972), top-lining Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw.
And, then came the iconic series All in the Family (1971). Also starring Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton as conservative parents Archie and Edith, and Rob Reiner as liberal husband Mike, Struthers went on to win two supporting Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe nominations as kewpie-doll Gloria Bunker Strivic, Archie Bunker's "little goil."
Seen occasionally guesting elsewhere on such popular TV programs as "Love, American Style," "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," "Ironside," "Laugh-In," "Sonny and Cher" and as the voice of teenage Pebbles Flintstone on the spin-off cartoon series The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show (1971), Sally, along with Rob, finally left the popular family show after seven seasons, both eager to grow away from their strong TV images. While Reiner stepped away from the camera and became a noted director, Sally continued to act. She made her Broadway debut in "Wally's Cafe" in 1981 and returned, four years later, with a gender-bending version of "The Odd Couple" as neat-freak "Florence" opposite Rita Moreno's slovenly "Olive". In addition, she found steady work in both topical and light-hearted 70's TV movies with Aloha Means Goodbye (1974), Hey, I'm Alive (1975), The Great Houdini (1976), My Husband Is Missing (1978), ...and Your Name Is Jonah (1979), A Gun in the House (1981), to name a few.
When offers began to dry up for Sally, she returned to the TV series fold in the early 1980s spinning off her "Gloria" character, sans Rob Reiner, with the self-titled sitcom, Gloria (1982). Without Reiner (the plot had the couple split and her focusing on raising son Joey), the ensemble formula that worked so well for her earlier was missing here and the show died in its freshman year. To compensate, however, Sally's baby-doll voice worked extremely well for her in cartoons. She remained active off-camera, providing little girl voices for Saturday morning entertainment, notably her teenage "Pebbles Flintstone" character.
In addition to Yo Yogi! (1991) and Tiny Toon Adventures (1990), other TVanimated voice-over work included TaleSpin (1990) as "Rebecca 'Becky' Cunningham" and, notably, puppeteer Jim Henson's creative prehistoric sitcom, Dinosaurs (1991), playing dino-daughter "Charlene Sinclair."
As she grew older, Sally continued delighting fans with broader shtick in plus-sized parts. She showed that she had lost none of the fun for which she was known, by providing hearty comedy relief when she joined the prime-time series Nine to Five (1982) and as a guest in "Charles in Charge," "Sister Kate" and "Murder, She Wrote."
The musical stage was another popular venue. Over the years, she has patented the by-the-book principal "Miss Lynch", with her many "Grease" tours, and as the scheming orphanage operator "Miss Hannigan" in a number of road productions of "Annie." She went on to cop a 2002 Los Angeles "Ovation" award for her delightfully over-the-top "Agnes Gooch" in "Mame", starring Carol Lawrence and in 2012, she performed in both "Always...Patsy Cline" as Louise Segar, and "9 to 5: The Musical" as nosy Roz Klein. In 2014, Struthers toured in the 50th anniversary production in the title role of "Hello, Dolly!"
Into the millennium, Sally has guested on such series as "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" and "The Division," had recurring roles on Still Standing (2002) and Gilmore Girls (2000), and was seen in featured or cameo roles in such independent films as the drama A Month of Sundays (2001), the mystery thriller Reeseville (2003), the Mario Van Peebles biopic Baadasssss! (2003), the comedy Monster Heroes (2010), and the musical comedies Waiting in the Wings: The Musical (2014), Hollywood Musical! (2015), Still Waiting in the Wings (2018) and Christmas Harmony (2018).
Divorced, Sally is the mother of one daughter who has made a career for herself as a clinical psychologist.
For years, Sally was a prime spokesperson for the Christian Children's Fund on TV, fervently (and often tearfully) appealing for viewer's monetary assistance in finding an end to starvation in under-developed countries.- Actress
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Jean Stapleton was born Jeanne Murray in Manhattan, New York City, to Marie A. (Stapleton), an opera singer, and Joseph Edward Murray, a billboard advertising salesman. Her paternal grandparents were Irish. She was a cousin of actress Betty Jane Watson. Other relatives in show business were her uncle, Joseph E. Deming, a vaudevillian; and her brother Jack Stapleton, a stage actor. She graduated from Wadleigh High School, NYC, in 1939. She worked as a secretary before becoming an actress. Stapleton made her stage debut at the Greenwood Playhouse, Peaks Island, Maine, in the summer of 1941, and her New York stage debut in "The Corn Is Green" (1948). She appeared on Broadway in the musicals "Damn Yankees" (1955) and "Bells Are Ringing" (1956), and later repeated her roles in the movie versions (Damn Yankees (1958) and Bells Are Ringing (1960)). Her other Broadway roles included the original companies of "Rhinoceros" (1961) and "Funny Girl" (1964). Stapleton also played Abby Brewster in the 1986-87 revival of "Arsenic and Old Lace".- Actress
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Kaley Christine Cuoco was born in Camarillo, California, to Layne Ann (Wingate) and Gary Carmine Cuoco, a realtor. She is of Italian (father) and German and English (mother) descent. A model and commercial actress from the age of 6, Cuoco's first major role was in the TV movie Quicksand: No Escape (1992) with Donald Sutherland and Tim Matheson. Her other television credits include guest-starring on the series Ellen (1994) (where she played "little Ellen" to the Ellen DeGeneres character), Northern Exposure (1990), Don't Forget Your Toothbrush (1995) and My So-Called Life (1994). In addition, she played a leading role in the miniseries, Mr. Murder (1998). Cuoco has appeared in the feature films Lucky 13 (2005), Picture Perfect (1997) and Virtuosity (1995).
On stage, she has performed in Los Angeles-area productions of "Annie" and "Fiddler on the Roof". When she is not acting, Cuoco is an avid tennis player, who in earlier years had consistently been ranked well in Southern California Tennis Association standings as a member of a regional amateur division team. In addition, she enjoys spending time with friends, going to the mall, and hip-hop dancing.
Cuoco was home-schooled, and lived in Ventura County, California with her family. She was previously married to both tennis player Ryan Sweeting and Karl Cook. In early 2022 Cuoco began dating actor Tom Pelphrey. The two made their first public appearance as a couple at a Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in early May 2022.
Cuoco announced on Instagram in October 2022 the couple were expecting their first child together. She later on gave birth to their daughter, named Matilda Carmine Richie Pelphrey, on 30 March 2023.the Big Bang Theory,
8 Simple Rules- Actress
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Born in Burbank, California, USA on October 18, 1960, Erin Moran was the youngest daughter of Sharon and Edward Moran, who have five other children. She attended Walter Reed Junior High School for one year and North Hollywood High School for another year. Her first professional acting job was in a TV commercial. She played Richie Cunningham's baby sister, Joanie Cunningham, on ABC's Happy Days (1974); however, this was not Erin's first major TV series. She was a regular on the series, Daktari (1966). She has also made guest appearances on TV series such as The Waltons (1972), Family Affair (1966), My Three Sons (1960), The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969), Gunsmoke (1955), The Smith Family (1971), and The F.B.I. (1965).
Erin Moran has worked on feature films with Debbie Reynolds in How Sweet It Is! (1968), with Godfrey Cambridge in Watermelon Man (1970), and with Wayne Newton in 80 Steps to Jonah (1969).
Like many other child actors, Erin had difficulty finding roles as an adult. Following the cancellation of Happy Days (1974) in 1984, she made occasional guest appearances on scripted and reality shows. She eventually moved away from Hollywood after her home was foreclosed on.
On April 22, 2017, she died in Corydon, Indiana, where she had been living with her husband of 23 years; she was 56 years old.- Actress
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Jami Gertz was born on 28 October 1965 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Twister (1996), The Lost Boys (1987) and Still Standing (2002). She has been married to Antony Ressler since 16 June 1989. They have three children.- Actress
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Dreama Walker was born in Tampa, Florida. She graduated from Henry B. Plant High School in 2004, and in 2006 she made her screen debut. In 2012 she starred as "June," a small-town girl with great ambition, on the ABC comedy series Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (2012), opposite Krysten Ritter and James Van Der Beek. Previously, she appeared on the CBS drama, The Good Wife (2009) (2009-2011) and the CW's Gossip Girl (2007) (2008-2009). On the big screen, Walker appeared in the films Goodbye Baby (2007), Sex and the City (2008), Lifelines (2008), Gran Torino (2008), The Invention of Lying (2009), Chlorine (2013), and many more. She also guest-starred on Law & Order (1990), Ugly Betty (2006), Royal Pains (2009), and Mercy (2009). She resides in Los Angeles.- Actress
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Krysten Ritter stars as Jessica Jones in the Peabody, Hugo, and Emmy Award-winning Netflix original series, Marvel's Jessica Jones (2015). Her performance, which earned her a prestigious Critics Choice nomination, a Saturn nomination, a Webby Award and a Glamour Best International TV Actress Award, has received rave reviews with the show being celebrated by critics and audiences alike for its groundbreaking depiction of a reluctant anti-super-heroine with an alcohol problem and a wicked case of PTSD who will not let a sexual assault from her past define her. She will also play Jessica Jones in The Defenders (2017) and the second season of Marvel's "Jessica Jones."
Additional acting roles include her critically acclaimed turn as Jane Margolis on AMC's hit series, Breaking Bad (2008), the titular character in the cult favorite Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 (2012), Big Eyes (2014) directed by Tim Burton, indie darling Listen Up Philip (2014), Life Happens (2011) which she co-wrote and co-produced, as well as roles in Veronica Mars (2014), The Blacklist (2013), Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), and She's Out of My League (2010).
Growing up in a small-town farm in rural Pennsylvania, Ritter started her career in front of the camera as a model at 15-years-old. Her body of work has subsequently spanned film, television, theatre, writing, producing, music, and fashion design.
In 2012, Ritter launched her production company Silent Machine where she juggles many projects in various stages of development, always with the objective of highlighting complex female protagonists.
Ritter and her dog Mikey split their time between New York and Los Angeles.- Actress
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Laurie Metcalf was born June 16, 1955 in Carbondale, Illinois, the oldest of three children of Libby (Mars), a librarian, and James Metcalf, a budget director. She was raised in Edwardsville, Illinois. Laurie attended Illinois State University, where she obtained her bachelor of arts in theater in 1977. In her class were the immeasurable talents of John Malkovich, Glenne Headly, and Joan Allen. Laurie began acting at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Her acting career in film and television began with a minor and uncredited role in Robert Altman's A Wedding (1978). In 1988, Laurie found her most memorable and successful role to date, Jacqueline "Jackie" Harris in the television series Roseanne (1988). For her performance in the series, she was nominated for two Golden Globes and won three Primetime Emmy awards.- Actress
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Born in Waco, Texas, Peri Gilpin grew up in Dallas, where her family encouraged her acting abilities. After studying at the Dallas Theater Center, she pursued acting at the University of Texas at Austin and then at London's British-American Academy. She appeared in guest roles on such popular situation comedies as Designing Women (1986), Cheers (1982) and Wings (1990), where she worked with the late producer, Roz Doyle, the namesake of her character on Frasier (1993).Frasier- Actress
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An accomplished actor, singer and songwriter, Adrienne Frantz made a name for herself on television playing the character of Amber Moore on two CBS daytime dramas throughout the 1990s and 2000s. An outgoing only child, by age three Adrienne Danielle Frantz was holding private dance recitals in her hometown of Mount Clemens, Michigan. In spite of a busy schedule of dance, voice and theater classes, and a move to New Jersey . Frantz managed to graduate from Shawnee high school in Medford, N.J., at age eighteen and promptly packed her bags and headed off to New York City in search of her dreams - and never looked back. While enrolled in her freshman year at Marymount College in New York City, Frantz won the role of Tiffany Thorne on Aaron Spelling's new NBC soap-opera Sunset Beach (1997) and moved to Los Angeles. Within a few months she jumped ship from a struggling to join one of the most-watched shows around the globe: producer/writer Bradley Bell hired her for the plum part of the scheming, yet vulnerable, Amber Moore on The Bold and the Beautiful (1987). Debuting as a supporting character alongside villainess Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) in July 1997 Amber was soon linked to the mighty Forrester fashion dynasty and kicked off the next generation teen set in 1998. Eventually, family members of Amber were introduced and the love story of Amber and Rick Forrester (played by Jacob Young and later Justin Torkildsen) was a tent pole of the show in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2003, for a short while Frantz was pulling double duty when the part of Amber's twin sister April was created. Frantz was awarded with an Emmy as 'Outstanding Younger Actress' in 2001 (with additional nominations in 2000 and 2003). In 2005 she opted on leaving the show, but the character of Amber didn't disappear for too long. In late 2006 Amber Moore returned - but this time around on The Young and the Restless (1973) where head-writer Lynn Marie Latham was a self-proclaimed fan of the actress. Akin to her debut on The Bold And The Beautiful ten years earlier, Amber was again quickly linked to the important players in Genoa City. She stayed with the show until May 2010 before returning to B&B some weeks later. Frantz second run in fictional Los Angeles started off strong but then fizzled. So in 2012, Frantz opted on leaving The Bold And The Beautiful to start a new chapter in her life: attending classes to become a stand-up-comedian. Since the age of 16, Frantz has been belting out her own self-written tunes. A music executive noticed her talents at a charity event and quickly enlisted her demo tape to A&R executives at several major record labels. Her efforts resulted in "Best Female Vocalist" honors for 1997 at the Los Angeles International Music Awards. Several B&B episodes have showcased Frantz's original songs, and she was tapped to co-write and perform the title song on the film Jimmy Zip (1996). In addition to her soap roles, Frantz also did voice-work on The Wild Thornberrys (1998) and starred in Speedway Junky (1999) - Gus Van Sant's dark tale of runaway kids living on the streets of Las Vegas - with Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Tiffani Thiessen. For many years, Frantz has been staunch supporter of various animal and health welfare organizations. In her free time, Frantz enjoys writing poetry, composing music, attending concerts, skiing, playing softball, and relaxing at home with her pets. Dating Goo Goo Dolls frontman Johnny Rzeznik in the early 2000s, breaking it off in 2005, Frantz has been married to actor Scott Bailey since 2011 and the couple welcomed their first child in December 2015.- Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (born 17 April 1987) is a Canadian actress, disc jockey, singer and television host. She is best known for starring as Olivia Castle in the horror film Final Destination 5 (2011) and as Steffy Forrester in CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful (2008-present), the latter earning her four Daytime Emmy Award nominations, winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2019.
Jacqueline MacInnes Wood was born in Windsor, Ontario, the daughter of (Sandie) Alexandra MacInnes and James C. Wood. She is of indigenous (Cree), Scottish, French and Brazilian ancestry. Her half sister is Dani Probert, who was the wife of the late NHL player, Bob Probert. Her great uncle was Scottish highland singer Alasdair Gillies. Wood took acting classes at Ryerson University, Centre for the Arts and the Armstrong Acting Studio.
Wood made a name for herself playing the part of the "hair girl" on a commercial for First Choice Haircutters. At the age of 18, she moved to Toronto to pursue a career in acting. In May 2008, she began playing the contract role of Steffy Forrester on the American CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Since Wood stepped into the role, Steffy has been noted as being a "bitch-nasty" vixen who is strong willed. Of playing her, Wood said in 2011, "I love playing her and developing her character. She is so different from me. It's rather cathartic, and it allows my alter ego to come out on The Bold and The Beautiful set five days a week."
In 2012, Wood received her first nomination for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Steffy at the 39th Daytime Emmy Awards. Of learning about her Emmy nomination, she said, "I was just about to shoot a scene in the Adriatic sea in Italy. The water was only 54 degrees! [Executive Producer/Head Writer] Brad Bell came up to me and said, "How does it feel to be Emmy nominated?" For that year, Wood submitted the scenes in which Steffy is informed of the end of her affair with Bill. In 2013, Wood garnered her second consecutive nomination in that category at the 40th Daytime Emmy Awards, in which she submitted the scenes where Steffy surprises Liam (Scott Clifton) by presenting him with signed annulment papers. In May 2013, news broke that Wood had opted not to renew her contract with the show in order to take another break. A representative for the show stated: "[Wood] is taking short a break, as she has done in the past, from B&B. She remains as the character of 'Steffy Forrester' and is continuing to tape, with episodes airing through July 2013 and then beyond". It was later announced that Wood has decided to remain with the series on a recurring basis. In April 2015, it was announced that Wood would reprise her role on B&B on a contract basis, which she has remained on ever since.
In 2011, she starred in her first feature film, Final Destination 5. In September 2010, Wood's casting was announced and it was revealed that filming was underway in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This film is the fifth in the Final Destination horror film franchise. Wood portrayed Olivia Castle. The character was described as "a smart mouthed beauty who wears glasses" and is "caught in a spine chilling, stomach churning situation that will make viewers squirm in their seats", which was a risky eye procedure which Wood was terrified to do. Final Destination 5 was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $157 million at the American Box Office, and becoming the highest-rated film from the franchise at the website Rotten Tomatoes, where it has been awarded a "Fresh" rating, consisting of 61% positive reviews from film critics. Her performance also received very positive reviews. Wood had a guest role on The CW action-adventure series Arrow, which began airing in October 2012. She played Sara Lance (which she is later replaced by Caity Lotz). Arrow opened to positive reviews from critics and ratings of over 4.1 million.
In 2013, Wood completed filming a Lifetime television film Her Husband's Betrayal, a suspense thriller in which she stars opposite Shawn Roberts. The film premiered on 2 August 2013. In July 2014, Wood filmed an appearance on the comedy series Anger Management, starring opposite Charlie Sheen. The episode aired on 1 September 2014. - Actress
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Joyce Anne DeWitt was born the second oldest of four to parents Paul and Norma DeWitt on April 23, 1949 in Wheeling, West Virginia but grew up in Indiana. Joyce began taking acting lessons when she was in high school. Although her father was hardly thrilled at his daughter's ambition, she persuaded him to let her major in theater in college. DeWitt soon moved to UCLA where she received her master's degree. After college, she worked as a legal secretary while at the same time going from audition to audition. Months passed before ABC offered her a choice of two comedy pilots but gave her only 24 hours to decide on which. After reading both scripts in a hurry, she chose the one about one guy living with two girls (Three's Company (1976)). She chose well - the other show never sold. She had been in numerous amounts of plays before but became familiar to everyone as the sensible, down-to-earth, football jersey wearing, brunette roommate Janet Wood.
DeWitt became famous and while many celebrities would automatically welcome in the huge amounts of attention, she usually kept to herself and didn't care too much for publicity.- Actress
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Suzanne Somers was the third of four children born to Frank and Marion Mahoney. Her father worked loading beer onto boxcars, and her mother was a medical secretary. She grew up living in constant fear of being hurt or even killed at the hands of her verbally and physically abusive, alcoholic father. She was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was young, and was a poor student. She excelled, however, in the arts and was active in her school's theater program. She won a music scholarship to college, but became pregnant after six months. She married the baby's father, Bruce Somers, and her only child, Bruce Somers, was born in November 1965. She was unhappy in her marriage and began an affair with her former drama teacher. Her husband found out about it and the marriage ended after just two years, in 1967. A single mom, she turned to modeling in San Francisco to support herself and her son. She also distanced herself from her family because her older brother and sister by then were also alcoholics.
In 1968, she won a job as a prize model on a game show hosted by her future husband, Alan Hamel, who was married at the time. The two began dating, and she became pregnant while Hamel was still married. They came to the conclusion that Suzanne should have an abortion, from which she suffered severe complications for several days.
In 1971, her son Bruce was severely injured when he was hit by a car, and the therapist counseling him only charged the financially struggling Somers $1 per week. She underwent therapy herself to overcome the problems of her dysfunctional childhood. In the early 1970s, she landed minor roles in film and TV, and finally won a role on the series Three's Company (1976). She married Hamel in 1977. She was fired from the series after she asked for a raise at the beginning of the fifth season.
She then headed to Las Vegas, where she performed extensively in the mid-1980s. In 1986, she began writing her autobiography, "Keeping Secrets", which was later made into a TV movie. In 1991, she landed the role of "Carol Foster", opposite Patrick Duffy, on the TV series Step by Step (1991). After the end of that show, she began co-hosting Candid Camera (1992).