Jennifer Rhodes
Encyclopedia
Jennifer Rhodes is an American actress whose career spans four decades.
, a small town on the Ohio River
.She also has one sister, Kim Rhodes. She became interested in theater while attending Southern Illinois University
and moved to New York City
soon after graduating. She studied acting
and began getting cast for theatre roles. After marrying Jordan Rhodes she eventually moved to Los Angeles
where she stopped acting for a while because she felt, as a stage actress, she didn't know very much about acting for television or movie roles. She eventually auditioned successfully for commercials roles, later moving on to television and film.
Her first credited roll was in the 60's television series The High Chaparral
as the character Tanea. In 1980, she played a press secretary on a made-for-TV movie about Jackie Kennedy
. In 1989 she appeared in the New World Pictures
film Heathers
as Winona Ryder
's mother. Her television resume proved to be quite extensive as she appeared on the following select series: Fame
, Matlock
, Little House on the Prairie
, L.A. Law
, Quantum Leap, Knots Landing
, Designing Women
, Full House
, Red Shoe Diaries
, Party of Five
, ER
, Wings, Murphy Brown
, 3rd Rock from the Sun
, Family Matters
, Friends
, Popular
, The Agency and Boston Public
- just to name a few.
Although she never had children of her own, Jennifer is frequently recognized as "Grams" from The WB series, Charmed
, where she portrayed the spirit of the Charmed Ones' grandmother. There she played the tough-as-nails matriarch of the Halliwell clan. Although not a regular, she is the only actress to have guest-starred in all eight seasons of the series. Her recurring role as “Grams” is her second regular series though, her first being Nightingales
as the character Effie Gardner.
Life and career
Jennifer Rhodes grew up in Rosiclare, IllinoisRosiclare, Illinois
Rosiclare is a city in Hardin County, Illinois, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,213 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Rosiclare is located at ....
, a small town on the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
.She also has one sister, Kim Rhodes. She became interested in theater while attending Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a state university system based in Carbondale, Illinois, in the Southern Illinois region of the state, with multiple campuses...
and moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
soon after graduating. She studied acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
and began getting cast for theatre roles. After marrying Jordan Rhodes she eventually moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
where she stopped acting for a while because she felt, as a stage actress, she didn't know very much about acting for television or movie roles. She eventually auditioned successfully for commercials roles, later moving on to television and film.
Her first credited roll was in the 60's television series The High Chaparral
The High Chaparral
The High Chaparral is a Western-themed television series starring Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell which aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971. The show was created by David Dortort, who had previously created the hit Bonanza for the network...
as the character Tanea. In 1980, she played a press secretary on a made-for-TV movie about Jackie Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
. In 1989 she appeared in the New World Pictures
New World Communications
New World Pictures was an independent motion picture and television production company, and later television station owner in the United States from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s...
film Heathers
Heathers
Heathers is a 1989 black comedy film starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater and Shannen Doherty. The film portrays four girls in a trend-setting clique at a fictional Ohio high school...
as Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder is an American actress. She made her film debut in the 1986 film Lucas. Ryder's first significant role came in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice as a goth teenager, which won her critical and commercial recognition...
's mother. Her television resume proved to be quite extensive as she appeared on the following select series: Fame
Fame (1982 TV series)
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...
, Matlock
Matlock (TV series)
Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The show's format was similar...
, Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie (TV series)
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
, L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
, Quantum Leap, Knots Landing
Knots Landing
Knots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that aired from December 27, 1979 to May 13, 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle...
, Designing Women
Designing Women
Designing Women is an American television sitcom that centered on the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993. The show was created by head writer...
, Full House
Full House
Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
, Red Shoe Diaries
Red Shoe Diaries
Red Shoe Diaries is an erotic drama series that aired on the American cable television network Showtime from 1992 to 1997 and distributed by Playboy Entertainment overseas...
, Party of Five
Party of Five
Party of Five is an American teen drama television series that aired on Fox for six seasons, from September 12, 1994, until May 3, 2000.Critically acclaimed, the show suffered from low ratings and after its first season was slated for cancellation...
, ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, Wings, Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
, 3rd Rock from the Sun
3rd Rock from the Sun
3rd Rock from the Sun is an American sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001 on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, which they consider to be a very insignificant planet...
, Family Matters
Family Matters (TV series)
Family Matters is an American sitcom about a middle-class African-American family living in Chicago, Illinois, which ran on national television for nine full seasons. The series was a spin-off of Perfect Strangers, but revolves around the Winslow family...
, Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, Popular
Popular (TV series)
Popular is an American teenage comedy-drama on The WB Television Network in the United States, created by Ryan Murphy and Gina Matthews, starring Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope as two teenage girls that reside on polar opposite sides of the popularity spectrum at their high school, but are forced to...
, The Agency and Boston Public
Boston Public
Boston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place...
- just to name a few.
Although she never had children of her own, Jennifer is frequently recognized as "Grams" from The WB series, Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
, where she portrayed the spirit of the Charmed Ones' grandmother. There she played the tough-as-nails matriarch of the Halliwell clan. Although not a regular, she is the only actress to have guest-starred in all eight seasons of the series. Her recurring role as “Grams” is her second regular series though, her first being Nightingales
Nightingales
Nightingales is a British situation comedy set around the antics of three security guards working the night shift. It was produced by Alomo Productions for Channel 4 in 1990.-Outline:...
as the character Effie Gardner.