Julia Duffy
Encyclopedia
Julia Duffy is an American
actress from Minneapolis, Minnesota
, specializing in character
roles, best known as the spoiled rich girl and Dick Loudon's (played by Bob Newhart
) inn maid, Stephanie Vanderkellen, on the 1980s sitcom, Newhart
.
s such as One Life to Live
, The Doctors and Love of Life
. Duffy also appeared in movies such as Night Warning
(1981) and Cutter's Way
(1981). She made an appearance on the television sitcom Cheers
in 1982.
In 1983, she played Princess Ariel Baaldorf in the medieval spoof Wizards and Warriors
, which had a short run on the CBS
television network.
Duffy joined the cast of the television series Newhart
in its second season (she made an appearance in the 14th episode of the 1st season), playing the part of the self-infatuated preppy maid Stephanie Vanderkellen. It is probably her most popular role and one she played for seven seasons. She earned Emmy Award
nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the role every year from 1984 through 1990. She also received a Golden Globe nomination and won three Viewers For Quality Television
Awards for her work. Julia was actually pregnant during several episodes of Newhart. To hide it, she wore baggy clothes and stood behind furniture.
After the end of Newhart, Duffy briefly starred in the sitcom Baby Talk alongside George Clooney
. (She worked again with Clooney some years later in the Coen Brothers' comedy Intolerable Cruelty). She then joined Designing Women
, essentially replacing Delta Burke
who was let go after quarrels with producers. Duffy played the newly-created role of Allison Sugarbaker. Duffy's season was the show's highest-rated
, but producers chose not to have her return for what would be its final year.
From 1993-95, Duffy played Barb Ballantine on the short-lived comedy series The Mommies
.
Duffy played Lindsay Mercer, one of the failed buyers of Winfred-Lauder and the ex-wife of "Lord Mercer" on The Drew Carey Show
.
Duffy had a recurring role on the Nickelodeon
series Drake & Josh
as Linda Hayfer, a high school English teacher who despises Drake.
Julia Duffy had a role on the WB series Reba
as Cheyenne's high school principal, Mrs. Hodge.
Duffy also starred in the television program The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
as the rich mother of Jason, a boy who goes on a date with Maddie Fitzpatrick (Ashley Tisdale
).
Duffy continues to do television guest spots and movies; she played Joan's mother in a January 2007 episode of Campus Ladies
.
Duffy recently made a brief appearance in the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson VP as the owner of a stage that LuLu wanted to rent, she also had an obsession with Elvis Presley
saying that his spirit lived on in that building, but it was really rats
Duffy is a frequent guest star in the staged radio program The Thrilling Adventure Hour.
co-star Jerry Lacy since 1984 and has 2 children, Her daughter, Kerry Kathleen and her son, Danny. They live in Los Angeles.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress from Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, specializing in character
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
roles, best known as the spoiled rich girl and Dick Loudon's (played by Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
) inn maid, Stephanie Vanderkellen, on the 1980s sitcom, Newhart
Newhart
Newhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990...
.
Career
Duffy's early caeer included parts in soap operaSoap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s such as One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
, The Doctors and Love of Life
Love of Life
Love of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
. Duffy also appeared in movies such as Night Warning
Night Warning
Night Warning is a 1982 exploitation horror film directed by William Asher; it was nominated for a Saturn Award for the Best Horror Movie of 1982 by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror...
(1981) and Cutter's Way
Cutter's Way
Cutter's Way is a 1981 thriller directed by Ivan Passer. The film stars Jeff Bridges, John Heard, and Lisa Eichhorn. The screenplay was by Jeffrey Alan Fiskin, based on the novel Cutter and Bone by Newton Thornburg....
(1981). She made an appearance on the television sitcom Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
in 1982.
In 1983, she played Princess Ariel Baaldorf in the medieval spoof Wizards and Warriors
Wizards and Warriors (TV series)
Wizards and Warriors was a CBS television series from 1983, starring Jeff Conaway, Julia Duffy, Walter Olkewicz, Duncan Regehr, and Clive Revill. Only eight one hour episodes were made of this offbeat fantasy-comedy. The series was created by Don Reo for Warner Bros. Television and most of the...
, which had a short run on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television network.
Duffy joined the cast of the television series Newhart
Newhart
Newhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990...
in its second season (she made an appearance in the 14th episode of the 1st season), playing the part of the self-infatuated preppy maid Stephanie Vanderkellen. It is probably her most popular role and one she played for seven seasons. She earned Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the role every year from 1984 through 1990. She also received a Golden Globe nomination and won three Viewers For Quality Television
Viewers For Quality Television
Viewers for Quality Television was an American nonprofit organization founded in 1984 to advocate network television series that members of the organization voted to be of the "highest quality." The group's goal was to rescue "...critically acclaimed programs from cancellation despite their...
Awards for her work. Julia was actually pregnant during several episodes of Newhart. To hide it, she wore baggy clothes and stood behind furniture.
After the end of Newhart, Duffy briefly starred in the sitcom Baby Talk alongside George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
. (She worked again with Clooney some years later in the Coen Brothers' comedy Intolerable Cruelty). She then joined 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...
, essentially replacing Delta Burke
Delta Burke
Delta Ramona Leah Burke is an American television and film actress. Her television work includes a leading role as Suzanne Sugarbaker in the CBS sitcom Designing Women...
who was let go after quarrels with producers. Duffy played the newly-created role of Allison Sugarbaker. Duffy's season was the show's highest-rated
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, but producers chose not to have her return for what would be its final year.
From 1993-95, Duffy played Barb Ballantine on the short-lived comedy series The Mommies
The Mommies
The Mommies is the name of an American female comedy duo whose real-life tales of suburban life, domestication, family, marriage and other odds and ends, would serve as their comedic trademark....
.
Duffy played Lindsay Mercer, one of the failed buyers of Winfred-Lauder and the ex-wife of "Lord Mercer" on The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. The show was set in Cleveland, Ohio, and revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized version of the actor....
.
Duffy had a recurring role on the Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
series Drake & Josh
Drake & Josh
Drake & Josh is an American sitcom that premiered on the Nickelodeon television network on January 11, 2004, which follows the lives of two stepbrothers. It stars Drake Bell and Josh Peck as stepbrothers Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, respectively. Both actors had played roles in The Amanda Show,...
as Linda Hayfer, a high school English teacher who despises Drake.
Julia Duffy had a role on the WB series Reba
Reba (TV series)
Reba is an American sitcom starring Reba McEntire, which ran from 2001 to 2007. For the show's first five seasons, it ran on The WB, with the show transitioning to The CW in its last year.-Synopsis:...
as Cheyenne's high school principal, Mrs. Hodge.
Duffy also starred in the television program The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody is an American sitcom created by Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan. The series premiered on Disney Channel on March 18, 2005 with 4 million viewers, making it the most successful premiere for Disney Channel in 2005. It was one of their first five shows available on the...
as the rich mother of Jason, a boy who goes on a date with Maddie Fitzpatrick (Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Tisdale
Ashley Michelle Tisdale is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence portraying the candy-counter girl Maddie Fitzpatrick in Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and the female antagonist Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical film series...
).
Duffy continues to do television guest spots and movies; she played Joan's mother in a January 2007 episode of Campus Ladies
Campus Ladies
Campus Ladies is an American sitcom that premiered on Oxygen on January 8, 2006. It stars Christen Sussin and Carrie Aizley as two 40-something women who decide to go enroll at the fictional University of the Midwest...
.
Duffy recently made a brief appearance in the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson VP as the owner of a stage that LuLu wanted to rent, she also had an obsession with Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
saying that his spirit lived on in that building, but it was really rats
Duffy is a frequent guest star in the staged radio program The Thrilling Adventure Hour.
Personal life
Duffy graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in 1972. She has been married to Love of LifeLove of Life
Love of Life is an American soap opera which aired on CBS Daytime from September 24, 1951 to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation Search for Tomorrow had premiered three weeks before Love of Life, and who would go on to create The Secret Storm two and a half years...
co-star Jerry Lacy since 1984 and has 2 children, Her daughter, Kerry Kathleen and her son, Danny. They live in Los Angeles.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Battle Beyond the Stars Battle Beyond the Stars Battle Beyond the Stars is a Roger Corman-produced science fiction film, directed by Jimmy T. Murakami and released in 1980. The film, intended as a "Magnificent Seven in outer space," is a pastiche of The Magnificent Seven, the Western remake of Akira Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai... |
Mol | |
| 1982 | Cheers Cheers Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles... |
Rebecca Prout | Season 1, Episode 6, 1982 |
| 1982 | Voyagers! Voyagers! Voyagers! is an American science fiction time travel-based television series that aired on NBC during the 1982–1983 season. The series stars Jon-Erik Hexum and Meeno Peluce.-Plot:... |
Nellie Bly | Episode "Jack's Back" |
| 1982 | Newhart Newhart Newhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990... |
Stephanie Vanderkellen | TV series |
| 1982 | Mary Hale | TV mini-series | |
| 1991 | 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... |
Allison Sugarbaker | TV series |
| 1993 | Barb Ballantine | TV series | |
| 1999 | Sabrina The Teenage Witch | Mr. Kraft's Ex-Wife Lucy | TV series |
| 2001 | Reba Reba (TV series) Reba is an American sitcom starring Reba McEntire, which ran from 2001 to 2007. For the show's first five seasons, it ran on The WB, with the show transitioning to The CW in its last year.-Synopsis:... |
Mrs. Hodge | TV series |
| 2004 | Drake & Josh Drake & Josh Drake & Josh is an American sitcom that premiered on the Nickelodeon television network on January 11, 2004, which follows the lives of two stepbrothers. It stars Drake Bell and Josh Peck as stepbrothers Drake Parker and Josh Nichols, respectively. Both actors had played roles in The Amanda Show,... |
Mrs. Hayfer | TV series |
| 2005 | Martha Harrington | Episode: "Maddie Checks In" | |
| 2006 | 7th Heaven 7th Heaven 7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007... |
Mrs. Porter | Episode: "Got MLK?" |
| 2008 | Wizards of Waverly Place Wizards of Waverly Place Wizards of Waverly Place is a Disney Channel Original Series that premiered on October 12, 2007. It won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009... |
Mrs. Angela | Episode: "Credit Check" |
| 2008 | Together Again for the First Time Together Again For The First Time Together Again for the First Time is the fourth full-length album by the punk rock band Pulley.-Track listing:# "In Search" – 2:11# "Hooray For Me" – 2:18# "History Repeats Itself" – 2:28# "Fuel" – 2:12# "Empty" – 2:42... |
Audrey Wolders Frobisher | Television film |
| 2008 | 7 Things to Do Before I'm 30 | Vanessa Madisen | Television film |