Tina Caspary
Encyclopedia
Tina Caspary is an American
actress, dancer and choreographer. She gained moderate attention in the late 1980s with Can't Buy Me Love
.
and has worked in every facet of the entertainment industry. She developed a vivid interest in dancing at a very young age, influenced by her mother, Brenda. She is the older sister of choreographer/dancer Dee Caspary and is now married to Ryan Cyphert.
. In Combat Academy
(also known as Combat High), Caspary starred alongside George Clooney
. She also appeared on the TV series Silver Spoons
in 1985.
In December 1986, the then 15-year-old Caspary was cast as Kelly Bundy on the Fox
sitcom Married... with Children
. However, she was soon after replaced by Christina Applegate. The show's producers felt Caspary's acting didn't fit the role. The pilot episode of the show was taped on December 12, 1986.
In 1987, Caspary was nominated for the Young Artist Award
in the Exceptional Young Actress Starring in a Television Special or Movie of the Week category for the 1986 TV movie News at Eleven, also starring Martin Sheen
. Later that year, she landed a minor, yet important role in Can't Buy Me Love (alongside Patrick Dempsey
and Amanda Peterson
), resulting in a nomination for the 1988 Young Artist Award in the Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy category.
In 1988 Caspary starred in Mac and Me
, which now has a cult following
. For that movie, she received her third Young Artist Award nomination in early 1989.
Caspary had a major role in My Mom's a Werewolf in 1989. The same year she starred in her last movie to date, Teen Witch
alongside actors Robyn Lively
and Dan Gauthier
. After that movie, Caspary quit acting and focused on her career as a dancer. She has appeared in music videos of Red Hot Chili Peppers
and Reba McEntire
. She was a principal dancer on the Academy Awards for five years with Debbie Allen
and she has also done television commercials. In 1996, Caspary launched a line of dance clothing called Katrina Activewear. Today, Tina Caspary and her husband Ryan Cyphert are also part of the faculty of SHOCK the Intensive, a one-day dance incentive.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress, dancer and choreographer. She gained moderate attention in the late 1980s with Can't Buy Me Love
Can't Buy Me Love (film)
Can't Buy Me Love is a 1987 teen comedy feature film starring Patrick Dempsey and Amanda Peterson in a story about a nerd at a high school in Tucson, Arizona who gives a cheerleader $1,000 to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month. The film was directed by Steve Rash.-Plot:Ronald Miller is a...
.
Early life
Caspary grew in Southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
and has worked in every facet of the entertainment industry. She developed a vivid interest in dancing at a very young age, influenced by her mother, Brenda. She is the older sister of choreographer/dancer Dee Caspary and is now married to Ryan Cyphert.
Career
In the mid to late 1980s she had many minor roles in teen movies. Her first role was as a dancer in the 1982 movie AnnieAnnie (film)
Annie is a 1982 American musical film directed by John Huston and choreographed by Arlene Phillips. The film is an adaption of the 1977 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray. The movie features music by Charles Strouse,...
. In Combat Academy
Combat Academy
Combat Academy is a 1986 comedy film by the creator of Police Academy, Neal Israel.-Synopsis:Best friends Max Mendelsson and Perry Barnett are sent to military school after one prank too many...
(also known as Combat High), Caspary starred 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 also appeared on the TV series Silver Spoons
Silver Spoons
Silver Spoons is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982 to May 11, 1986 and in first-run syndication from September 15, 1986 to March 4, 1987...
in 1985.
In December 1986, the then 15-year-old Caspary was cast as Kelly Bundy on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
sitcom Married... with Children
Married... with Children
Married... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
. However, she was soon after replaced by Christina Applegate. The show's producers felt Caspary's acting didn't fit the role. The pilot episode of the show was taped on December 12, 1986.
In 1987, Caspary was nominated for the Young Artist Award
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...
in the Exceptional Young Actress Starring in a Television Special or Movie of the Week category for the 1986 TV movie News at Eleven, also starring Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
. Later that year, she landed a minor, yet important role in Can't Buy Me Love (alongside Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Galen Dempsey is an American actor, known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to Grey's Anatomy he made several television appearances and was nominated for an Emmy Award...
and Amanda Peterson
Amanda Peterson
Amanda Peterson is an American actress. Peterson gained fame during the late 1980s when she portrayed Cindy Mancini, a Tucson, Arizona high-school student, in the movie Can't Buy Me Love.-Career:...
), resulting in a nomination for the 1988 Young Artist Award in the Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy category.
In 1988 Caspary starred in Mac and Me
Mac and Me
Mac and Me is a 1988 sci-fi fantasy film co-written and directed by Stewart Raffill about a "Mysterious Alien Creature" escapes from nefarious NASA agents and is befriended by a young boy who uses a wheelchair. Together, they try to find MAC's family, from whom he has been separated...
, which now has a cult following
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
. For that movie, she received her third Young Artist Award nomination in early 1989.
Caspary had a major role in My Mom's a Werewolf in 1989. The same year she starred in her last movie to date, Teen Witch
Teen Witch
Teen Witch is a 1989 fantasy teen comedy film starring Robyn Lively. It was originally pitched as a female version of the 1985 Teen Wolf, although it later was reworked and turned into a film of its own...
alongside actors Robyn Lively
Robyn Lively
Robyn Elaine Lively is an American actress. Lively is best known for her role in the film Teen Witch, as well as for her roles in the TV shows Doogie Howser, M.D., Twin Peaks, and Saving Grace.-Early life:...
and Dan Gauthier
Dan Gauthier
Daniel Lester "Dan" Gauthier is an American actor.-Early life:Gauthier was inspired to act early on by his mother, who was a local theater actress in their Central Oregon home. By the time he turned 18, Gauthier moved to California to attend San Diego State University. He was recruited by SDSU's...
. After that movie, Caspary quit acting and focused on her career as a dancer. She has appeared in music videos of Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
and Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...
. She was a principal dancer on the Academy Awards for five years with Debbie Allen
Debbie Allen
Deborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities...
and she has also done television commercials. In 1996, Caspary launched a line of dance clothing called Katrina Activewear. Today, Tina Caspary and her husband Ryan Cyphert are also part of the faculty of SHOCK the Intensive, a one-day dance incentive.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Other Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Annie Annie (film) Annie is a 1982 American musical film directed by John Huston and choreographed by Arlene Phillips. The film is an adaption of the 1977 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray. The movie features music by Charles Strouse,... |
Dancer | as Tina Maria Caspary |
| 1985 | Silver Spoons Silver Spoons Silver Spoons is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982 to May 11, 1986 and in first-run syndication from September 15, 1986 to March 4, 1987... |
unknown episode | |
| 1986 | News at Eleven | Gretchen Kent | TV movie |
| Combat Academy Combat Academy Combat Academy is a 1986 comedy film by the creator of Police Academy, Neal Israel.-Synopsis:Best friends Max Mendelsson and Perry Barnett are sent to military school after one prank too many... |
Mary Beth | TV movie | |
| The Thanksgiving Promise | 1st Girl | TV special | |
| 1987 | Totally Minnie Totally Minnie Totally Minnie is a 1988 musical television special on NBC hosted by Suzanne Somers and starring Minnie Mouse. It was the first film to feature Minnie Mouse in the lead role, and, until the premiere of Mickey Mouse Works in 1999, this was the only time Minnie had any starring role.- Plot :The film... |
Dancer | TV special |
| Growing Pains Growing Pains Growing Pains is an American television sitcom about an affluent family, residing in Huntington, New York, with a working mother and a stay-at-home psychiatrist father raising three children together, which aired on ABC from September 24, 1985 to April 25, 1992.-Synopsis:The show's premise is based... |
Jamie | "Choices" (Season 2, Episode 11) | |
| Married... with Children Married... with Children Married... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created... |
Kelly Bundy | 1 episode (unaired pilot) | |
| Can't Buy Me Love Can't Buy Me Love (film) Can't Buy Me Love is a 1987 teen comedy feature film starring Patrick Dempsey and Amanda Peterson in a story about a nerd at a high school in Tucson, Arizona who gives a cheerleader $1,000 to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month. The film was directed by Steve Rash.-Plot:Ronald Miller is a... |
Barbara | Alternative title: Boy Rents Girl | |
| 1988 | Mac and Me Mac and Me Mac and Me is a 1988 sci-fi fantasy film co-written and directed by Stewart Raffill about a "Mysterious Alien Creature" escapes from nefarious NASA agents and is befriended by a young boy who uses a wheelchair. Together, they try to find MAC's family, from whom he has been separated... |
Courtney | as Katrina Caspary |
| 1989 | Day by Day Day by Day (TV series) Day by Day is an American sitcom starring Douglas Sheehan, Linda Kelsey, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Courtney Thorne-Smith , and Thora Birch... |
Linda | 1 episode, as Katrina Caspary |
| My Mom's a Werewolf | Jennifer Shaber | as Katrina Caspary | |
| Teen Witch Teen Witch Teen Witch is a 1989 fantasy teen comedy film starring Robyn Lively. It was originally pitched as a female version of the 1985 Teen Wolf, although it later was reworked and turned into a film of its own... |
Shawn | as Tina Marie Casapary | |
Award nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Film or series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Young Artist Awards | Nominated | Exceptional Young Actress Starring in a Television Special or Movie of the Week | News at Eleven |
| 1988 | Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy | Can't Buy Me Love Can't Buy Me Love (film) Can't Buy Me Love is a 1987 teen comedy feature film starring Patrick Dempsey and Amanda Peterson in a story about a nerd at a high school in Tucson, Arizona who gives a cheerleader $1,000 to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month. The film was directed by Steve Rash.-Plot:Ronald Miller is a... |
||
| 1989 | Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Fantasy | Mac and Me Mac and Me Mac and Me is a 1988 sci-fi fantasy film co-written and directed by Stewart Raffill about a "Mysterious Alien Creature" escapes from nefarious NASA agents and is befriended by a young boy who uses a wheelchair. Together, they try to find MAC's family, from whom he has been separated... |