Caroline Rhea

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Caroline Gilchrist Rhea (born April 13, 1964) is a Canadian born stand-up comedian and actress who was the original host of the reality television show The Biggest Loser on NBC, until Alison Sweeney took her place after the end of the third season. She is also known for her role as Hilda Spellman on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and for replacing Rosie O'Donnell as the hostess of her syndicated talk show, renamed The Caroline Rhea Show.

[edit] Early life

Rhea was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the daughter of Marjori, an antiques dealer, and David Rhea, an obstetrician and gynecologist.^[1] On the set of the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch, the cast referred to her as Cathy,^{[citation needed]} a name that has stuck for years throughout her comedic career. She has two sisters, Cynthia and Celia. She attended The Study, an all-girls private school in Westmount, Quebec.

Her film debut was as a bikini-clad extra in the film Meatballs III, shot on location near Montreal. She moved to New York in 1989 to study stand-up comedy at the New School for Social Research.

[edit] Career

Rhea has said that her true training came from her first gigs at the comedy club, Catch a Rising Star. Performing around New York City, she quickly gained a reputation in the city's competitive comedy scene. These performances were augmented with appearances on MTV's Half-Hour Comedy Hour, Comic Strip Live and Caroline's Comedy Hour. She decided to move to Los Angeles for a career in Hollywood, debuting in NBC television series Pride & Joy co-starring with Jeremy Piven. She gained fame for her role as Aunt Hilda on the ABC and (later) The WB's Sabrina the Teenage Witch, as well as being a regular on the latest incarnation of Hollywood Squares.

In 2002, Rhea landed her own syndicated daytime talk show, The Caroline Rhea Show. Rosie O'Donnell hand-picked Rhea as her replacement. Rhea next went on to host the autumn series, The Biggest Loser on NBC, which was the first weight loss reality show in which overweight members of two teams try to lose the most weight, which began in 2004. Her show proved to be so popular in the first season, that The Biggest Loser would continue to air the show in around 70 countries, making Rhea a star phenomenon. She hosted the show for three seasons. In 2005, Rhea was in the movie The Perfect Man, playing a co-worker of Jean (Heather Locklear).

She has appeared in Comic Relief 8, as well as the Ms. Foundation's "Women of Comedy from Caroline's Comedy Club" (no relation to Rhea). She appeared as a contestant in 2001 on a special edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, walking away with $125,000 for charity. She had her own stand-up special as part of Bravo's three-part Funny Ladies series, along with Joan Rivers and Paula Poundstone. Rhea has had a recurring role on the hit Disney Channel Original Series, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody as Ilsa Shickelgrubermeiger-Von Helsing der Keppelugerhofer, an inspector turned manager of the rival hotel. In the series, she is well known for a large mole on her cheek. She has appeared on Disney's Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire as the mother and also Christmas with the Kranks in 2004. She has competed on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown and GSN's World Series of Blackjack.

She now does the voice of Linda Flynn in Phineas and Ferb, an animated show with Ashley Tisdale, Mitchel Musso, and Alyson Stoner. Rhea will next appear on the upcoming Fox animated series Two Dreadful Children. Caroline Rhea also plays Noleta Nethercott on the TV series Sordid Lives: The Series. She has also been in the original Lifetime Television movie To Be Fat Like Me with Kaley Cuoco. Rhea stars as a down on her luck waitress alongside Justin Guarini and Mircea Monroe in the Marvista Entertainment production of Fast Girl.

[edit] Personal life

Rhea is in a long-term relationship with stand-up comedian Costaki Economopoulos. They have a daughter, Ava.

[edit] See also

• Humour of Quebec
• List of Quebec comedians
• List of Canadian comedians

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• CarolineRhea.com
• TV.com - The Caroline Rhea Show
• Biggest Loser Club Official Site
• Caroline Rhea at the Internet Movie Database