Julia Duffy

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Julia Duffy
Julia Duffy The Doctors 1975.JPG
Duffy as Penny Davis, 1975.
Born Julia Margaret Hinds
(1951-06-27) June 27, 1951 (age 61)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Years active 1972–present
Spouse(s) Jerry Lacy (1984-present)

Julia Duffy (born Julia Margaret Hinds; June 27, 1951) 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.

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Career [edit]

Duffy's early career included parts in soap operas 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 during the show's first season in 1982; she had been considered for the role of Diane Chambers.

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.[1]

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 & 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.

Personal life [edit]

Duffy graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in 1972. She has been married since 1984 to actor Jerry Lacy, co-star of Dark Shadows and Love of Life, and has 2 children, daughter Kerry Kathleen and son Danny. They live in Los Angeles.

Selected filmography [edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1980 Battle Beyond the Stars Mol
1982 Cheers Rebecca Prout Season 1, Episode 6, 1982
1982 Voyagers! Nellie Bly Episode "Jack's Back"
1982 Newhart Stephanie Vanderkellen TV series
1982 Blue and the Gray, TheThe Blue and the Gray Mary Hale TV mini-series
1991[2] Designing Women Allison Sugarbaker Season 6
1993 Mommies, TheThe Mommies Barb Ballantine TV series
1999 Sabrina The Teenage Witch Mr. Kraft's Ex-Wife Lucy S03E15 - " Mrs. Kraft "
2001 Reba Mrs. Hodge S01E02 - " The Honeymoon's Over Or Now What "
2003 Intolerable Cruelty Sarah Sorkin Film
2004 Drake & Josh Mrs. Hayfer TS02E11 - " Mean Teacher "
2005 Suite Life of Zack & Cody, TheThe Suite Life of Zack & Cody Martha Harrington S01E03 - "Maddie Checks In"
2006 7th Heaven Mrs. Porter Episode: "Got MLK?"
2008 Wizards of Waverly Place Mrs. Angela S01E18 - "Credit Check"
2008 Together Again for the First Time Audrey Wolders Frobisher Television film
2008 7 Things to Do Before I'm 30 Vanessa Madisen Television film
2010 Melissa & Joey Myrna Sherwood S01E18 - "A Fright in the Attic "
2010 La Grêve de Noël Robert Iscove Television film "
2012 The League Kevin and Taco's mom - "The Breastalyzer"

References [edit]

http://www.facebook.com/actress.julia.duffy

External links [edit]