Julia Duffy
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| Julia Duffy | |
|---|---|
| Born | Julia Margaret Hinds June 27, 1951 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Spouse | 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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[edit] Career
Duffy's early caeer 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 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.[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 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.
[edit] Personal life
Duffy graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in 1972. She has been married to Love of Life co-star Jerry Lacy since 1984 and has 2 children, daughter Kerry Kathleen and son Danny. They live in Los Angeles.
[edit] Selected filmography
| 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 | The Blue and the Gray | Mary Hale | TV mini-series | |
| 1991[2] | Designing Women | Allison Sugarbaker | TV series | |
| 1993 | The Mommies | Barb Ballantine | TV series | |
| 1999 | Sabrina The Teenage Witch | Mr. Kraft's Ex-Wife Lucy | TV series | |
| 2001 | Reba | Mrs. Hodge | TV series | |
| 2004 | Drake & Josh | Mrs. Hayfer | TV series | |
| 2005 | The Suite Life of Zack and Cody | Martha Harrington | Episode: "Maddie Checks In" | |
| 2006 | 7th Heaven | Mrs. Porter | Episode: "Got MLK?" | |
| 2008 | Wizards of Waverly Place | Mrs. Angela | Episode: "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 | ||
| 2010 | Melissa & Joey | Myrna Sherwood | Episode: "A Fright in the Attic " | Television film |
