Julia Duffy


Actor

About

Also Known As
Julia Hinds
Birth Place
St Paul, Minnesota, USA
Born
June 27, 1951

Biography

Petite, pretty blonde leading actress and character comedienne of network television who, after a modest start in theater, soap operas and feature films ("Cutter's Way" 1981, "Wacko" 1983), played up her role of the snooty, self-centered, sickeningly cutesey yuppie Stephanie to considerable acclaim opposite Peter Scolari on the popular sitcom, "Newhart." After that show ended its run, Du...

Family & Companions

Jerry Lacy
Husband
Actor, writer. Married June 21, 1984; portrayed several characters on the 1960s cult horror soap "Dark Shadows", notably the conniving Reverend Trask.

Biography

Petite, pretty blonde leading actress and character comedienne of network television who, after a modest start in theater, soap operas and feature films ("Cutter's Way" 1981, "Wacko" 1983), played up her role of the snooty, self-centered, sickeningly cutesey yuppie Stephanie to considerable acclaim opposite Peter Scolari on the popular sitcom, "Newhart." After that show ended its run, Duffy replaced first choice Connie Sellecca as the lead of "Baby Talk," a comedy series inspired by the success of the feature film, "Look Who's Talking" (1989). Production, however, encountered problems and Duffy, unhappy with her role and the series, left to join the cast of the popular CBS sitcom, "Designing Women," where her flair for comic bitchiness, made harder and less coy this time around, was unsuccessfully tried for one season as a substitute for the milder brand the departing Delta Burke has previously displayed. The actress was well-cast as the annoyingly perfect neighbor Barb Ballantine in the sit-com "The Mommies" (NBC, 1993-1995), and she essayed a similar recurring role on "Grace Under Fire" (ABC, 1993-1998). She would make frequent TV guest appearances during the late 1990s and early 2000s, most notably in a recurring role as high school principal Mrs. Hodge on Reba McEntire's popular WB sit-com "Reba" beginning in 2001. The year 2003 saw Duffy, still shockingly youthful-looking, take on her first big screen roles in some time, appearing in the forgettable prequel "Dumb & Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd" and, to better effect, as one of Catherine Zeta-Jones' ultra-rich divorcee gal pals in the Coen brothers' "Intolerable Cruelty."

Life Events

1969

Made professional acting debut onstage in "The Girl in the Freudian Slip"

1973

Played Penny Davis on NBC's daytime serial "The Doctors"

1978

Made Broadway debut in "Once in a Lifetime"

1978

Moved to Los Angeles

1980

Played first notable feature film role in "Battle Beyond the Stars"

1983

Portrayed Princess Ariel Baaldorf on the short-lived CBS fantasy adventure semi-spoof, "Wizards and Warriors"

1997

Returned to series TV in the short-lived UPN sitcom "Social Studies"

Family

Joseph Hinds
Father
Mary Katherine Hinds
Mother
Kerri Kathleen Lacy
Daughter
Born c. 1986.
Danny Lacy
Son
Born c. 1989.

Companions

Jerry Lacy
Husband
Actor, writer. Married June 21, 1984; portrayed several characters on the 1960s cult horror soap "Dark Shadows", notably the conniving Reverend Trask.

Bibliography