What Makes a Family
Brief Synopsis
Janine Nielssen first comes to terms with her own sexuality when she meets Sandy Cataldi, an out-of-the-closet l
Cast & Crew
Maggie Greenwald
Brooke Shields
Anne Meara
Cherry Jones
Al Waxman
Melanie Nicholls-king
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Two gay women have a daughter through artificial insemination. When one of them dies, the parents of the dead partner try to take the child. Based on the true story of Janine Radcliffe.
Janine Nielssen first comes to terms with her own sexuality when she meets Sandy Cataldi, an out-of-the-closet lesbian. They fall in love and exchange marriage vows, although the state of Florida does not legally recognize their union. Sandy becomes pregnant by artificial insemination and gives birth to a daughter, Heather. The couple raise the baby together and lead a happy family life until Sandy is diagnosed with lupus and dies when Heather is only five years old.
A heartbroken Janine is even more devastated when she discovers that Sandy's parents, Evelyn and Frank, to whom she was very close, have successfully gained legal custody of Heather under a state law that gives blood relatives prior claim. Grief-stricken without Sandy, and now separated from her daughter, Janine goes into an emotional collapse. Following her release from a psychiatric hospital, she picks up the pieces of her life with one resolve in mind. Enlisting a leading attorney, Terry Harrison, to fight her case, Janine appeals to the courts one more time to get her daughter back.
Director
Maggie Greenwald
Cast
Brooke Shields
Anne Meara
Cherry Jones
Al Waxman
Melanie Nicholls-king
Roberta Maxwell
Dean Mcdermott
Sean Mccann
Joanne Vannicola
Stewart Arnott
Jordy Benattar
Philip Williams
Jayne Eastwood
Whoopi Goldberg
George Buza
Roger Duna
Richard Fitzpatrick
Dawn Greenhalgh
Joyce Gordon
Bill Lynn
Tony Meyler
Sonja Mills
Andrew Moodie
Marillo Nunez
Beatriz Pizano
Lorraine Sinclair
Reuben Thompson
Alana Turner
Catherine Dulder
Crew
Catherine Ashton
Eric Behrend
Heather Blurton
Paul Boucher
John Buchan
Mary Buck
Astra Burka
Robert Chalmers
Ane Christenson
Cis Corman
Suzette Daigle
Mark Deluca
Kim Derko
Susan Edelman
Frank Eldridge
Gabe Fallus
Joel Fein
Robert L Freedman
Robert L Freedman
Stuart French
Whoopi Goldberg
Perri Gorrara
Wendy Grean
Stephanie Hagen
Mark Harman
Elspeth Haughton
David Hood
Anna Josenhans
Sherry Klein
Travis Knox
Tom Leonardis
Dave Mace
David Mansfield
Bob Mcadam
Sheona Mcdonald
Marla Mcguire
Fred Mendelson
Neil Meron
Rhett Morita
Matthew Murray
Marie Nardella
Mark Nicholson
Ted Overton
Barbara Pecs
Keith Reamer
Liza Rindge-peterson
Pamela Roberts
Eric J Robertson
Allan K Rosen
Lisa Roth
Peter Schalakowskyj
William Spahic
Barbra Streisand
James Tamblyn
Richard V Tavtigian
Sean Watson
Richard Wilmot
Craig Zadan
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Aired in United States January 22, 2001
Began shooting July 1, 2000.
Completed shooting August 2000.
TV rating: TV-14-D
