Valerie Harper

Valerie Harper (born August 22, 1940 in Suffern, New York) is an American actress, best known for her television roles.

Related Topics:
August 22 - 1940 - Suffern - New York - American - Television

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Harper was born in New York State, but raised in Oregon, and started out as a dancer/chorus girl on Broadway in the late 1950s and early 1960s in such shows such as Take Me Along, Wildcat, and Subways Are for Sleeping. She also appeared in bit parts in several films such as Li'l Abner (1959). But, during the late 1960s, she barely worked, except for appearing in Carl Reiner's play Something Different in 1968 and writing an episode of Love, American Style with her then-husband, actor/writer Richard Schaal, whose daughter, Wendy (who voices "Francine Smith" on American Dad), was her stepdaughter.

Related Topics:
Broadway - Wildcat - Li'l Abner - Carl Reiner - 1968 - Love, American Style - American Dad

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Things changed when Harper got the role of the wise-cracking yet vulnerable uber-Jewish New Yorker, Rhoda Morgenstern, on two CBS TV sitcoms of the 1970s: The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off Rhoda, in which she played the title role. Harper won four Emmy awards and a Golden Globe for her work as Rhoda Morgenstern on both series. She also picked up a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year for her role in 1974's Freebie and The Bean.

Related Topics:
1970s - The Mary Tyler Moore Show - Rhoda - Emmy - Golden Globe - 1974 - Freebie and The Bean

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She also played family matriarch Valerie Hogan on the 1986 sitcom Valerie. It was renamed Valerie's Family in 1987 and finally The Hogan Family in June, 1988 after Harper abruptly left the series (following a dispute with the producers) and was replaced by Sandy Duncan.

Related Topics:
1986 - 1987 - The Hogan Family - June - 1988 - Sandy Duncan

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Harper has worked almost exclusively in television, and has also had roles in made-for-TV-movies and guest spots on a number of series, including Sex and the City. In the 1990s, she advocated hormone replacement therapy for the Eli Lilly company.

Related Topics:
Sex and the City - 1990s - Hormone replacement therapy - Eli Lilly

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Harper is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, and ran for President in the 2001 election, being beaten in a bitter election feud by Melissa Gilbert.

Related Topics:
Screen Actors Guild - Election - Melissa Gilbert

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