Margaret Julia "Marlo" Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, author, and social activist. She is best known for starring on the sitcom ''

That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966 to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewster ...

'' (1966–1971) and her children's franchise '' Free to Be... You and Me''. She has received three

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

, a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

, a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

, a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

for her work in television, has been inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. She has also received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for her children's album '' Marlo Thomas and Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long''. In 2014, she was awarded the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

. Thomas serves as National Outreach Director for

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research facility located in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on children's catastrophic diseases, par ...

, which was founded by her father

Danny Thomas Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an American actor, singer, nightclub comedian, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in one of the most successful and long-running sitc ...

in 1962. She created the Thanks & Giving campaign in 2004 to support the hospital.

Early life

Thomas was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

and raised in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

, the eldest child of Rose Marie Cassaniti and comedian

. She has a sister, Terre, and a brother, producer Tony Thomas. Her father was a Roman Catholic

Lebanese American Lebanese Americans ( ar, أمريكيون لبنانيون) are Americans of Lebanese descent. This includes both those who are native to the United States of America, as well as immigrants from Lebanon. Lebanese Americans comprise 0.79% of the ...

and her mother was

Sicilian American Sicilian Americans (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Sìculu-miricani; Italian language, Italian: Siculoamericani'') are Americans of Italian people, Italian Sicilians, Sicilian birth or ancestry. They are a large ethnic group in the United States. ...

. Her godmother was

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...

. The name "Marlo" came from her childhood mispronunciation of the name Margo, as Thomas was called by her family. Thomas attended

Marymount High School Marymount High School is an independent, Catholic, all-girls, college-preparatory high school located in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It sits on Sunset Boulevard across from the University of California, Los Angeles camp ...

and graduated from the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

with a teaching degree: "I wanted a piece of paper that said I was qualified to do something in the world". She was a member of the sorority

Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arc ...

Career

Early career

Thomas appeared in many television programs including ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...

'', ''

McHale's Navy ''McHale's Navy'' is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the ABC television network. The series was filmed in black and white and originate ...

'', ''

Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaff ...

'', ''

Arrest and Trial ''Arrest and Trial'' is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-1964 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 pm Eastern. Overview The majority of episodes consists of two segments. Set in Los Angeles, the fi ...

'', '' The Joey Bishop Show'', ''

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' (also known as simply ''Dobie Gillis'' or ''Max Shulman's Dobie Gillis'' in later seasons and in syndication) is an American sitcom starring Dwayne Hickman that aired on CBS from September 29, 1959, to June 5 ...

'', ''

My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. The first two seasons, totalin ...

'', ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...

'', and ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children, Mary ...

''. Her big break came in 1965 when she was cast by

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...

in the London production of Neil Simon's ''

Barefoot in the Park ''Barefoot in the Park'' is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon. The play premiered on Broadway in 1963, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. It was made into a film in 1967, which starred Redford and Jane Fonda. Productions ''Barefoot ...

,'' co-starring Daniel Massey, Kurt Kasznar, and Mildred Natwick. (In 1986, she was once again cast by Nichols on Broadway in

Andrew Bergman Andrew Bergman (born February 20, 1945) is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist. His best-known films include ''Blazing Saddles'', '' The In-Laws'', '' The Freshman'' and '' Striptease''. Early life Born to a Jewish family, Ber ...

's ''

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

,'' co-starring

Ron Silver Ronald Arthur Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor/activist, director, producer, and radio host. As an actor, he portrayed Henry Kissinger, Alan Dershowitz and Angelo Dundee. He was awarded a Tony in 1988 for Best Acto ...

and

Olympia Dukakis Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 – May 1, 2021) was an American actress. She performed in more than 130 stage productions, more than 60 films and in 50 television series. Best known as a screen actress, she started her career in theater. Not lon ...

.) Thomas and her father, Danny, were cast as Laurie and Ed Dubro in a 1961 episode, "Honor Bright", of CBS' ''

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre ''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre'' is an American Western anthology television series that was broadcast on CBS from October 5, 1956, until September 20, 1962. Format Many episodes were based on novels by Zane Grey, to all of which Four Star ...

''.

''That Girl''

Thomas starred in an ABC pilot called ''Two's Company'' in 1965. Although it did not sell, it caught the attention of a network programming executive. He met with Thomas, and expressed interest in casting her in her own series. With their encouragement, Thomas came up with her own idea for a show about a young woman who leaves home, moves to New York City, and struggles to become an actress. The network was initially hesitant, fearing audiences would find a series centering on a single female uninteresting or unrealistic. The concept eventually evolved into the sitcom entitled ''

'', in which Thomas played Ann Marie, a beautiful, up-and-coming actress with a writer boyfriend, played by

Ted Bessell TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depart ...

. The series told the daily struggles of Ann holding different temporary jobs while pursuing her dream of a career on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. ''That Girl'' was one of the first television shows to focus on a working, single woman who did not live with her parents, and it paved the way for many shows to come. Thomas was only the fourth woman to produce her own series, following Gertrude Berg,

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...

, and

Betty White Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of Golden Age of Television, early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work i ...

. ''That Girl'' aired from 1966 to 1971, producing 136 episodes, and was a solid performer in the

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

. In 1971, Thomas chose to end the series after five years. Both ABC and the show's sponsor,

Clairol Clairol is the American personal care-product division of company Wella, specializing in hair coloring and hair care. Clairol was founded in 1931 by Americans Joan Gelb and her husband Lawrence M. Gelb, with business partner and lifelong frien ...

, wanted the series finale to be a wedding between the two central characters, but Thomas rebuffed them, saying that she felt it was the wrong message to send to her female audience, because it would give the impression that the only happy ending is

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

. ''That Girl'' has since become popular in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

Clairol was our sponsor and they wanted to end the show with a wedding. I said, "I just can't do that to these women and girls who followed Ann Marie's adventure. I can't now say that the only happy ending is a wedding, because I don't believe it." There was a big ruckus about it, but I wouldn't do it. The last show, Ann Marie took Donald to a women's lib meeting, which made nobody happy but me. I loved it.

Later career

After ''That Girl'', eager to expand her horizons, Thomas attended the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founde ...

, where she studied with

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931 ...

until his death in 1982, and subsequently with Strasberg's disciple

Sandra Seacat Sandra Diane Seacat (born October 2, 1936) is an American actress, director and acting coach best known for her innovations in acting pedagogy—blending elements of Strasberg, and Jungian dream analysis

. When she won her Best Dramatic Actress Emmy in 1986 for the TV movie ''Nobody’s Child'', she thanked both individuals. Marlo Thomas at the 1989 Emmy Awards

In 1972, she released a children's book, '' Free to Be... You and Me'', which was inspired by her young niece Dionne Gordon. She went on to create multiple recordings and television specials of and related to that title: ''Free to Be... You and Me'' (1972, 1974) and '' Free to Be... A Family'' (1987), with Christopher Cerf. Also in 1972, she served as a California delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

in Miami Beach, Florida. She helped the

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pr ...

presidential campaign in October 1972 at

Star-Spangled Women for McGovern–Shriver Star-Spangled Women for McGovern–Shriver (styled as Star-Spangled Women for McGovern★Shriver) was a political variety show held on October 27, 1972, produced by Shirley MacLaine and Sid Bernstein as a late-campaign push to help the 1972 pres ...

, reciting a parody of

Erich Segal Erich Wolf Segal (June 16, 1937January 17, 2010) was an American author, screenwriter, educator, and classicist who wrote the bestselling novel ''Love Story'' (1970) and its hit film adaptation. Early life and education Born and raised in a J ...

's ''

Love Story Love Story or A Love Story may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres * Romance (love) ** Romance film ** Romance novel Films * ''Love Story'' (1925 film), German silent film * ''Love Story'' (1942 film), Italian drama film * ''Love ...

'' for 19,000 people at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

. In 1973, Thomas joined

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Steinem was a c ...

, Patricia Carbine, and

Letty Cottin Pogrebin Letty Cottin Pogrebin (born June 9, 1939) is an American author, journalist, lecturer, and social activist. She is a founding editor of ''Ms.'' magazine, the author of twelve books, and was an editorial consultant for the TV special '' Free to B ...

as the founders of the Ms. Foundation for Women, the first women's fund in the US. The organization was created to deliver funding and other resources to organizations that were presenting liberal women's voices in communities nationwide. In 1976, Thomas made a guest appearance on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy ...

'' as a stubborn patient of her father Danny Thomas' character Dr. Jules Bedford, and the chemistry of father and daughter acting together made for touching hospital-room scenes. She has made guest appearances on several television series, including '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (as Judge Mary Conway Clark, a mentor of ADA

Casey Novak Casey Novak is a fictional character on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', portrayed by Diane Neal. She is the only female Assistant District Attorney (ADA) to have appeared in five complete seasons in any ''Law & Order'' series and the thir ...

), ''

Ballers ''Ballers'' is an American sports comedy drama television series created by Stephen Levinson and starring Dwayne Johnson as Spencer Strasmore, a retired NFL player who must navigate his new career of choice as the financial manager of other NF ...

'', '' The New Normal'', '' Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later''. She also narrated the series ''Happily Never After'' on

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Amer ...

. From 1996 to 2002, Thomas played

Rachel Green Rachel Karen Green is a fictional character, one of the six main characters who appeared in the American sitcom ''Friends''. Portrayed by Jennifer Aniston, the character was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and appeared in all of t ...

's mother, Sandra Green, on the TV show ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Li ...

''. Thomas appeared in films such as ''

Jenny Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of h ...

'' (1970), ''

Thieves Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

'' (1977), '' In The Spirit'' (1990), ''

The Real Blonde ''The Real Blonde'' is a 1997 film directed and written by Tom DiCillo. It stars Matthew Modine, Catherine Keener, and Maxwell Caulfield. The film is a satire on New York's fashion and entertainment industries. Plot Joe is an aspiring actor w ...

'' (1997), '' Starstruck'' (1998), '' Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo'' (1999), ''

Playing Mona Lisa ''Playing Mona Lisa'' is a 2000 comedy film directed by Matthew Huffman and starring Alicia Witt, Harvey Fierstein, Johnny Galecki, Elliott Gould, Marlo Thomas, Molly Hagan and Brooke Langton. It is based on a play by Marni Freedman. Plot Ever ...

'' (2000), ''

LOL LOL, or lol, is an initialism for laughing out loud and a popular element of Internet slang. It was first used almost exclusively on Usenet, but has since become widespread in other forms of computer-mediated communication and even face-to ...

'' (2012) with

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Br ...

and

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

, and ''Cardboard Boxer'' (2014). She also starred in television movies including ''

It Happened One Christmas ''It Happened One Christmas'' is a 1977 American made-for-television Christmas fantasy-comedy-drama film directed by Donald Wrye, starring Marlo Thomas, Wayne Rogers, Orson Welles, and Cloris Leachman. It originally premiered as ''The ABC Sunday ...

'' (1977; also produced) (a remake of ''

It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern self-published in 1943 and is in turn loos ...

''), ''

The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck ''The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck'' is a 1984 television film directed by Simon Langton. The film, starring Marlo Thomas and Kris Kristofferson, is based on the 1974 novel ''The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum'' by Heinrich Böll, and has been rel ...

'' (1984; also produced), '' Consenting Adult'' (1985), '' Nobody's Child'' (1986; Best Dramatic Actress Emmy), ''Held Hostage: The Sis and Jerry Levin Story'' (1991; also produced), ''Reunion'' (1994; also produced), ''Deceit'' (2004; also produced), and ''Ultimate Betrayal'' (1994). Thomas'

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''T ...

credits include ''

'' (1974), ''

'' (1986), and '' The Shadow Box'' (1994), and in 2011, she starred as Doreen in

Elaine May Elaine Iva May (née Berlin; born April 21, 1932) is an American comedian, filmmaker, playwright, and actress. She has received numerous awards including an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Grammy, and a Tony. She made her initial impact in the 1950s with he ...

's comedy ''George Is Dead'' in ''Relatively Speaking'' during a set of three one-act plays (''The New York Times'' called Thomas' performance "sublime"). The other two plays were written by

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

and

Ethan Coen Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

, Thomas has appeared in ''

The Guys ''The Guys'' is a play by Anne Nelson about the aftereffects of the collapse of the World Trade Center. A film version of the play was released in 2002 and starred Sigourney Weaver and Anthony LaPaglia. History In the play, Joan, an editor, he ...

'', '' The Exonerated'' (in which she also appeared in Chicago and Boston, co-starring with

Brian Dennehy Brian Manion Dennehy (; July 9, 1938 – April 15, 2020) was an American actor of stage, television, and film. He won two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and a Golden Globe, and received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Dennehy had roles i ...

), ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. The play explores c ...

'' and ''

Love, Loss, and What I Wore ''Love, Loss, and What I Wore'' is a play written by Nora and Delia Ephron based on the 1995 book of the same name by Ilene Beckerman. It is organized as a series of monologues and uses a rotating cast of five principal women. The subject matter ...

''. Also off-Broadway, she appeared opposite

Greg Mullavey Greg Mullavey (born Gregory Thomas Mulleavy Jr., September 10, 1939) is an American film and television actor who has had roles as Tom Hartman in the television series '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' and Carly's grandfather in ''iCarly''. He has ...

in the 2015 New York debut of

Joe DiPietro Joe DiPietro (born 1961) is an American playwright, lyricist and author. He is best known for the Tony Award-winning musical '' Memphis'', for which he won the Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score as well as for writ ...

's play ''Clever Little Lies'' at the

Westside Theatre The Westside Theatre is an off-Broadway performance space at 407 West 43rd Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The building houses two auditoriums: the Upstairs Theatre, which s ...

. Regional theatre productions include: ''

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' is a play by Edward Albee first staged in October 1962. It examines the complexities of the marriage of a middle-aged couple, Martha and George. Late one evening, after a university faculty party, they receive ...

'' at the Hartford Stage; ''

Woman In Mind ''Woman in Mind (December Bee)'' is the 32nd play by English playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It was premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round, Scarborough, in 1985. Despite pedestrian reviews by many critics, strong audience reaction resu ...

'' at the Berkshire Theatre Festival; ''Paper Doll,'' with F. Murray Abraham at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre; and ''

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds ''The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds'' is a play written by Paul Zindel, a playwright and science teacher. Zindel received the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for the work. Production ...

'' at the Cleveland Playhouse. In 1993, she toured in the national company of ''Six Degrees of Separation.'' In the spring of 2008, she starred in Arthur Laurents' last play, ''New Year's Eve'' with Keith Carradine, at the George Street Playhouse. Thomas has published seven best-selling books (three of them #1 best-sellers): '' Free to Be... You and Me;'' '' Free to Be... A Family;'' ''The Right Words at the Right Time''; ''The Right Words at the Right Time, Volume 2: Your Turn''; '' Marlo Thomas and Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long'' (the CD version of which won the 2006

for Best Spoken Word Album for Children); her 2009 memoir, ''Growing Up Laughing''; and ''It Ain't Over...Till It's Over: Reinventing Your Life and Realizing Your Dreams Anytime, At Any Age''. Thomas serves as the National Outreach Director for

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

, which was founded by her father, Danny Thomas. She donated all royalties from her 2004 book and CD '' Marlo Thomas and Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long'' (also produced with Christopher Cerf) and her two ''Right Words at the Right Time'' books to the hospital. In 2010, Thomas create
MarloThomas.com
a website for women aged 35+, associated with

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...

and the ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''.

Honors

Thomas is the recipient of four

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, a

, a Jefferson Award, and the

. In 1979, the

Supersisters ''Supersisters'' was a set of 72 trading cards produced and distributed in the United States in 1979 by Supersisters, Inc. They featured famous women from politics, media and entertainment, culture, sports, and other areas of achievement. The c ...

trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Thomas' name and picture. In 1996, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television. On November 20, 2014, the Marlo Thomas Center for Global Education and Collaboration was opened as part of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

presided over the ribbon-cutting ceremony. On November 24, 2014, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

awarded Thomas the

, the nation's highest civilian honor, at a White House ceremony.

Personal life

Thomas was in a long relationship with playwright

Herb Gardner Herbert George Gardner (December 28, 1934 – September 25, 2003), was an American commercial artist, cartoonist, playwright and screenwriter. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, Gardner was the son of a bar owner. His late brother, Robert ...

. In 1977, Thomas was a guest on '' Donahue'', the television

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Sh ...

, when she and host

Phil Donahue Phillip John Donahue (born December 21, 1935) is an American media personality, writer, film producer and the creator and host of ''The Phil Donahue Show''. The television program, later known simply as ''Donahue'', was the first talk show forma ...

fell in "love at first sight". They were married on May 21, 1980, and Donahue moved with some of his sons and his daughter from Chicago to New York City to live with Thomas and to produce his talk show there. Thomas is the stepmother to Donahue's four sons and daughter from his first marriage. Concerning her relationship with her stepchildren, Thomas told the AARP magazine in May 2012, "from the very first day, I decided that I was not going to try to be a 'mother' to Phil's children in the traditional sense — they already had a mom — but, instead, to be their friend. I'm proud to say that the friendships I established with them are as strong today as they were 30 years ago — even stronger."

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

MarloThomas.com

Marlo Thomas
at

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Marlo Thomas
at

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Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

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All About Marlo Thomas
at StJude.org
Marlo Thomas
Video produced by '' Makers: Women Who Make America''
Marlo Thomas at the Comedy Hall of Fame
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Marlo 1937 births Activists from Detroit Activists from Los Angeles Actresses from Los Angeles Actors Studio alumni Actresses from Detroit American film actresses American people of Lebanese descent American people of Italian descent American stage actresses American television actresses American women activists Audiobook narrators A&M Records artists Bell Records artists Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (television) winners Grammy Award winners Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Living people Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses USC Rossier School of Education alumni