Mindy Cohn (born May 20, 1966) is an American actress, who appeared on VH1's List of "100 Greatest Kid Stars". She starred as Natalie Green in the

sitcom 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 ...

'' The Facts of Life'' from 1979 to 1988, and is known for voicing

Velma Dinkley Velma Dinkley is a fictional character in the '' Scooby-Doo'' franchise. She is usually seen wearing a baggy orange turtleneck sweater, a short pink pleated skirt (or in later episodes an A-line skirt, or sometimes shorts), knee socks, Mary Ja ...

in the ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...

'' franchise from 2002 to 2015, succeeding B. J. Ward.

Early life

Cohn was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and was raised

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Career

Cohn was discovered by actress

Charlotte Rae Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American character actress and singer whose career spanned six decades. Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms '' Diff'rent Strokes'' and its spin-off, ...

when Rae and the producers of ''The Facts of Life'' visited Westlake School in Holmby Hills, California, while doing research for the show. Cohn was cast as Natalie Green and portrayed the character for the series' nine-year run (1979–1988), as well as in the reunion movie (2001). In 2013, she commented on Charlotte Rae's lobbying on her behalf: "Mr. Reynolds calls me into his office. It seemed that Charlotte Rae had fallen madly in love with me, in part because I reminded her of her best childhood friend Natalie — and I was irrepressible, charming, and hilarious. So she asked the producers to create a part for me in the show. Honestly, the whole thing seemed so fantastic I didn’t know what to think." After the show, she remained friends with Rae. Two months before her acting mentor's 90th birthday in 2016, when Cohn was unavailable to attend ''The Facts of Life'' reunion interview, she sent Rae a video message praising her decades-long friend for teaching her the craft of acting. Cohn said that one of the reasons she did '' The Facts of Life Reunion'' in 2001 was that the actresses in the long-running 1980s series have been wrongly denied a cut of the

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, ...

and DVD profits from the series. "We all never got paid and still don't get paid for DVDs and reruns ... we felt we were owed." Cohn has continued her acting career outside of ''The Facts of Life''. In 1984 she had a leading role as the daughter alongside Stockard Channing in RKO's video production of "Table Settings". In 1986, she appeared in '' The Boy Who Could Fly'' as next-door neighbor Geneva. She also had guest appearances in other popular TV shows, including ''

Charles in Charge ''Charles in Charge'' is an American sitcom television series that premiered on October 3, 1984, on CBS. The series was a production of Al Burton Productions and Scholastic Productions in association with Universal Television and starred Scott ...

'' (playing Buddy's sister Bunny, a young

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

, in the 1988 episode "Bottle Baby"), and two guest appearances in the second season of the cop drama '' 21 Jump Street'' (playing Rosa in the 1987 episode "Christmas In Saigon" and the 1988 episode "Chapel of Love"). In 2004 Cohn appeared in the WB comedy '' The Help''. In 2010, Cohn played the role of Violet, the leading character in

Casper Andreas Casper Andreas (born September 28, 1972) is a Swedish actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer based in New York City. He is openly gay. Career Andreas was born in Sweden. He made his feature film debut as a director with the roman ...

's movie '' Violet Tendencies,'' and appeared on the Season 8 premiere of TLC's '' What Not to Wear'' on October 29, 2010. She appeared in an episode of ''

Hot in Cleveland ''Hot in Cleveland'' is an American television sitcom on TV Land starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White. The series, which was TV Land's first original series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was TV Land's hig ...

'' on July 13, 2011, on ''

The Secret Life of the American Teenager ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' (often shortened to ''Secret Life'') is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It aired on ABC Family from July 1, 2008 to June 3, 2013. The series received mixed to som ...

'' on March 26, 2012, in Judson Theatre Company's ''Bell, Book and Candle'' in 2013, and in '' The Middle'' on May 21, 2014. Cohn reprised her Velma Dinkley role in ''

Lego Dimensions ''Lego Dimensions'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure platform crossover video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox One and Xbox 360. I ...

''.

Personal life

Mindy Cohn is a

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

survivor, having been diagnosed with it in 2012 and was declared cancer-free in 2017. Cohn is a strong supporter of the

LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and so ...

and has stated that she is proud to be a " fag hag." She has a degree in

cultural anthropology Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portma ...

from

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

and is a founding member of the weSpark

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

support center.

Filmography

Actress

Voice work

Video games

Accolades

In 2003 Cohn was nominated for 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 ...

for her work on the TV show '' What's New, Scooby-Doo?'', for which she provided the voice of

. She reprised her role of Velma on '' Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated'' and in several other ''

'' movies. She received a positive notice from ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' for her role in the 2007 Daniel Waters comedy film ''

Sex and Death 101 ''Sex and Death 101'' is a 2007 dark comedy science fiction film written and directed by Daniel Waters, released in the United States on April 4, 2008. The film marks the reunion of writer/director Daniel Waters and Winona Ryder, who previously ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohn, Mindy 1966 births Living people Activists from California Actresses from Los Angeles American child actresses American film actresses American television actresses American video game actresses American voice actresses American women activists Comedians from California Harvard-Westlake School alumni Jewish American actresses Jewish American female comedians LGBT rights activists from the United States Loyola Marymount University alumni Women civil rights activists 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American Jews