Wendy Schaal (born July 2, 1954) is an American actress known for her work in

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably '' Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies with ...

films such as '' Innerspace'', ''

The 'Burbs ''The 'Burbs'' is a 1989 American black comedy film directed by Joe Dante, and starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Wendy Schaal, Henry Gibson, and Gale Gordon. The film was written by Dana Olsen, who ...

'', and '' Small Soldiers''. Her other film credits include starring in films such as ''

Where the Boys Are '84 ''Where the Boys Are '84'' (onscreen title: ''Where the Boys Are'') is a 1984 American sex comedy film that was directed by Hyman Jack "Hy" Averback (the last film he ever directed) and starred Lisa Hartman, Lorna Luft, Wendy Schaal, and Lynn ...

'', '' Creature'', ''

Going Under "Going Under" is a song by American rock band Evanescence from their debut studio album, ''Fallen'' (2003). It was released by Wind-up Records as the album's second single on August 18, 2003. Lee wrote the song about coming out of a difficult r ...

'', and '' Munchies''. She had many guest roles in television series of the mid-1980s, most notably as Marilyn Kelsy in ''

Airwolf ''Airwolf'' is an American action military drama television series that centers on a high-technology military helicopter, code-named ''Airwolf'', and its crew. The show follows them as they undertake various exotic missions, many involving e ...

''. Since 2005 she has primarily worked in voice acting, most notably voicing

Francine Smith Francine Lee Smith (formerly Ling; née Dawson) is a fictional character on the American animated sitcom ''American Dad!'' She is the wife of the main character, Stan Smith and the mother of Hayley and Steve Smith. Francine is voiced by Wendy ...

in the animated comedy television series ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...

Early years

Schaal was born in Chicago,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

, the daughter of Lois Schaal ( Treacy) and actor

Richard Schaal Richard Schaal (; May 5, 1928 – November 4, 2014) was an American film and television actor born in Chicago, Illinois. Career In 1962, Schaal joined Chicago's famed Second City, becoming skilled in sketch and improvisational comedy. H ...

. She is the former stepdaughter of actress Valerie Harper. From birth until she was five, Schaal lived with her parents in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

, Illinois, at which time she moved with her mother to

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island draws v ...

after her parents divorced. Schaal studied acting with

Viola Spolin Viola Spolin (November 7, 1906 — November 22, 1994) was an American theatre academic, educator and acting coach. She is considered an important innovator in 20th century American theater for creating directorial techniques to help actors to be ...

in Chicago when she was nine years old, later moving to Wisconsin and then California when she was 11. When she was 14, a trip to New York to be with her father and Harper soon led her to California again when her father and stepmother chose to settle in Hollywood. Schaal earned an Associate of Arts degree from

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campu ...

, acting and working in set construction. After she attended an acting workshop led by her father, she began to work on television.

Career

Schaal's early work on television included roles on ''

Fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

'', ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the American Midwest (Wisconsin, Kansas, ...

'', ''

Phyllis Phyllis is a feminine given name which may refer to: People * Phyllis Bartholomew (1914–2002), English long jumper * Phyllis Drummond Bethune (née Sharpe, 1899–1982), New Zealand artist * Phyllis Calvert (1915–2002), British actress * P ...

'', ''

Rhoda ''Rhoda'' is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns starring Valerie Harper that originally aired on CBS for five seasons from September 9, 1974, to December 9, 1978. It was the first spin-off of ''The Mary Tyl ...

'', and ''

Welcome Back, Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class called the "Sweathogs." Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the seri ...

''. In 1981, Schaal joined the cast of the ABC-TV series ''

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tatto ...

'', portraying Julie, the niece of the program's central character, Mr. Roark. Her other roles on TV included Bonnie Hornback in ''

AfterMASH ''AfterMASH'' is an American sitcom television series produced as the first spin-off (second overall) and a continuation of ''M*A*S*H'' that aired on CBS from September 26, 1983 to May 31, 1985. It was developed as the sequel series as it takes ...

'', Debbie Pepper in '' Good Grief'', Vickie Allen in ''

It's a Living ''It's a Living'' (renamed for season two as ''Making a Living'') is an American sitcom television series set in a restaurant at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. The show aired on ABC from October 30, 1980, until June 11, 1982. ...

'', and Liz Dooley in ''

Nearly Departed ''Nearly Departed'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC on Monday nights from April 10, 1989 to May 1, 1989. It was an updated version of ''Topper''. Premise The series focused on English professor Grant Pritchard and his wife Claire who are ...

''. She also provides the voice of Francine Smith in the cartoon series ''

Personal life

Schaal was married to Stephen M. Schwartz on September 4, 1977, but divorced in October 1987. They have one son.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaal, Wendy 1954 births Actresses from Chicago American film actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Jewish American actresses Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews