Amanda Bearse (born August 9, 1958) is an American actress,

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

and director. She starred in the 1985 supernatural horror film ''

Fright Night ''Fright Night'' is a 1985 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Tom Holland, in his directorial debut. The film follows teenager Charley Brewster (played by William Ragsdale), who discovers that his next-door neighbor Je ...

'', and later starred as Marcy Rhoades D'Arcy in the Fox sitcom '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997). Bearse later began working as a television director, directing over 90 episodes of several comedy series.

Early life

Bearse grew up in

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 29,795 according to the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was foun ...

. After she graduated from

Winter Park High School Winter Park High School (often simply abbreviated as WPHS) located in Winter Park, Florida, United States is one of nineteen public high schools in Orange County. Winter Park High School is an International Baccalaureate school and delivers ...

in 1976, her family moved to Atlanta. She attended

Rollins College Rollins College is a Liberal arts college, private liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several master's programs. Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institut ...

Birmingham Southern College Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and

Young Harris College Young Harris College is a Private college, private Methodist-affiliated Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Young Harris, Georgia, United States. History Origins The school was founded in 1886 by Artemas Le ...

, where she received an associate of arts degree. Bearse studied acting at New York City's

Neighborhood Playhouse A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

under instructor

Sanford Meisner Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 – February 2, 1997) was an American actor and acting teacher who developed an approach to acting instruction that is now known as the Meisner technique. While Meisner was exposed to method acting at the Group ...

Career

Bearse made her television debut playing the role of Amanda Cousins in the ABC daytime soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

'' from 1982 to 1983. The following year, she had a small role in the comedy film ''

Protocol Protocol may refer to: Sociology and politics * Protocol (politics) Protocol originally (in Late Middle English, c. 15th century) meant the minutes or logbook taken at a meeting, upon which an agreement was based. The term now commonly refers to ...

'' starring

Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, producer, dancer, and singer. She achieved stardom and acclaim for playing lighthearted comedic roles in film and television. In a career spanning six decades, she has received ...

, and later landed a role in the sex comedy ''

Fraternity Vacation ''Fraternity Vacation'' is a 1985 American sex comedy teen film starring Stephen Geoffreys as a nerdy pledge to the Theta Pi Gamma fraternity at Iowa State, with Tim Robbins and Cameron Dye as Theta Pi Gamma frat boys (or, as they are known ...

''. In 1985, Bearse played the female leading role in the supernatural horror film ''

''. She returned to television with a guest-starring role in the ABC drama series, ''

Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

'' in 1986. The following year, she was cast as Marcy Rhoades (later Marcy D'Arcy), the feminist next-door neighbor in the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

sitcom '' Married... with Children'' opposite

Ed O'Neill Edward Leonard O'Neill (born April 12, 1946) is an American actor, comedian, and former football player. Over his career, he has earned four Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe ...

and

Katey Sagal Catherine Louise Sagal (born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on '' Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023–present), Cate He ...

. The series ran to 1997, becoming one of the longest running sitcoms in television history. Bearse studied directing at the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

and the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. She began directing television while appearing on ''Married...with Children'', and from 1991 to 1997, she directed 31 episodes of the show. She also directed episodes of '' Reba'', ''

Mad TV ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine '' Mad'', ''Mad TVs pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodie ...

'', '' Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher'', ''

Malcolm & Eddie ''Malcolm & Eddie'' is an American television sitcom that premiered August 26, 1996, on UPN, and ran for four seasons, airing its final episode on May 22, 2000. This series starred Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Eddie Griffin in the lead roles. The ...

'', ''Pauly'', ''The Tom Show'', ''

The Jamie Foxx Show ''The Jamie Foxx Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Jamie Foxx and Bentley Kyle Evans for The WB. It premiered on August 28, 1996, and ended on January 14, 2001, with a total of 100 episodes over the course of five seasons. A ...

'', ''

Dharma & Greg ''Dharma & Greg'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC for five seasons from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002, with a total of 119 episodes. The show starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Mont ...

'', ''

Veronica's Closet ''Veronica's Closet'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. It aired on NBC for three seasons, from September 25, 1997 to December 7, 2000. Kirstie Alley starred as Veronica "Ronnie" Chase, the owner an ...

'', ''

Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and the only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many ...

'', ''

Jesse Jesse may refer to: People * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible * Jesse (given name), including a list of people * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' (album), a 2003 album by Jesse Powell * "Jesse" (s ...

'' (1999; starring her ''Married...with Children '' costar

Christina Applegate Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. With a career spanning five decades, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, along with nominations for four Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. After appearing in se ...

), '' Jessie'' (2011), and '' Ladies Man''. In 2005, she directed ''

The Sperm Donor ''Situation: Comedy'' is a reality show that aired on the Bravo (American TV network), Bravo network from July 26 until September 9, 2005. It was produced by Sean Hayes (actor), Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner. The winner of the series was "Stephe ...

'', a pilot for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

starring

Maggie Wheeler Maggie Wheeler (née Jakobson) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Janice on the television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004), and Anita on ''Ellen'' (1994–1996). In addition to her acting and voiceover work, she is a singe ...

. In 2006, Bearse teamed with

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American talk show host, comedian, and actress. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' in 1984. After a series of television ...

to produce and direct ''

The Big Gay Sketch Show ''The Big Gay Sketch Show'' is an LGBT-themed sketch comedy program that debuted on Logo on April 24, 2007. The series was produced by Rosie O'Donnell and directed by Amanda Bearse. The program was originally titled ''The Big Gay Show,'' but ...

'', which debuted on

Logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

on April 24, 2007. Bearse appeared as an actress in only two films in the 1990s: ''

The Doom Generation ''The Doom Generation'' is a 1995 independent film, independent black comedy thriller (genre), thriller film co-produced, co-edited, written and directed by Gregg Araki, and starring Rose McGowan, James Duval and Jonathan Schaech. The plot follow ...

'' and '' Here Come the Munsters'' (both 1995). She returned to acting in 2011, appearing in two episodes of Lifetime comedy-drama series, ''

Drop Dead Diva ''Drop Dead Diva'' is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that aired on Lifetime from July 12, 2009, to June 22, 2014. The series was created by Josh Berman and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It stars Brooke Elliot ...

''. In 2020, she starred in the German comedy horror film, ''

Sky Sharks ''Sky Sharks'' is a 2020 German science fiction comedy horror film directed by Marc Fehse and starring Robert LaSardo, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Lynn Lowry, Lar Park Lincoln, Nick Principe, Michaela Schaffrath and Charles Rettinghaus. Plot Durin ...

'', making her first film appearance in 25 years. In 2022, Bearse played

Luke Macfarlane Thomas Luke Macfarlane (born 19 January 1980) is a Canadian actor and former singer. He is known for playing Scotty Wandell on the ABC television drama '' Brothers & Sisters'' (2006–2011), RAC Agent D'avin Jaqobis on the Space television sci ...

's mother in the romantic comedy film, '' Bros''.

Personal life

Bearse has been publicly out as

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

since 1993 and has a daughter, Zoe. Amanda Bearse

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bearse, Amanda 1958 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people American film actresses American television actresses American television directors American women comedians American women film directors American women television directors American lesbian actresses Lesbian comedians Actresses from Orlando, Florida Comedians from Florida LGBTQ people from Florida People from Winter Park, Florida Birmingham–Southern College alumni Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni Winter Park High School alumni Young Harris College alumni Film directors from Florida LGBTQ television directors American LGBTQ comedians