Deena Freeman (born February 11, 1956) is an American actress who has appeared in movies, television and commercials. Freeman is most remembered for her role as April, the niece of Henry Rush in the sitcom '' Too Close for Comfort'' (1981–1982).

Early life

Freeman was born in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

. Along with appearing in high school stage productions, she became a regular member of the TheatreWorks acting company. She was a featured player in several productions, including '' Story Theatre'' (1975) and '' Ah, Wilderness!'' (1976) where she performed as Mildred Miller (with

Željko Ivanek Željko Ivanek (; ; born August 15, 1957) is a Slovenian-American actor of Croat descent. Ivanek's film credits include '' Courage Under Fire'' (1996), '' Donnie Brasco'' (1997), '' Hannibal'', '' Black Hawk Down'' (both 2001), '' Unfaithful'' ( ...

as her brother, Richard). After high school, Freeman studied acting at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

, and did graduate work at

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

Career

Her first television appearance was in the TV movie ''In Trouble'', with Nancy Cartwright and Lisa Freeman, following which she was cast in '' Too Close For Comfort''. She made appearances in several TV shows, including ''

Newhart ''Newhart'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and his wife, respe ...

'', '' The White Shadow'', ''

Crazy Like a Fox Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

'', and Bea Arthur’s daughter (one episode) on ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

''. Freeman appeared in numerous commercials, and was honored by the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

for her body of commercial work. She did

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

s for several cartoons and games, including '' Monsters, Inc.'' and ''

The Incredibles ''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American animated superhero film written and directed by Brad Bird. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer ...

''.

Personal life

She is married to producer David Brandes, and has two daughters, Aviva and Noa Brandes, who also are actresses. She founded her own acting studio for kids and teens in Los Angeles called Deena Freeman Kids and Teen acting studio.

References

External links

*
Deena Freeman
– actress's personal website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Deena Jewish American actresses Actresses from California American television actresses 1956 births Living people 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women