Jennifer Rhodes (born Janice Wilson) is an American actress best known in her many television roles specifically TV shows such as ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'' and ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. The show debuted October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagship series for the network. The show ran fo ...

'' but she is mainly known for her role as Penny Halliwell on ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadc ...

''.

Life and career

The daughter of Bennie and Clara Wilson, she grew up in

Rosiclare, Illinois Rosiclare is a city in Hardin County, Illinois, along the Ohio River. The population was 980 at the 2020 census. History Some of the earliest settlers of the Rosiclare area were outlaws mainly counterfeiters from the Sturdivant Gang in the late ...

, and graduated from Rosiclare Community High School in 1957. She became interested in theater while attending

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

and moved to New York City soon after graduating. She studied

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

and began getting cast for theatre roles. She eventually moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

where she stopped acting for a while because she felt, as a stage actress, she didn't know very much about acting for television or movie roles.She eventually auditioned successfully for commercials roles, later moving on to television and film. Rhodes' first credited role was in the 1960s television series ''

The High Chaparral ''The High Chaparral'' is an American Western action-adventure drama television series that aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971, starring Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell. The series was made by Xanadu Productions in association with NBC Produc ...

'' as the character Tanea. In 1980, she played a press secretary on a made-for-TV movie about

Jackie Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

.In 1988, she appeared in the

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment, New World Communications Group, Inc., and New World International) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia com ...

film ''

Heathers ''Heathers'' is a 1988 American teen dark comedy crime film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, in both of their respective film debuts. The film stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk, K ...

'' as

Winona Ryder Winona Laura Horowitz (born ), known professionally as Winona Ryder, is an American actress. Having come to attention playing quirky characters in the late 1980s, she achieved success with her more dramatic performances in the 1990s. Ryder's L ...

's mother. She appeared on the following select series: '' Fame, Matlock,

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

Quantum Leap Quantum leap or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * Quantum leap (physics), also known as quantum jump, a transition between quantum states ** Atomic electron transition, a key example of the physics phenomenon * Paradigm shift, a sudden ch ...

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American primetime television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially cente ...

Designing Women ''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS between September 29, 1986 and May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomas ...

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about the recently widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend ...

Red Shoe Diaries ''Red Shoe Diaries'' is an American erotic drama anthology series that aired on Showtime from 1992 to 1997, and was distributed by Playboy Entertainment, but as of 2025, Paramount Global Content Distribution overseas. It is a spin-off of the t ...

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American teen and family drama television series created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000, with a total of six seasons consisting of 142 epis ...

, ER,

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news presenter, news anch ...

3rd Rock from the Sun ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' is an American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, which originally aired from January 9, 1996, to May 22, 2001, on NBC. The show is about four Extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrials who are on an e ...

Family Matters ''Family Matters'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC for eight seasons from September 22, 1989, to May 9, 1997, then moved to CBS for its ninth and final season from September 19, 1997, to July 17, 1998. A spin-of ...

, Popular, The Agency,'' and ''

Boston Public ''Boston Public'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. Set in Boston, the series centers on Winslow High School, a fictional public high sc ...

''. She also appeared on the Disney Channel's ''

The Suite Life on Deck ''The Suite Life on Deck'' is an American teen sitcom created by Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan, and developed by Kallis and Pamela Eells O'Connell. The series aired on Disney Channel from September 26, 2008, to May 6, 2011. It is a sequel/ spi ...

''. Rhodes may be best known as Penny "Grams" Halliwell on

The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

series ''

'', where she starred as the ghost of the Charmed Ones's grandmother and the tough-as-nails

matriarch Matriarchy is a social system in which positions of power and privilege are held by women. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege, and control of property. While those definitions apply in general English, ...

of the Halliwell clan. Although not a regular she did appear frequently throughout all 8 seasons of the original series. Her first regular series role was in '' Nightingales'' as the character Effie Gardner.

Filmography

Film

* ''Stand Up and Be Counted'' (1972) - (uncredited) * ''Big Rose: Double Trouble'' (1974, TV Movie) * ''

The Towering Inferno ''The Towering Inferno'' is a 1974 American disaster film directed by John Guillermin and produced by Irwin Allen, featuring an ensemble cast led by Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. It was adapted by Stirling Silliphant from the novels '' The ...

'' (1974) - Janet - Secretary (uncredited) * ''

The Death of Richie ''The Death of Richie'' is a 1977 American made-for-television drama film based on ''Richie'', a non-fiction book by Thomas Thompson about the 1972 death of George Richard "Richie" Diener Jr. at the hands of his father, who was ultimately not ch ...

'' (1977, TV Movie) - Elaine * ''Red Light in the White House'' (1977) - Carrie Russell * '' Night Creature'' (1978) - Georgia * ''

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

'' (1978) - Psych Ward Nurse (uncredited) * ''Sketches of a Strangler'' (1978) - Eileen * '' Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy'' (1981, TV Movie) - Press Secretary * ''I'm Going to Be Famous'' (1983) * '' Ghost Fever'' (1986) - Madame St. Esprit * ''The Eleventh Commandment'' (1986) * ''

Body Count A body count is the total number of people killed in a particular event. In combat, a body count is often based on the number of confirmed kills, but occasionally only an estimate. Often used in reference to military combat, the term can also r ...

'' (1987, TV Movie) * '' Slumber Party Massacre II'' (1987) - Mrs. Bates * ''

'' (1988) - Veronica's Mom * '' Nightingales'' (1988, TV Series) - Effie Gardner * ''Twenty Dollar Star'' (1990) - Renee * ''Frame-Up II: The Cover-Up'' (1992) - Brook's Landlady * ''Exiled in America'' (1992) - Sister Mary Catherine * ''The Baby Doll Murders'' (1993) - Mrs. Landers * ''There Was a Little Boy'' (1993, TV Movie) - Dr. Blum * '' Doorways'' (1993, TV Movie) - Mother * '' Night of the Demons 2'' (1994) - Sister Gloria * ''Killing Obsession'' (1994) - Ella * ''Skeletons'' (1997, TV Movie) - Mrs. Gallway * ''The Killers Within'' (1997) - Hanna * ''Cold Case'' (1997, TV Movie) - Miranda Allison * ''Chasing Tchaikovsky'' (2007) - Mrs. Winnington * '' Let the Game Begin'' (2010) - Hope * ''

Class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

'' (2010, TV Movie) - Judge * ''Dispatch'' (2011) - Mrs. Gordon * '' The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone'' (2013) - Ms. Sally * '' Lovesick'' (2013) - Mother

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Jennifer Living people American film actresses American television actresses American stage actresses Actresses from Illinois People from Hardin County, Illinois 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)