Melinda Heather "Mindy" Cohn (born May 20, 1966) is an American actress. She starred as Natalie Green in the

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'' 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 red pleated skirt, knee high socks, Mary Jane shoes, and a pair of black square glasses, which she ...

in the ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...

'' franchise from 2002 to 2015, succeeding B. J. Ward, before being succeeded herself by

Kate Micucci Kate Micucci ( ; born March 31, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, and musician who is half of the musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates with Riki Lindhome. Some of her roles include Stephanie Gooch in '' Scrubs'', Ally in '' 'Til Death' ...

. Cohn appeared on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's List of "100 Greatest Kid Stars".

Early life

Melinda Heather Cohn was born in

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, ...

in 1966 and was raised

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

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 sixty-six years. Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and its spin-o ...

when Rae and the producers of ''The Facts of Life'' visited Westlake School in Holmby Hills, California, while doing research for the show; she had been asked by the principal to be a student tour guide for the group, who found themselves enchanted by her natural comic instincts as she led them around the campus.Morales, Natalie. ''Behind Closed Doors: The Facts of Life'', NBC, 8 March 2020. 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 and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

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

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

, in the 1988 episode "Bottle Baby"), and two guest appearances in the second season of the cop drama ''

21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired from April 12, 1987 to April 27, 1991, spanning 103 episodes over five s ...

'' (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 ''The Help'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Kathryn Stockett published by Penguin Books in 2009. The story is about African Americans working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s. A ''USA Today' ...

''. In 2010, Cohn played the role of Violet, the leading character in Casper Andreas's movie '' Violet Tendencies,'' and appeared on the Season 8 premiere of

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

'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 aired on TV Land and 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 ...

'' on July 13, 2011, on '' The Secret Life of the American Teenager'' 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''.

Personal life

Mindy Cohn is a

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

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 LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ people, LGBTQ individuals united by LGBTQ culture, a common culture and LGBTQ movements, social movements. These Community, comm ...

and has stated that she is proud to be a "

fag hag A ''fag hag'' is, in gay slang, a woman who associates either mostly or exclusively with gay and bisexuality, bisexual men. The phrase originated in gay male culture in the United States and was historically an insult. Some women who associate ...

". 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 term ...

from

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. LMU enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest Catholic university on the west coast of the ...

and is a founding member of the weSpark

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

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 (NA ...

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. Cohn received a positive notice from '' Variety'' for her role in the 2007 Daniel Waters comedy film '' Sex and Death 101''. In 2023, she received an

Indie Series Award The Indie Series Awards (formerly the Indie Soap Awards) is an annual event hosted by '' We Love Soaps'', based in Los Angeles, California, honoring the best in independently produced, scripted entertainment created for the Internet. The ceremon ...

for her voice acting roles in season 2 of ''Around the Sun''.

References

External links

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