Rose Marie Abdoo (born November 28, 1962) is an American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

and

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...

, known for her roles as Stars Hollow's local

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and ...

, Gypsy, on ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham ( Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel ( Rory Gilmore). The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flag ...

'' and as Spanish teacher Señorita Rodriguez on '' That's So Raven''.

Life and career

Abdoo was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. She is of Lebanese and Dominican descent. Her father, Peter Abdoo, was a budget analyst for the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

and her mother, Mary, was a homemaker.Murray, Tom. "Gypsy Rose," ''DBusiness'' (Detroit, MI), July-August 2020.
Retrieved September 18, 2021 Abdoo's career began in Chicago, where she performed at various improvisational theaters, including the Improv Institute and four years with

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre o ...

; she went on to develop her own

one-woman shows A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

, ''Who Does She Think She Is?'' and ''Get to the Part About Me''.Bill Zwecker. "Leading players set for 'Monologues' return," ''Chicago Tribune'', November 22, 2000, section 2, page 53. She also did a short-lived variety program with

Bob Odenkirk Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker best known for his role as Saul Goodman on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). For the latter, he has re ...

and Conan O'Brien called '' Happy Happy Good Show''. After graduating from Southfield High School, Abdoo earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in Communication in 1984 and later a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

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

, both from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

.Fred Nuccio. "A Rose by any other name is just as funny," ''Chicago Sun-Times'', July 10, 1994, "Show" section, page 2.Hughes, Mike. "Things that make you go hmmmm about Hollywood," ''Lansing'' (MI) ''State Journal'', Tuesday, January 19, 1993.
Retrieved September 18, 2021 She was cast in several college theater roles and encouraged by a professor to study improvisation. She went on to move to Chicago, where she joined Second City, performing first in their national touring shows and moving on to their E.T.C. troupe.Barbara Revsine. "So you want to be in show biz: How to make that first step up the ladder," ''Chicago Tribune'', September 13, 1991, "Friday" section, page 3. As a part of E.T.C., Abdoo won a Joseph Jefferson Award as "Best Actress in a

Revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own du ...

" in 1991 for her role in the production ''We Made a Mesopotamia, Now You Clean It Up'', playing what the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' called "the show's meatiest part: an obnoxious, know-it-all tour bus rider."Rick Kogan. "'Mesopotamia cradles laughs within its sketches," ''Chicago Tribune'', May 30, 1991, "News: Overnight" section, page 30. She went on to co-host the awards ceremony in 1994.Hedy Weiss. "Jeffs honor theater: Goodman's 12 tops the list," ''Chicago Tribune'', November 15, 1994, "Features" section, page 43. She was nominated alongside her castmates for a Best Ensemble

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 ...

award for ''Good Night, and Good Luck.'' In March 2008, Abdoo co-starred in the web series ''The Writers Room'' on

Crackle Crackle or crackling may refer to: Foods * Cracklings, the tissue remaining after lard and tallow have been extracted from animal fats ** Pork rinds in American English, pork scratchings in British English when served in small pieces as a snack ...

. Abdoo joined the cast of HBO ''Hacks'' as Josefina in 2021.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdoo, Rose American women comedians American television actresses Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American film actresses Actresses from Chicago American people of Arab descent American people of Lebanese descent American people of Dominican Republic descent Michigan State University alumni American stage actresses Comedians from Illinois 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians 1962 births