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| Birth Name(s) : Judith Ellen Licht |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
Robert Desiderio |
| Profession:
N/A |
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Full Judith Light Biography
Judith Light (born Judith Ellen Licht on February 9, 1949) is an Emmy Award-winning American actress. She is best known for her role as Angela Bower on the ABC sitcom Who's the Boss?. She can now be seen playing Claire Meade on ABC's Ugly Betty.
Light was born in Trenton, New Jersey of Jewish heritage, the daughter of Benjamin Licht (Benny Light), who owned a major furniture store in Trenton.
Light first found fame on television after being recast in the role of Karen Wolek on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. (The Karen Wolek role had previously been portrayed by actresses Kathryn Breech and Julia Duffy). This role was quite lucrative for Light and spawned one of the show's most-remembered storylines; Light's character became a prostitute after she became bored with her life as a housewife. On trial, Karen saved her friend Viki Lord from being convicted of killing her pimp by admitting that she had been a prostitute to the entire town, including her faithful husband. Light won Daytime Emmy Awards in 1980 and 1981.
This star power allowed her to be cast in a lead role on the ABC sitcom Who's the Boss?. She played the role of the assertive advertising executive Angela Bower from 1984 to 1992. She often played the comic foil to Tony Danza's character, Tony Micelli. The series is currently in syndication. TV Guide has Who's the Boss? ranked as the 109th best sitcom of all time.
In 1997 she played a suffocating mother in "Too Close to Home" with Rick Schroder. In 2000, Light played doctor Vivian Bearing in WIT, Margaret Edson's Pulitzer prize winning stage drama for which she received outstanding reviews across the U.S. Essentially a one woman show, Light's performance earned her considerable credibility as a serious dramatic actress. As of 2002, she has a recurring role on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, where she plays Judge Elizabeth Donnelly, who served as an EADA and Bureau Chief in the Manhattan District Attorney's office before being appointed to the bench in Season 7.
She is also a recurring regular on ABC's Ugly Betty, where she plays Claire Meade, the wife of Bradford Meade and the mother of both Daniel Meade and Alexis Meade. Claire, who was spending time in a rehabilatation clinic for alcoholism but was released, is also the murderer of the show's deceased fictional character Fey Sommers; Claire would be arrested afterwards. Light will continue in that role as a fulltime regular when Ugly Betty starts its second season, as her character was revealed to be the real owner of MODE magazine and is expected to make her presence felt from her jail cell, if she ever makes it to prison, now that Claire has become a fugitive and has set her sights on stopping her husband from marrying Wilhelmina Slater, who wants to take over her family's company. Light's performance as Claire resulted in a nomination for outstanding guest actress in a Comedy series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards, along with Ugly Betty co-creator/producer Salma Hayek, who was nominated in the same category for her role as Sofia Reyes, but both lost to Elaine Stritch. This was Light's first nomination ever for a starring role in a primetime series.
Light was recently in an episode of Family Guy where she played a cartoon version of herself obsessed with Tony Danza and making out with a constructed dummy of Tony in her house. She also recently appeared in an episode of the NBC sitcom Twenty Good Years.
As of August 2007, there were unconfirmed rumors that Judith would be hosting a new reality show that focused on the adolescent beauty pagent circuit.
Light is a gay rights activist and helped former Who's the Boss? co-star Danny Pintauro cope with his sexuality. Light has done work for many LGBT charities and spoke at the 1993 March on Washington. She is also a prominent AIDS activist and played Ryan White's mother in a 1989 TV-movie on his life (one of many acclaimed movies-for-television she has made). Light recorded a national public service announcement for The Borgen Project to help raise awareness of global poverty. Light was also the spokesperson for an anti-acne product, Proactiv Solution.
Light has been married to television actor Robert Desiderio since 1985. They met when they were both on One Life to Live. |
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