Celebrity Nooz: Laurie Metcalf

Laurie Metcalf (Actress) as Jackie - Roseanne

Updated: 3/12/09

Name: Laurie Metcalf

Birth Name: Lauren Ophelia Metcalfe

Born: June 16, 1955 in Edwardsville, Illinois

Claim To Fame: While Metcalf has appeared in several television series, she remains best known as Jackie, sister to the title character in the hit series Roseanne. Her role as the quirky sister earned her three consecutive Emmy Awards.

Family Life: She was married to Steppenwolf co-founding member Jeff Perry and they had a daughter Zoe in 1984. They later divorced and she married actor Matt Roth. Their son Will was born in 1993, and in 2005, they welcomed a daughter named Mae, who was born by a surrogate mother.

Info: Metcalf's professional career began at the famed Steppenwolf Theatre Company. In 1981, she performed on Saturday Night Live, but appeared in only one episode before the season abruptly ended due to a writer's strike. In 1983, she appeared in a Steppenwolf production of Balm in Gilead, for which she received the 1984 Obie Award for Best Actress. She has since performed in a number of film, television, and stage productions.

Trivia: Founding ensemble member of the famous Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Her ex-husband, Jeff Perry, was one of the three founders of the troupe.

Great-niece of screenwriter Zoe Akins.

Received her BA in Theatre from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois in 1976.

Graduate of Edwardsville High School.

At one time typed 90 words per minute.

Won 3 Emmys in a row in 1992, 1993, 1994 for Roseanne.

Where Are They Now: Metcalf has continued to make numerous guest appearances on television series, including Absolutely Fabulous, Malcolm in the Middle, Monk, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Frasier, Without a Trace, Grey's Anatomy, My Boys, Dharma & Greg and more recently on the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory.

She was recently seen in a recurring role on Desperate Housewives and appeared alongside her ex-husband Jeff Perry for an episode of Grey's Anatomy. In fall 2008, Metcalf starred in the new CW show Easy Money, as the matriarch of a family of loan sharks. The series was cancelled after only three episodes.

She has most recently been appearing in David Mamet's play, November, at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in New York City. In 2005, Metcalf and her family moved to a ranch in Idaho, and in April 2008, they took in a young foster son.

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