Julia Duffy

Julia Margaret Duffy (née Hinds; June 27, 1951) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She began her career in television, appearing in minor guest roles before being cast in the role of Penny Davis in the series The Doctors from 1973 until 1978. She subsequently starred in the acclaimed Broadway revival of Once in a Lifetime in 1978.

After appearing in the films Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1981) and Wacko (1982), she was cast as Stephanie Vanderkellen on the sitcom Newhart, a role she portrayed from 1983 to 1990. Duffy's role on Newhart garnered her critical acclaim, including seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations, three Viewers for Quality Television awards, and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

Following the conclusion of Newhart, Duffy continued to work in television, playing the original Maggie Campbell on Baby Talk (1991) and Allison Sugarbaker on Designing Women (1991–1992). In the 2000s, Duffy appeared in guest roles on Reba and Drake & Josh, as well as having supporting roles in the comedy films Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd and Intolerable Cruelty (both 2003). She subsequently had recurring guest roles on the series Shameless (2011–2013) and Looking (2014–2015), and appeared in a supporting role in the drama Camp X-Ray (2014).

1951–1971: Early life

Julia Duffy was born Julia Margaret Hinds on June 27, 1951, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the youngest daughter of Joseph Hinds and Mary Duffy. She has three sisters. When Duffy was seven years old, her father died, and her mother later remarried and worked as a real estate agent.

Duffy began acting as an adolescent, appearing in local stage productions at Minneapolis's Old Log Theatre. At age 18, she appeared in a Minneapolis production of The Girl in the Freudian Slip. In 1970, Duffy relocated to New York City where she enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, from which she graduated in 1972. While attending, she worked as a waitress and hatcheck girl.

1972–1982: Career beginnings

Her early career included parts in soap operas such as One Life to Live,The Doctors, and Love of Life. In 1978, Duffy starred in the critically acclaimed Broadway revival of Once in a Lifetime.

She subsequently appeared in supporting roles in the exploitation horror film Night Warning (1981) opposite Jimmy McNichol and Susan Tyrell, as well as Cutter's Way (1981). She made an appearance on the television sitcom Cheers during the show's first season in 1982. Initially,she had been considered for the role of Diane Chambers, the sitcom's female lead.

In 1983, she played Princess Ariel Baaldorf in the medieval spoof Wizards and Warriors, which had a short run on the CBS television network.

1983–1990: Newhart and critical acclaim

After being an unfamiliar actress in prime time, Duffy joined the main cast of the sitcom Newhart during its second season in 1983 as the Stratford Inn's self-infatuated, upper-class maid, Stephanie Vanderkellen. She had initially made an appearance in the 14th episode of the first season of the series, playing the part of then-maid Leslie Vanderkellen's cousin.It is perhaps her most popular role and one she played for seven seasons. She earned Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the role every year from 1984 through 1990. She also received a Golden Globe nomination and won three Viewers For Quality Television awards and five American Comedy Awards nominations for her work. Julia was actually pregnant during several episodes of Newhart. To hide it, she wore baggy clothes and stood behind furniture. She remains close to Newhart.

1991–present: Television and stage

After the end of Newhart in 1990, Duffy briefly starred in the sitcom Baby Talk alongside George Clooney, but asked to be released after Clooney walked off the troubled set. The new producers accommodated her, allowing her to then join the cast of Designing Women.Baby Talk was then retooled and Duffy was replaced by Mary Page Keller. She worked again with Clooney some years later in the Coen Brothers' comedy Intolerable Cruelty. In 1991, she joined the cast of Designing Women, essentially replacing Delta Burke, the show's breakout star, who was fired after quarrels with producers. Duffy played Allison Sugarbaker, Burke and Dixie Carter's previously unseen cousin on the show. Duffy's tenure on the sitcom's sixth season turned out to be the highest-rated season in the show's history, partly because of the highly publicized cast additions of Duffy and Jan Hooks. However, because of conflicting ideas about her character, she was amicably released from her contract, thus leading her to be replaced by Judith Ivey.

From 1993 to 1995, Duffy played Barb Ballantine on the short-lived comedy series The Mommies. Duffy played Lindsay Mercer, one of the failed buyers of Winfred-Lauder and the ex-wife of Lord Mercer on The Drew Carey Show. She has a recurring role on the Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh as Linda Hayfer, a high-school English teacher who despises Drake. She appeared on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as the rich mother of Jason, a boy who goes on a date with Maddie Fitzpatrick (Ashley Tisdale). She made a brief appearance in the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP as the owner of a stage that LuLu wanted to rent.

In 2009, Duffy co-starred with Kelly McGillis in a stage production ofThe Little Foxes at the Pasadena Playhouse. She later appeared again at the Playhouse in 'The Heiress' starring Richard Chamberlain. In the 2010s, Duffy had recurring roles on HBO's Looking and Showtime's Shameless, as well as Scream Queens, Key and Peele, and other guest roles. In 2014, she appeared in a supporting role opposite Kristen Stewart in the drama film Camp X-Ray.

Her theatre credits include the Broadway production "Once in a Lifetime" as well as numerous regional theatre credits. Most recently, Duffy appeared in a stage production of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner at the Huntington Theatre in Boston, directed by David Esbjornson, for which she received an IRNE Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama, followed by a lead in the play Sex and Education at the Laguna Playhouse in the spring of 2016. In December 2016, Duffy co-starred with Mare Winningham and Mark Blum in an Off-Broadway production of Rancho Viejo directed by Daniel AukinPlaywrights Horizons. Ben Brantley of The New York Times described Duffy's performance as "hilariously withering."Most recently she starred in the ensemble comedy 'The Outsider' at Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, along with Broadway veterans Lenny Wolpe, Kelley Curran and Manoel Felciano, directed by David Esbjornson.

She has written a book, Bad Auditions, published by Smith and Kraus, which was to be released in 2017.

Duffy married actor Jerry Lacy, co-star of Dark Shadows and Love of Life, in 1984. In 1986, they had their first child, a daughter, Kerry. In August 1989, Duffy gave birth to their second child, a son, Daniel. Daniel committed suicide in April 2019.