Patricia Joanne "Jenny" O'Hara (born February 24, 1942) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in ''

My Sister Sam ''My Sister Sam'' is an American television sitcom starring Pam Dawber and Rebecca Schaeffer that aired on CBS from October 6, 1986, to April 12, 1988. Synopsis The sitcom follows the lives of a 29-year-old San Francisco freelance photographer ...

'' (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in ''

The King of Queens ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, a total of nine seasons and 207 episodes. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who also served as the show ...

'' (2001–2007), and Nita in ''

Big Love ''Big Love'' is an American drama television series that aired on HBO from March 12, 2006 to March 20, 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah that practices polygamy, with Jeanne Tri ...

'' (2006–2009).

Personal life

O'Hara was born in

Sonora, California Sonora is the county seat of Tuolumne County, California. Founded during the California Gold Rush by Mexican miners from Sonora (after which the city is named), the city population was 5,226 during the 2020 Census, an increase of 221 from the ...

. Her father, John B. O'Hara, was a salesman, and her mother, Edith (Hopkins) O'Hara, was a journalist and drama teacher, who founded and continued to run the 13th Street Repertory Company in New York City for many years before her death at age 103 in 2020. Jenny, her singer/actress younger sister

Jill O'Hara Jill O'Hara (born August 23, 1947) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 1969 for creating the role of Fran Kubelik in '' Promises, Promises'', a role made famous by Shirle ...

, and her singer/guitarist brother Jack O'Hara, grew up amid their mother's pursuit of a theatrical career. John and Edith O'Hara eventually divorced. Edith O'Hara directed a children's theater in

Warren, Pennsylvania Warren is a city in Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Allegheny River. The population was 9,404 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. It is home to the headquarters of the Allegheny National Fores ...

, where the two daughters occasionally acted. Jenny O'Hara debuted on stage at age 5 at the Bushkill Playhouse in the Poconos.

Career

She spent a year at

Carnegie Tech Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

(now part of

Carnegie-Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

) in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

and a summer playing in stock theater, and then came to New York to study with

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931 ...

and Sanford Meisner. In 1964 she appeared on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in the dramatic play ''Dylan'' at the Plymouth Theatre opposite Sir Alec Guinness, and in 1969 appeared in the musical ''

The Fig Leaves Are Falling ''The Fig Leaves Are Falling'' is a musical with a book and lyrics by Allan Sherman and music by Albert Hague. It was inspired by Sherman's 1966 divorce following 21 years of marriage. Production The musical opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst ...

'' at the

Broadhurst Theatre The Broadhurst Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1917, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was built for the Shubert brothers. The Bro ...

with

Dorothy Loudon Dorothy Loudon (September 17, 1925 – November 15, 2003) was an American actress and singer. She won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 1977 for her performance as Miss Hannigan in '' Annie''. Loudon was also nominated for T ...

. Her other Broadway credits include ''Promises, Promises'', ''The Iceman Cometh'', and ''The Odd Couple''. In 1970, O'Hara succeeded her younger sister, Jill (who had been nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

) in the musical '' Promises, Promises''. She graduated to television, both in series and made-for-TV features, including starring roles in: '' Brinks: The Great Robbery'', ''

The Return of the World's Greatest Detective ''The Return of the World's Greatest Detective'' is a 1976 American made-for-television mystery comedy film starring Larry Hagman as an inept motorcycle cop named Sherman Holmes, who, after sustaining a head injury, became convinced that he wa ...

'', '' Blind Ambition'' and ''

Blinded by the Light "Blinded by the Light" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, a which first appeared on his 1973 debut album ''Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' A cover by British rock band Manfred Mann's Earth Band reached number one on the ...

'' with Kristy McNichol. She later worked in movies such as '' Career Opportunities'', ''

A Mother's Prayer ''A Mother's Prayer'' is a 1995 film made for the USA Network starring Linda Hamilton, in a Golden Globe-nominated performance, as a woman who learns she has contracted the AIDS virus and must make plans for the care of her only son. The film, whi ...

'', ''

Mystic River The Mystic River is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 in Massachusetts, in the United States. In Massachusett, means "large estuary," alluding to t ...

'', ''

Matchstick Men ''Matchstick Men'' is a 2003 black comedy film directed by Ridley Scott and based on Eric Garcia's 2002 novel of the same name. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Lohman. The film premiered on September 2, 2003 at the 60th Veni ...

'', '' Extract'' and ''

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

''; was part of the ensemble cast for the first season of '' The Facts of Life'' and the entire run of ''

''; and had guest roles on television series such as ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular ''Cannon'' series, ...

'', '' Charlie's Angels'', ''

Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected ''Quinn Martins Tales of the Unexpected'' is an American horror and science fiction anthology television series produced by Quinn Martin, and hosted and narrated by William Conrad. It aired from February 2 to August 24, 1977.McNeil, Alex, ''Tot ...

'' (known in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

as ''Twist in the Tale''), ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was o ...

'', ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...

'', '' Law & Order'', ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...

'', ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ...

'', '' NYPD Blue'', '' ER'', ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...

'', '' House M.D.'', '' Boston Legal'', '' Reba'', '' Six Feet Under'', and ''

''. She has also made appearances over the years on various TV game shows. On TV, O'Hara portrayed Ruth Manly on ''Black Beauty'', Lottie Murphy in ''Costello'', Rebecca in ''Highcliffe Manor'', Janet Heffernan in ''

'', Muriel Spiegleman in ''Live In'', Dixie Randazzo in ''My Sister Sam'', and Lucy Dexter on ''Secrets of Midland Heights''. She also had roles in the 2009 film, '' Extract'', and the 2010 horror film, ''

''. O'Hara directed the off-Broadway play ''The Women Are No Different'', which was about abuse of wives. In 1973, she owned and operated Jacob O'Hara Inc., a plant business in New York. She auctioned off plants and provided advice to people about caring for their plants.

Family

O'Hara was married to August Dorr Watkins, an interior designer and former actor, from 1968 until their 1974 divorce. Since 1986, she has been married to British-born American actor

Nick Ullett Nicholas Metson Ullett (born 5 March 1941) is a British-born American actor. For a number of years, he was part of a comedy duo with Tony Hendra. Filmography * '' Call of Duty: Finest Hour'' (2004) (VG) (voice) (as Nick Ullet) * ''Yes, Dear'' ( ...

. They have two adult daughters.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohara, Jenny 1942 births American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American video game actresses American voice actresses Actresses from California Actresses from Pennsylvania Living people People from Warren County, Pennsylvania People from Sonora, California 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Carnegie Mellon University alumni