Linda Wallem (born May 29, 1961) is an American actress, writer, and producer.

Early life

Wallem was born in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, and raised in Rockford, Illinois. She is the older sister of actor Stephen Wallem who co-stars on her show ''

Nurse Jackie ''Nurse Jackie'' is an American medical comedy-drama television series. It premiered on Showtime on June 8, 2009, and its seventh and final season premiered on April 12, 2015. The series finale aired on June 28, 2015. The show stars Edie Fal ...

'' as a nurse named Thor Lundgren.

Career

Early career

Wallem began her career at

Dudley Riggs Dudley Riggs (January 18, 1932 – September 22, 2020) was an improvisational comedian who created the Instant Theater Company in New York, which later moved to Minneapolis to become the Brave New Workshop comedy troupe. Family and early care ...

Brave New Workshop The Brave New Workshop (BNW), based in Minneapolis, Minnesota was founded by Dudley Riggs in 1958 and is the longest running sketch and improvisational comedy theater in the US. BNW continues the tradition, of writing, producing, and performing ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. She and fellow writer-performer

Peter Tolan Peter James Tolan III (born July 5, 1958) is an American television producer, director, and screenwriter. Early life and career Tolan was born in Scituate, Massachusetts, where he was a perennial favorite in the high school's dramatic production ...

formed a double act called Wallem & Tolan and began performing on the cabaret circuit in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

at such venues as the Manhattan Punch Line. Broadway veteran

Martin Charnin Martin Charnin (November 24, 1934 – July 6, 2019) was an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director, and lyricist of the musical '' Annie.'' Life and career Charnin was born in New York ...

caught the act at the behest of producers Sanford Fisher and Zev Guber and worked with the duo to present it as an Off Broadway called ''Laughing Matters'' in 1989.

Acting

Wallem appeared in the 1993 film ''

Sleepless in Seattle ''Sleepless in Seattle'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nora Ephron, from a screenplay she wrote with David S. Ward and Jeff Arch. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the film follows a journalist (Ryan) who, despite ...

'' as the waitress from whom star

Meg Ryan Meg Ryan (born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra; November 19, 1961) is an American actress. She began her acting career in 1981 when she made her acting debut in the drama film ''Rich and Famous''. She later joined the cast of the CBS soap oper ...

's character buys tea on the road. On '' Seinfeld'' Wallem played Hildy, the waitress who refuses to serve

Elaine Benes Elaine Marie Benes () is a fictional character on the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend in the sitcom is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld, and she is also good friends with George Costanz ...

her customary "big salad" in the 1994 episode "

The Soup ''The Soup'' is an American television series that aired weekly on E! from July 1, 2004, until December 18, 2015 as a revamped version of '' Talk Soup'' that focused on recaps of various popular culture and television moments of the week. The ...

." Young viewers are likely to recognize her voice as Doctor Paula Hutchison, Virginia Wolfe and other female characters on the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

animated television series, ''

Rocko's Modern Life ''Rocko's Modern Life'' is an American animated television series created by Joe Murray for Nickelodeon. The series centers on the surreal life of an anthropomorphic Australian immigrant wallaby named Rocko and his friends: the eccentric stee ...

'' (1993–1996). She returned to voice Hutchison and other characters in the 2019

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

special '' Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling.''

Writing and producing

Wallem wrote for the

Cybill Shepherd Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971) alongside Jeff Bridges. ...

television situation comedy ''

Cybill ''Cybill'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, which aired on CBS from January 2, 1995, to July 13, 1998. Starring Cybill Shepherd, the show revolves around the life of Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of tw ...

'' during its entire run from 1995 to 1998, also occasionally acting on the series. She then wrote for the sitcom ''

That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television period teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, ...

'' from 1998 to 2000, serving as executive producer from 2000 to 2001 and then executive producing ''

That '80s Show ''That '80s Show'' is an American television sitcom set in 1984 that aired from January to May 2002 on Fox. Even though it had a similar name, show structure, and many of the same writers and production staff, it was not a direct spin-off of ...

'' in 2002. In 2007, Wallem and

Liz Brixius Liz Brixius is an American television writer and producer. In 2008 Brixius, Linda Wallem, and Evan Dunsky, created the series ''Nurse Jackie'', a half-hour drama about a "flawed" emergency room nurse in a New York City hospital. Starring Edie F ...

created and produced a pilot called ''Insatiable'' for Showtime which was not picked up. In 2008, the duo (with writer

Evan Dunsky Evan Dunsky is an American television writer, producer and director. Evan Dunsky wrote and directed the 1997 feature film ''The Alarmist'' based on the play '' Life During Wartime'' by Keith Reddin. He was one of the writers of the episode " Fish ...

) created the series ''

'', a half-hour

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

about a "flawed" emergency room nurse in a

hospital. Starring

Edie Falco Edith Falco (born July 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Carmela Soprano on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), and Nurse Jackie Peyton on the Showtime series ''Nurse Jackie'' (2009–2015). She also ...

of ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'', the series premiered on Showtime in June 2009, with Wallem and Brixius serving as showrunners for the series and sharing executive producer duties with

Caryn Mandabach Caryn Mandabach is a U.K.-based American television producer. Mandabach is responsible for producing US hits considered ground-breaking, such as ''The Cosby Show'', ''Roseanne'', ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1997–2001), ''That '70s Show'' (1998– ...

Personal life

Wallem married singer

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...

on May 31, 2014, in San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito, California, two days after they both turned 53.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallem, Linda 1961 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American screenwriters 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American television actresses Television producers from Illinois American women television producers American television writers Living people Actors from Madison, Wisconsin American women television writers American lesbian actresses LGBT screenwriters LGBT television producers Writers from Madison, Wisconsin Showrunners Writers from Rockford, Illinois Actors from Rockford, Illinois LGBT people from Illinois LGBT people from Wisconsin Screenwriters from Illinois Screenwriters from Wisconsin American lesbian writers American voice actresses