Quinn L. Cummings (born August 13, 1967) is an American entrepreneur, author, humorist, inventor and former actress. Cummings came to prominence as a child actor, playing Lucy McFadden in

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

's '' The Goodbye Girl'', for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as a recurring role as Annie Cooper on the television series ''

Family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

''. Since quitting acting, she has become an entrepreneur, and has authored several books.

Early life

Cummings was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Her father, Sumner, was a businessman who died when she was still a child. Her mother, Jan, was a bookkeeper.

Career

Film and television

Cummings began her career after being discovered by

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

James Wong Howe Wong Tung Jim, A.S.C. (; August 28, 1899 – July 12, 1976), known professionally as James Wong Howe (Houghto), was a Chinese-born American cinematographer who worked on over 130 films. During the 1930s and 1940s, he was one of the most sou ...

. She soon began landing roles in numerous television commercials, eventually winning the role of

Marsha Mason Marsha Mason (born April 3, 1942) is an American actress and director. She has been nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Actress: for her performances in '' Cinderella Liberty'' (1973), '' The Goodbye Girl'' (1977), '' Chapter Two ...

's daughter, Lucy McFadden, in the 1977 film ''The Goodbye Girl''. Cummings' performance was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year. The fo ...

. In 1978, Cummings had a recurring role on the drama series ''

''. In 1985, Cummings appeared in the short-lived ABC sitcom '' Hail to the Chief'' as the daughter of the first female president of the United States, played by

Patty Duke Anna Marie "Patty" Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016) was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awa ...

. During the late 1980s, Cummings acted occasionally and worked as a casting agent. She attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

for two years and had a stint recruiting writers to publish short stories online. Her last acting role was a 1991 episode of ''

Blossom In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as ...

''.

Other ventures

Inspired by the birth of her daughter, Cummings created the ''HipHugger'', a sling-type device for carrying a baby. She was the president of the HipHugger company before selling it in 2006. In February 2005, Cummings started a blog, ''The QC Report'', which discussed the ironies of modern life from the point of view of a career mother in her 30s. Cummings' first book, ''Notes from the Underwire: Adventures from My Awkward and Lovely Life'', was published in July 2009. Her second book, ''The Year of Learning Dangerously'', which explores the current state of home schooling in America, was published by

Perigee Books TarcherPerigee is a book publisher and imprint of Penguin Group focused primarily on mind, body and spiritualism titles, founded in 1973 by Jeremy P. Tarcher in Los Angeles. (Tarcher was notably married to ventriloquist Shari Lewis, and his sist ...

in August 2012. ''Pet Sounds'', a collection of humorous stories relating to animals and pet ownership was released in the summer of 2013. In 2019, she launched a

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

: "Quinn Cummings Gives Bad Advice" in which she responds to listener questions on any advice topic, highlighting the fact that she has no particular knowledge or expertise in the subject being raised. Cummings made statements and wrote an article in 2017 about sexual harassment abuse in Hollywood, particularly abuse of children in the industry. In 2021, Cummings self-published a book, ''Modest Blessings for Modern Times''. The book is a humorous collection of scenarios where the reader might feel "modestly" grateful if such a scenario happened. (Example: "You shower after a teenage boy, and yet there is still hot water.") Cummings has donated a portion of proceeds from the book to various non-profit organizations.

Personal life

In 2000, Cummings gave birth to a daughter, Anneke DiPietro, by her partner Donald DiPietro.

Filmography

*'' The Goodbye Girl'' (1977) *'' Listen to Me'' (1989)

Television

*'' Big Eddie'' (Unknown episodes, 1975) *''Jeremiah of Jacob's Neck'' (1976) *''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin ...

'' (1 episode, 1976) *''Night Terror'' (1977) *''Visions'' (1 episode, 1977) *'' Intimate Strangers'' (1977) *''

Starsky and Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a '' Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired by ...

'' (1 episode, 1978) *''

Baretta ''Baretta'' is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a revised and milder version of a 1973–1974 ABC series, '' Toma'', starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey pol ...

'' (1 episode, 1978) *''CBS Library'' (1 episode – The Incredible Book Escape, 1980) *''

'' (36 episodes, 1978–1980) *'' The Babysitter'' (1980) *''

Darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, to make prints and to carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and ph ...

'' (1 episode, 1981) *''Grandpa, Will You Run with Me?'' (1983) *''

Remington Steele ''Remington Steele'' is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from O ...

'' (1 episode, 1984) *'' Hail to the Chief'' (Unknown episodes, 1985) *''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

'' (1 episode, 1986) *''

'' (1 episode, 1991)

Bibliography

* ''Notes from the Underwire: Adventures from My Awkward and Lovely Life'' (2009) * ''The Year of Learning Dangerously'' (2012) * ''Pet Sounds'' (2013) * ''Modest Blessings for Modern Times'' (2021)

Awards and nominations

;

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

:Nominated: Best Actress in a Supporting Role, '' The Goodbye Girl'' (1978) ;

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

:Nominated: Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role, '' The Goodbye Girl'' (1978) ;

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

:Nominated: Best Juvenile Actress in a TV Series or Special, ''

'' (1980) :Won: Best Young Actress in a Television Series, ''

'' (1981) :Nominated: Best Young Actress in a Movie Made for Television, ''Grandpa, Will You Run with Me?'' (1984)

References

External links

Quinn Tries Standup
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cummings, Quinn 1967 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American inventors 21st-century American women writers Actresses from Los Angeles American bloggers American child actresses American film actresses American humorists American podcasters American television actresses American women bloggers American women non-fiction writers American women podcasters People from Greater Los Angeles University of California, Los Angeles alumni Women humorists Women inventors Writers from Los Angeles