Cindy Pickett is an American actress. She is known for her 1970s role as Jackie Marler-Spaulding on the CBS soap '' Guiding Light'' and Dr. Carol Novino on the television drama '' St. Elsewhere'' in the 1980s. Pickett, however, is best known to audiences for her lighter turn as Katie Bueller, Ferris Bueller's loving and unsuspecting mother, in the 1986 American

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

Ferris Bueller's Day Off ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes and co-produced by Tom Jacobson. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck with supporting roles by Jennifer ...

''. Other notable cinematic roles and performances include Valerie St. John in

Roger Vadim Roger Vadim Plemiannikov (; 26 January 1928 – 11 February 2000) was a French screenwriter, film director and producer, as well as an author, artist and occasional actor. His best-known works are visually lavish films with erotic qualities, su ...

's 1980 film, '' Jeux de Nuit / Night Games'', for which she would have the leading role, and as the tough-as-nails and heroic Dr. Diane Norris in the 1989 sci-fi-horror film ''

DeepStar Six ''DeepStar Six '' (released in the Philippines as ''Alien from the Deep'') is a 1989 American science-fiction horror film about the struggles of the crew of an underwater military outpost to defend their base against the attacks of a sea monster ...

''.

Biography

Career

Pickett made a major departure from her soap opera image when she played the central role in the 1980 erotic film '' Jeux de Nuit / Night Games'', directed by

. It was a sexually charged role involving numerous nude scenes, however the film went unnoticed and did not boost Pickett's career. In the 1981 mystery/crime drama '' Margin for Murder'', Pickett played the role of Velda, Mike Hammer's (

Kevin Dobson Kevin Patrick Dobson (March 18, 1943 – September 6, 2020) was an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Detective Bobby Crocker, the trusted protege of Lt. Theo Kojak (played by Telly Savalas) in the CBS crime ...

) loyal and devoted secretary. She played "Jackie Marler" on the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

The Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'' from 1976 to 1980, "Vanessa Sarnac" on the ABC weekly TV series ''

Call to Glory ''Call to Glory'' is an American drama which was aired for 22 episodes during the 1984–1985 TV season (specifically from August 1984 to February 1985) on the The show focuses on USAF pilot Colonel Raynor Sarnac ( Craig T. Nelson) and his ...

'' from 1984 to 1985, and she appeared as Dr. Carol Novino on the hospital drama TV series '' St. Elsewhere'' from 1986 to 1988. Pickett had a supporting role in the 1987 mini-series '' Amerika'', which she then considered to be her "best part and the best showcase" she ever had. In 1991 she played the part of Addy Mathewson in the

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

''Plymouth'', which at the time was considered to be one of the most expensive such movies ever made. Pickett portrayed the real-life Kay Stayner, the mother of a boy who was kidnapped for several years, in the dramatic

I Know My First Name Is Steven ''I Know My First Name Is Steven'' is a 1989 American television miniseries about kidnap victim Steven Stayner. The two-part miniseries was first broadcast by NBC on May 22 and 23, 1989. Screening rights were sold to a number of international t ...

''. TV series she has guest-starred on include ''

Riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal fl ...

'', ''

Simon & Simon ''Simon & Simon'' is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who oper ...

'', ''

Magnum, P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on ...

'', '' L.A. Law'', '' Murder, She Wrote'', '' The Pretender'', '' NYPD Blue'', '' CSI: Miami'', ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'', ''

Crossing Jordan ''Crossing Jordan'' is an American crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its dete ...

'' and '' Burn Notice''.

Personal life

Pickett was born in

Sand Springs, Oklahoma Sand Springs is a city in Osage, Creek and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A western suburb of Tulsa, it is located predominantly in Tulsa County. The population was 19,874 in the 2020 U. S. Census, an increase of 5.1 percent from ...

, daughter of Cecil Pickett, a director and drama teacher at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

. She dated Roger Vadim, who directed her in ''Night Games''. She met Lyman Ward when they played the parents of the teenaged protagonist in the 1986 film ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off''. They married in real life, and had two children, divorcing shortly after playing the parents of the teenaged protagonist in the 1992 film '' Sleepwalkers''. Pickett is a collector of stereopticon cards.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickett, Cindy Living people Actresses from Tulsa, Oklahoma American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses People from Houston Lon Morris College alumni 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)