Peg Phillips (born Margaret Linton, September 20, 1918 – November 7, 2002) was an American actress best known for playing storekeeper Ruth-Anne Miller on the television series '' Northern Exposure''.

Early life

Phillips was born Margaret Linton in

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

, to Charles and Myrtle Linton. She wanted to be an actress from the age of four and performed in

dinner theater Dinner theater (sometimes called dinner and a show) is a form of entertainment that combines a restaurant meal with a staged play or musical. "Dinner and a show" can also refer to a restaurant meal in combination with live concert music, where pat ...

as a hobby. She was the wife of Daniel Greene, a

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

man stationed in the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

when the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

occurred. She was married to Chester Phillips in the 1950s, during which time she suffered a near-fatal bout of "polio and a serious abdominal infection". She lived with Kathy, Virginia and Arthur in

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz ( Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a po ...

, in the early to mid-1960s. Her oldest daughter, Elisabeth, had left the household. She worked as an accountant at Sweet Service in Santa Cruz during that time. She was involved with local theatrical groups; her favorite play was ''

Bell, Book and Candle ''Bell, Book and Candle'' is a 1958 American fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Richard Quine from a screenplay by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1950 Broadway play of the same title by John Van Druten. It stars Kim Novak as a witch who c ...

''. After retiring from accounting, Phillips moved back to Washington to enroll in drama school at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

, but never completed her degree "because I started getting so much work."

Career

She started acting professionally in her late 60s. Her first film performance was in the TV movie ''Chase'' in 1985. In 1990, she originated the role of Ruth-Anne Miller on '' Northern Exposure''. The character had been intended to be intermittent, but gradually appeared more frequently until she became a regular. She was nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begin ...

in 1993. After the fifth season of the show was wrapped up in 1995, she was undergoing heart surgery when an aortic

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus ( ...

ruptured. Had she not already been on the operating table, it probably would have been fatal. After ''Northern Exposure'', Phillips played several guest roles, especially on '' 7th Heaven''. She played the dude ranch-owning godmother of

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986), also known as the Olsen twins as a duo, are American fashion designers and former actresses. The twins made their acting debut as infants playing Michelle Tanner on the television s ...

's characters in ''

How the West Was Fun ''How the West Was Fun'' is a 1994 Revisionist western film starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Synopsis 8-year-old twin girls Jessica and Susie Martin (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) live with their father, Stephen ( Patrick Cassidy), in Philadelp ...

''. Her last role was a guest spot on '' ER'' in 2000. She also founded the Woodinville Repertory Theatre in 1998,

Death

She died in 2002 from pulmonary disease in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, aged 84. Like her ''Northern Exposure'' character, she was a smoker from an early age, having started at 13.

Television credits and nominations

Filmography

References

External links

*
Woodinville Repertory Theatre
began by Peg Phillips in 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Peg 1918 births 2002 deaths American accountants Women accountants Actresses from Washington (state) American film actresses American television actresses American Unitarians Deaths from lung disease People from Everett, Washington People from Woodinville, Washington People with polio 20th-century American actresses University of Washington School of Drama alumni