Rondi Anne Reed (born October 26, 1952) is an American actress of stage and screen. A longtime member of Chicago's

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on ...

, she has appeared in more than 50 productions at that theater. Also active on Broadway, she won the 2008

Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play The Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality supporting roles in a Broadway theatre, ...

for her portrayal of Mattie Fae Aiken in '' August: Osage County''. She is best known for the role of Peggy on the television sitcom ''

Mike & Molly ''Mike & Molly'' is an American television sitcom created by Mark Roberts on CBS. It premiered on September 20, 2010, and aired 127 episodes over six seasons. The series stars Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as the eponymous Mike and Molly, ...

'' which she played from 2010-2016.

Early life

Reed was born in

Dixon, Illinois Dixon is a city and the county seat of Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,733 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,941 in 2000. The city is named after founder John Dixon, who operated a rope ferry service across the R ...

. She graduated from

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

in 1977. She then met a Broadway theatrical producer named Stephen Eich in 1976 during her time in Steppenwolf Theater and married him in 1982. They divorced in 2016, after being married for 34 years.

Career

Reed has been a member of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

for many years, appearing in 51 productions with the company. 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 Rise and Fall of Little Voice ''The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'' is a 1992 play written by English dramatist Jim Cartwright. Production history Sam Mendes directed the first production at the Royal National Theatre that transferred to the Aldwych Theatre in London's ...

'' in 1994 and ''

The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize ...

'' in 1990, among others. On July 13, 2005, she originated the role of

Madame Morrible ''Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'' is an American novel published in 1995, written by Gregory Maguire with illustrations by Douglas Smith. It is the first in ''The Wicked Years'' series, and was followed by ''Son of a ...

in the Chicago production of the musical ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

''. She originated the role of Mattie Fae Aiken in the Broadway production of '' August: Osage County'' in 2007, for which she won the 2008

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 cer ...

for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play."Rondi Reed Broadway Credits and Awards"
Playbill (vault), accessed July 18, 2016 She later reprised her role of Madame Morrible in ''Wicked'' in Chicago, beginning June 27, 2008. Her second run ended November 18, 2008, and she was again replaced by Robertson. She then reprised her role as Mattie Fae Aiken in the London production of ''August: Osage Country'' before returning to Madame Morrible in the Broadway production of ''Wicked.'' She began performances March 17, 2009, replacing

Jayne Houdyshell Jayne Houdyshell (born September 25, 1953) is an American, Tony-winning actress known for her performances on stage and screen. Houdyshell made her Broadway debut in the 2005 production of ''It's a Wonderful Life''. The following year she earn ...

and bowed out as the evil headmistress on June 27, 2010, to star in the Australian production of ''August'' in Sydney. The limited engagement of the show ran from August 13 – September 25, 2010.Gans, Andrew (June 9, 2010)
"Kathy Fitzgerald to Join Cast of Broadway's 'Wicked'"
. playbill.com. She returned to the New York production of "Wicked" from July 31, 2017, to January 28, 2018. She appeared in the ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'' episode " The Kiss Hello" (originally aired on February 16, 1995). She starred on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

sitcom ''

'', as Peggy Biggs, Mike's mother. She also appeared on ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Roseann ...

'' as Jackie's therapist.

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Interview
at Broadway.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Rondi 1952 births Living people American stage actresses Actresses from Illinois People from Dixon, Illinois Illinois State University alumni Steppenwolf Theatre Company players 21st-century American women