Loni Anderson
| Loni Anderson | |
|---|---|
Anderson in December 2012
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| Born |
Loni Kaye Anderson August 5, 1946 Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1966; 1975–2006; 2012; 2016 |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | 2 |
Loni Kaye Anderson (born August 5, 1946) is an American actress. She is known for her four-year run as receptionist Jennifer Marlowe on the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–82).
Anderson was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the daughter of Maxine Hazel (née Kallin) (1924–1985), a model, and Klaydon Carl "Andy" Anderson (1922–1977), an environmental chemist, and grew up in suburban Roseville. As a senior at Alexander Ramsey Senior High School in Roseville in 1963, she was voted Valentine Queen of Valentine's Day Winter Formal. She attended the University of Minnesota. As she says in her autobiography, My Life in High Heels, her father was originally going to name her "Leiloni" but then realized to his horror that when she got to her teen years it was likely to be twisted into "Lay Loni." So it was changed to simply "Loni".
Her acting debut came with a bit part in the 1966 film Nevada Smith, starring Steve McQueen. After that, she went virtually unemployed as an actress for nearly a decade, before she finally began achieving guest roles on episodic television shows in the mid-1970s. She appeared in two episodes of S.W.A.T., and later appeared on the sitcom Phyllis, as well as the detective shows Police Woman and Harry O. In 1978, she guest-starred as Susan Walters on a season two episode of the popular sitcom Three's Company. Her appearance on the show brought her to the attention of the ABC network.
Anderson's most famous acting role came as the sultry receptionist Jennifer Marlowe on the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati (1978–1982). She was offered the role when producers saw the poster of her in a red swimsuit—a pose similar to Farrah Fawcett's famous 1976 pin-up. The sitcom's creator, Hugh Wilson, later admitted Anderson got the part because her body resembled Jayne Mansfield and because she possessed the innocent sexuality of Marilyn Monroe.
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