Ami Foster is a former American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 child actress

Child actor

The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...

. Foster is best remembered for playing Margeaux Kramer on the American television program Punky Brewster

Punky Brewster

Punky Brewster was an American sitcom about a girl named Punky Brewster being raised by her foster parent...

.

Biography

At the age of five, Foster won the National Tap Dance Championship after which she was discovered on Star Search

Star Search

Star Search is a television show that was produced from 1983-95, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Alfred Masini. A relaunch was produced in 2003-04. The show was originally filmed at the old Earl Carroll Theatre at 6230 Sunset Blvd...

 as a singer. In 1984, Foster landed her most notable role, in the NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 series Punky Brewster as Margaux Kramer, the spoiled upper class friend of the title character. During the run of Punky Brewster, Foster appeared on Circus of the Stars

Circus of the Stars

Circus of the Stars was an annual television special, broadcast by the CBS network in the United States, in which celebrities performed circus-type acts. There were 19 shows in total, the first being broadcast in 1977 and the last in 1994. Over the years the series featured many leading movie and...

; she shared an act with actor-musician Corey Yothers, whose sister Tina

Tina Yothers

Kristina Louise "Tina" Yothers is an American actress and singer. Beginning a career as a child actor at the age of 8, she is perhaps best known for her role as Jennifer Keaton on the hit NBC series Family Ties, as well as for her roles in numerous television films throughout the 1980s and early...

 (of Family Ties

Family Ties

Family Ties is an American sitcom that aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. The sitcom reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between young...

 fame) was also featured that year in COTS.

Following the end of Punky Brewster in 1988, Foster appeared in various guest roles: on The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years is an American television comedy-drama created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens. It ran for six seasons on ABC from 1988 through 1993. The pilot aired on January 31, 1988 after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII....

, Quantum Leap, and Life Goes On

Life Goes On (TV series)

Life Goes On is a television series that aired on ABC from September 12, 1989 to May 23, 1993. The show centers on the Thacher family living in suburban Chicago: Drew, his wife Elizabeth, and their children Paige, Rebecca, and Charles, who is known as Corky...

. In 1986-87 she was the voice of Holly, the young owner of the Puppy Pound in the Pound Puppies

Pound Puppies

Pound Puppies is a toyline sold by Tonka in the 1980s. It later inspired an animated TV special, an animated TV series, and a feature film. Shipments of the toys over five years generated sales of $300 million in 35 countries....

 television series. She also voiced Sally Brown

Sally Brown

Sally Brown is the younger sister of Charlie Brown in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz. She was first mentioned in early 1959 and throughout a long series of strips before her first appearance in August 1959.-Appearance:...

 in the 1988 animated Peanuts

Peanuts

Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...

 special Snoopy!!! The Musical

Snoopy!!! The Musical (TV special)

Snoopy!!! The Musical is the 31st prime-time animated TV specials, based on characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts. It was an adaptation of the musical Snoopy!!! The Musical, and originally aired on the CBS network in 1988....

 and in an episode of This Is America, Charlie Brown

This Is America, Charlie Brown

This is America, Charlie Brown was an eight-part animated TV mini-series, depicting events in American history with characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts. It aired from 1988 to 1989 on CBS. These eight episodes, originally released singly on videocassette, were released in a...

. In 1989, she had a role in the film Troop Beverly Hills

Troop Beverly Hills

Troop Beverly Hills is a 1989 American comedy film. Produced by Weintraub Entertainment Group and directed by Jeff Kanew, it starred Shelley Long, Craig T...

. Foster's last role to date was in a 1995 episode of CBS Schoolbreak Special

After school special

The American Broadcasting Company coined the term after school special in 1972 with a series of made for television movies, usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant issues, that were generally broadcast in the late afternoon and meant to be viewed by school age children, particularly...

.

Foster has one elder brother, Shawn, a motion-picture director whose output consists largely of straight-to-video productions.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1986	Wrinkles: In Need of Cuddles	Amy Lenore Smith	Direct-to-video release Direct-to-video Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
1987	When Mom and Dad Break Up	Singer/Child	Direct-to-video release
1989	Troop Beverly Hills Troop Beverly Hills Troop Beverly Hills is a 1989 American comedy film. Produced by Weintraub Entertainment Group and directed by Jeff Kanew, it starred Shelley Long, Craig T...	Claire Sprantz
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Webster Webster (TV series) Webster is an American situation comedy that premiered on ABC on September 16, 1983, and ran on that network until September 11, 1987, but continued in first-run syndication until 1989...	Maxine	1 episode
1984	Fame Fame (1982 TV series) Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...	Tracy Donlon	1 episode
1984–1988	Punky Brewster Punky Brewster Punky Brewster was an American sitcom about a girl named Punky Brewster being raised by her foster parent...	Margeaux Kramer	58 episodes
1985	Wildside	Sissy Jonsen	1 episode
	The Little Troll Prince The Little Troll Prince The Little Troll Prince: A Christmas Parable is a 1987 animated holiday-themed special for television produced by Hanna-Barbera. Backed by the International Lutheran Laymen's League, it has strong Christian themes of unconditional love, self-sacrifice, and redemption, with a substantial Protestant...	Kristi (Voice)	Television movie
1985–1986	It's Punky Brewster	Margeaux Kramer (Voice)	Unknown episodes
1986–1987	Pound Puppies	Holly (Voice)	26 episodes
1988	Snoopy!!! The Musical Snoopy!!! The Musical (TV special) Snoopy!!! The Musical is the 31st prime-time animated TV specials, based on characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts. It was an adaptation of the musical Snoopy!!! The Musical, and originally aired on the CBS network in 1988....	Sally Brown (Voice)	Television special
	CBS Summer Playhouse CBS Summer Playhouse CBS Summer Playhouse is an American anthology series that ran from June 12, 1987 to August 22, 1989 on CBS. It aired unsold television pilots during the summer season.-Overview:...	Patty Palevski	1 episode
	Full House Full House Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...	Nina	1 episode
	This is America, Charlie Brown This Is America, Charlie Brown This is America, Charlie Brown was an eight-part animated TV mini-series, depicting events in American history with characters from the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts. It aired from 1988 to 1989 on CBS. These eight episodes, originally released singly on videocassette, were released in a...	Lucy Van Pelt (Voice)	Miniseries
	I'm Telling!	Herself	Episode #1.22
1988	Garfield and Friends Garfield and Friends Garfield and Friends is an American animated television series based on the comic strip Garfield by Jim Davis. The show was produced by Film Roman, in association with United Feature Syndicate and Paws, Inc., and ran on CBS Saturday mornings from September 17, 1988 to December 10, 1994, with...	Girl (Voice)	1 episode
1989	A Peaceable Kingdom A Peaceable Kingdom A Peaceable Kingdom is an American television drama series that aired in 1989. The series was short-lived and was cancelled after only seven episodes .-Series history:...		1 episode
1990	Life Goes On Life Goes On (TV series) Life Goes On is a television series that aired on ABC from September 12, 1989 to May 23, 1993. The show centers on the Thacher family living in suburban Chicago: Drew, his wife Elizabeth, and their children Paige, Rebecca, and Charles, who is known as Corky...	Tara Carlson	1 episode
	The Outsiders The Outsiders (TV series) The Outsiders is an American drama series that aired in 1990 on Fox. Based on the characters from the 1967 novel of the same title by S. E. Hinton, the series was executive produced by the 1983 film's director Francis Ford Coppola.-Synopsis:...	Girl at party	1 episode
1991	Quantum Leap	Alexandra Rickett	1 episode
	Changes Changes (1991 film) Changes, also known as Danielle Steel's Changes, is a 1991 television film directed by Charles Jarrott. The film is based upon the 1983 novel of the same name written by Danielle Steel.-Plot:...	Pam Hallam	Television movie
	The Wonder Years The Wonder Years The Wonder Years is an American television comedy-drama created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens. It ran for six seasons on ABC from 1988 through 1993. The pilot aired on January 31, 1988 after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII....	Susan	1 episode
	Empty Nest	Wanda Sue	1 episode
	Step by Step	Bernice	1 episode
1995	CBS Schoolbreak Special After school special The American Broadcasting Company coined the term after school special in 1972 with a series of made for television movies, usually dealing with controversial or socially relevant issues, that were generally broadcast in the late afternoon and meant to be viewed by school age children, particularly...	Marla	1 episode

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Film or series
1986	Young Artist Award Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...	Nominated	Best Young Supporting Actress in a Television Series	Punky Brewster
1987			Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress in a Long Running Series Comedy or Drama	Punky Brewster
1988			Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress in a Television Comedy Series	Punky Brewster
			Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Drama Special, Movie of the Week or Variety Show	Circus of the Stars #12
			Best Animation Voice Over Group	It's Punky Brewster (Shared with Casey Ellison Casey Ellison Casey Ellison is a former American child actor best known for his role as Allen Anderson on Punky Brewster.-Career:He had a recurring minor role on Mr. Belvedere. Ellison has also guest starred on episodes of Newhart, 21 Jump Street, and The Wonder Years... , Teddy Field III, Soleil Moon Frye Soleil Moon Frye Soleil Moon Frye is an American actress, director and screenwriter. Frye is best known for her childhood role as the title character in sitcom Punky Brewster, and as Roxie King in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.-Early life:... , and Cherie Johnson Cherie Johnson Cherie Johnson is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on Punky Brewster and the long-running situation comedy show Family Matters, where she plays Laura Winslow's best friend Maxine "Max" Johnson. In 2009, she wrote, starred and produced the independent film I Do... I Did!,... )
			Best Animation Voice Over Group	Pound Puppies
1989			Best Young Actress - Voice Over Role	This Is America, Charlie Brown
1992			Best Young Actress Guest Starring or Recurring Role in a TV Series	Empty Nest

External links