Patricia Richardson
Encyclopedia
Patricia Castle Richardson (born February 23, 1951) is an American television and film actress best known for her portrayal of Jill Taylor
on the sitcom Home Improvement.
, and raised in Hagerstown, Maryland
, the daughter of Mary Elizabeth (née
Howard) and Lawrence Baxter Richardson, who was a corporate executive and retired naval officer. He also owned a restaurant in Hagerstown, Maryland called Richardson's (which has since closed but other businesses keep the building where it is). Richardson attended the Holton-Arms School
in Maryland and then The Hockaday School
in Dallas, Texas
. She is a 1973 graduate of Southern Methodist University
, where she was friends with classmates Beth Henley
and Stephen Tobolowsky
, who was slated to be a cast member of Home Improvement but had other contractual commitments when the series began filming. Tobolowsky initially suggested to producers of Home Improvement that Richardson be considered for the role of Jill Taylor after Frances Fisher
was deemed too serious for the role.
. They have three children together: Henry Baker (born on February 22, 1985), and twins Roxanne Baker and Joseph Baker (born on January 3, 1991). Richardson and Baker divorced in August 1995.
She has also served as a spokesperson for "Cure PSP", a website that tries to raise awareness of progressive supranuclear palsy
, corticobasal degeneration
, and multiple system atrophy
, as her father was a victim of PSP.
in Angela Lansbury
's Broadway
production of Gypsy: A Musical Fable
, eventually playing several parts. With early roles in programs such as Double Trouble, The Equalizer
, and Quantum Leap. She appeared in one episode of The Cosby Show
in the third season. Richardson appeared in the films C.H.U.D.
and You Better Watch Out before landing her breakout role in 1991 on Home Improvement after Frances Fisher
tested poorly in the role of Jill Taylor. Richardson received four Emmy
nominations and two Golden Globe
nominations in this role.
After Home Improvement she appeared in several made-for-TV films and won an Independent Spirit
nomination in 1997 for her first major theatrical film role in Ulee's Gold
.
She also had a starring role in the Lifetime medical drama Strong Medicine
, as Dr. Andy March-Campbell.
The final two seasons of The West Wing
featured Richardson in a recurring role as Sheila Brooks, campaign director for Republican presidential candidate Arnold Vinick
(Alan Alda
).
Richardson also appeared in the first season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
. In 2010 she appeared in an NBC made for TV film, The Jensen Project
, and in 2011 she appeared in the TV film Bringing Ashley Home. In 2011 she also finished taping the movie Beautiful Wave
, and is currently (September 2011) filming the movie Avarice.
Jill Taylor
Jillian "Jill" Taylor is a character in the TV sitcom Home Improvement played by Patricia Richardson. Jill is Tim Taylor's wife. Jill helps Tim raise their three sons . Jill Taylor has appeared on critics' lists of "top TV" or "most memorable" moms...
on the sitcom Home Improvement.
Early life and education
Richardson was born in Bethesda, MarylandBethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
, and raised in Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
, the daughter of Mary Elizabeth (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Howard) and Lawrence Baxter Richardson, who was a corporate executive and retired naval officer. He also owned a restaurant in Hagerstown, Maryland called Richardson's (which has since closed but other businesses keep the building where it is). Richardson attended the Holton-Arms School
Holton-Arms School
Holton-Arms is an independent college-preparatory school for girls in grades 3–12, located in Bethesda, Maryland. The School's mission is to cultivate the unique potential of young women through the “education not only of the mind, but of the soul and spirit.” Holton-Arms is an independent...
in Maryland and then The Hockaday School
The Hockaday School
The Hockaday School is an independent, secular, college preparatory day and boarding school for girls located in Dallas, Texas, USA and surrounding areas...
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. She is a 1973 graduate of Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
, where she was friends with classmates Beth Henley
Beth Henley
Elizabeth Becker "Beth" Henley is an American dramatist and actress. She writes primarily about women's issues and family in the Southern United States. She is also a screenwriter who has written many film adaptations of her plays...
and Stephen Tobolowsky
Stephen Tobolowsky
Stephen Harold Tobolowsky is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, as well as portraying Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood for nine episodes and Bob Bishop in Heroes for eleven episodes over the second and third seasons...
, who was slated to be a cast member of Home Improvement but had other contractual commitments when the series began filming. Tobolowsky initially suggested to producers of Home Improvement that Richardson be considered for the role of Jill Taylor after Frances Fisher
Frances Fisher
Frances Fisher is a British actress. She is known for her work on television, in theater and in films, including roles as Strawberry Alice, the madame prostitute in Unforgiven , and Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the mother of Kate Winslet's character in Titanic .- Early life and education :Fisher was born...
was deemed too serious for the role.
Personal life
Richardson is divorced from actor Ray BakerRay Baker (actor)
Ray Baker is an American theater, television and film actor. He is a long time character actor with over 100 credits on television and film alone. Baker is credited either as Ray or Raymond.-Selected filmography:...
. They have three children together: Henry Baker (born on February 22, 1985), and twins Roxanne Baker and Joseph Baker (born on January 3, 1991). Richardson and Baker divorced in August 1995.
She has also served as a spokesperson for "Cure PSP", a website that tries to raise awareness of progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific areas of the brain....
, corticobasal degeneration
Corticobasal degeneration
Corticobasal degeneration or Corticobasal Ganglionic Degeneration is a rare progressive neurodegenerative disease involving the cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia. It is characterized by marked disorders in movement and cognitive dysfunction...
, and multiple system atrophy
Multiple system atrophy
Multiple system atrophy is a degenerative neurological disorder. MSA is associated with the degeneration of nerve cells in specific areas of the brain. This cell degeneration causes problems with movement, balance and other autonomic functions of the body such as bladder control or blood pressure...
, as her father was a victim of PSP.
Career
Richardson began as an understudyUnderstudy
In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...
in Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
's Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of Gypsy: A Musical Fable
Gypsy: A Musical Fable
Gypsy is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous striptease artist, and focuses on her mother, Rose, whose name has become synonymous with "the ultimate show business...
, eventually playing several parts. With early roles in programs such as Double Trouble, The Equalizer
The Equalizer
The Equalizer is an American television series that ran for four seasons, initially on CBS, between 1985 and 1989. It starred Edward Woodward as an aging New York vigilante with a mysterious past...
, and Quantum Leap. She appeared in one episode of The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
in the third season. Richardson appeared in the films C.H.U.D.
C.H.U.D.
C.H.U.D. is a 1984 American horror film produced by Andrew Bonime, and directed by Douglas Cheek with Peter Stein as the director of photography and William Bilowit as production designer. The cast includes Daniel Stern and John Heard. It was followed in 1989 by C.H.U.D. II: Bud the...
and You Better Watch Out before landing her breakout role in 1991 on Home Improvement after Frances Fisher
Frances Fisher
Frances Fisher is a British actress. She is known for her work on television, in theater and in films, including roles as Strawberry Alice, the madame prostitute in Unforgiven , and Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the mother of Kate Winslet's character in Titanic .- Early life and education :Fisher was born...
tested poorly in the role of Jill Taylor. Richardson received four Emmy
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations and two Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
nominations in this role.
After Home Improvement she appeared in several made-for-TV films and won an Independent Spirit
Independent Spirit Awards
The Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
nomination in 1997 for her first major theatrical film role in Ulee's Gold
Ulee's Gold
Ulee's Gold is a 1997 film written and directed by Victor Nuñez, and starring Peter Fonda in the title role. Co-stars include Patricia Richardson, Christine Dunford, Tom Wood, Jessica Biel, J. Kenneth Campbell, Steven Flynn, Dewey Weber, and Vanessa Zima...
.
She also had a starring role in the Lifetime medical drama Strong Medicine
Strong Medicine
Strong Medicine is a medical drama with a focus on feminist politics, health issues and class conflict. The television series aired on the Lifetime network from 2000 to 2006. It is distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The series was created and produced in part by comedienne and...
, as Dr. Andy March-Campbell.
The final two seasons of The West Wing
The West Wing (TV series)
The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006...
featured Richardson in a recurring role as Sheila Brooks, campaign director for Republican presidential candidate Arnold Vinick
Arnold Vinick
Arnold Vinick is a fictional character on the television series The West Wing played by Alan Alda.-Biography:A Republican senator from California and Republican presidential nominee, he is narrowly defeated by Democrat Matt Santos in the 2006 presidential election, with Vinick winning the popular...
(Alan Alda
Alan Alda
Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
).
Richardson also appeared in the first season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
. In 2010 she appeared in an NBC made for TV film, The Jensen Project
The Jensen Project
The Jensen Project is the second in a series of a TV movies produced by Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart aimed at families. The movie featured embedded marketing for the Kinect, a motion sensor add-on to the Xbox 360, several months before the product's launch. Ratings for the July 16, 2010 airing on...
, and in 2011 she appeared in the TV film Bringing Ashley Home. In 2011 she also finished taping the movie Beautiful Wave
Beautiful Wave (film)
Beautiful Wave is a coming-of-age surfing movie. The screenplay was written by Lynn Salt & David Mueller; and John Harris. It is directed by David Mueller.-Plot:...
, and is currently (September 2011) filming the movie Avarice.