Judith Light

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Judith Light

Judith Light following the 41st Primetime Emmy Awards, September 1989
Birth name Judith Ellen Licht
Born February 9, 1949
Trenton, New Jersey, USA
Official site http://www.judithlight.com/
Notable roles Karen Wolek, One Life to Live
Angela Bower, Who's the Boss?
Elizabeth Donnelly, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Claire Meade, Ugly Betty
Emmy Awards
Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series
1980, 1981 One Life to Live

Judith Light (born Judith Ellen Licht on February 9, 1949) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Angela Bower on the ABC sitcom Who's the Boss?. She can now be found playing Claire Meade on ABC's telenovela Ugly Betty but daytime audiences will always remember her for playing Karen Wolek. Karen's confession on the witness stand during the Marco Dane murder trial, which won her the Emmy, is used in acting classes all over the world and remains one of the most memorable performances in TV history.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Light was born in Trenton, New Jersey of Jewish heritage, the daughter of Sidney Licht.

[edit] Career

Light first found fame on television after being recast in the role of Karen Wolek on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. (The Karen Wolek role had previously been portrayed by actresses Kathryn Breech and Julia Duffy). This role was quite lucrative for Light and spawned one of the show's most-remembered storylines; Light's character became a prostitute after she became bored with her life as a housewife. On trial, Karen saved her friend Viki Lord from being convicted of killing her pimp by admitting that she had been a prostitute to the entire town, including her faithful husband. Light won Daytime Emmy Awards in 1980 and 1981.

This star power allowed her to be cast in a lead role on the ABC sitcom Who's the Boss?. She played the role of the assertive advertising executive Angela Bower from 1984 to 1992. She often played the comic foil to Tony Danza's character, Tony Micelli. The series is currently in syndication.

As of 2002, she has a recurring role on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, where she plays Judge Elizabeth Donnelly, who served as an EADA and Bureau Chief in the Manhattan District Attorney's office before being appointed to the bench in Season 7.

She is also a recurring regular on ABC's Ugly Betty, where she plays Claire Meade, the wife of Bradford Meade and the mother of both Daniel Meade and Alexis Meade. Claire, who was spending time in a rehabilatation clinic for alcoholism but was released, is also the murderer of the show's deceased fictional character Fey Sommers; Claire would be arrested afterwards. Light will continue in that role as a fulltime regular when Ugly Betty starts its second season, as her character was revealed to be the real owner of MODE magazine and is expected to make her prescence felt from her jail cell.

Light recently starred in an episode of Family Guy where she played a cartoon version of herself obsessed with Tony Danza and making out with a constructed dummy of Tony in her house. She also recently appeared in an episode of the NBC sitcom Twenty Good Years.

[edit] Personal life

Light has become a gay rights activist after helping former Who's the Boss? co-star Danny Pintauro cope with his sexuality. Light has done work for many LGBT charities and spoke at the 1993 March on Washington. She is also a prominent AIDS activist and played Ryan White's mother in a 1989 TV-movie on his life (one of many acclaimed movies-for-television she has made). Light was also the spokesperson for an anti-acne product, Proactiv Solution.

Light has been married to television actor Robert Desiderio since 1985. They met when they were both on One Life to Live.

[edit] External links

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