| Katey Sagal | |
|---|---|
Katey Sagal, at the San Diego Comic-Con International, in July 2010. |
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| Born | Catherine Louise Sagal January 19, 1954 [1] Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Spouse |
Freddy Beckmeier (m. 2004–present; 1 child) |
| Children | 2 daughters and one son |
| Website | |
| www.kateysagal.net | |
Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first achieved widespread fame as Peggy Bundy on the long-running Fox comedy series Married... with Children, for which she was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Television Series and two American Comedy Awards during the show's run.
Sagal also is very widely known for voicing the character of Leela on the animated series Futurama and its related direct-to-DVD movies since 1999. She is also known for starring on the show 8 Simple Rules in the role of Cate Hennessy, where she worked with John Ritter until his death, leading to Sagal taking over as the series' lead for the rest of the show's run.
Since 2008, she has played the role of matriarch Gemma Teller Morrow in the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy, for which she won a Golden Globe in 2011. She has been married to the show's creator, Kurt Sutter, since 2004.
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Sagal was born in California to a show business family of five children,[2] including younger sisters Jean and Liz Sagal, a pair of twin actresses, and actor Joe Sagal. Her mother, Sara Zwilling, a writer and producer, died of heart disease, and her father, Boris Sagal, a Jewish-Ukrainian immigrant who was a director,[3] died in an accident on the set of the television movie World War III.[2] Sagal and her siblings grew up in Brentwood, Los Angeles.[2]
Sagal began her career working the Hollywood circuit. She appeared in several made for TV movies between 1971 and 1975, including a small role as a receptionist in the Columbo film Candidate for Crime (directed by her father) and in 1973 working as a backing vocalist for various singers, including Bob Dylan and Tanya Tucker.
In 1978, Kiss bassist Gene Simmons asked her to sing background vocals on his self-titled solo album. During this time she was also a member of the rock group The Group With No Name. She also sang backup for Bette Midler, who hired her for her 1979 tour as one of The Harlettes. In 1981, Sagal appeared as a backup singer on the Molly Hatchet album Take No Prisoners.
Sagal returned to television in 1985 in the television series Mary starring Mary Tyler Moore. This led to her being cast as Peggy Bundy on the sitcom Married... with Children (1987–1997). She portrayed the lower-class, sex-starved wife of shoe salesman Al Bundy. During her audition for the role, Sagal brought her own red bouffant wig and with the producers' approval, the look transitioned into the show. As Peg, she wore the wig, capri-length leggings with a large belt, and high slip-on heels, which were all fashion styles from the 1960s. Sagal's career focused strongly on this series for its 11-year run.
After the end of Married... with Children, several more television films followed, and she also contributed to the children's cartoon Recess as the voice of Spinelli's mother. In 1999, Matt Groening cast her as the purple-haired, cyclopian spaceship captain, Leela, in his science fiction cartoon comedy Futurama. The show developed a cult following, but was canceled after five seasons.[4] However, airings in syndication on Adult Swim[5] and Comedy Central[6] increased the show's popularity and led Comedy Central to commission a series of Futurama direct-to-DVD films, which the network later rebroadcast as 16 episodes.[7] She reprised her role as Leela in these films, and in the new season that began airing June 24, 2010.[8]
Sagal guest starred as Edna Hyde, Steven Hyde's mother, in three episodes of That '70s Show. She starred in the short-lived NBC sitcom Tucker the following year.
She was cast as the wife of John Ritter in the sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter in 2002. Ritter had completed only three episodes of the second season of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter before his death. The show was cancelled in 2005 after its third season.
In 2005, she made two appearances on Lost as Helen Norwood. In 2007, she had a role in the season finale of The Winner as Glen Abbot's former, and Josh's current, teacher, with whom Glen has his first sexual experience. The following year, she appeared in four episodes of the short-lived series Eli Stone. She currently stars as Gemma Teller Morrow on the TV show Sons of Anarchy, created by her husband, Kurt Sutter.
In January 2009, Sagal reunited with her TV son David Faustino (Bud Bundy from Married with Children) for an episode of Faustino's show Star-ving.[9] In 2010, she appeared twice more on Lost. In 2009 she starred in the film House Broken with Danny DeVito.
In 2010, she returned to the stage in Randy Newman's musical Harps & Angels.[10]
Sagal is also a songwriter. In 1976, while a member of The Group With No Name, she contributed to the album Moon over Brooklyn. She was a member of Bette Midler's backup group The Harlettes in 1978, and again from 1982–83.[11] She performed backing vocals on the self-titled solo album by Gene Simmons as well as background vocals on Olivia Newton-John's 1985 single "Soul Kiss". Sagal also provided the vocals for "Loose Cannons", the theme song for the movie featuring Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd in 1990. The song featured her singing most of the song, while Aykroyd sang the chorus and had some background impersonations from the movie.
On April 19, 1994, she released her first solo album, Well... On June 1, 2004, she released her second album, Room.[12] She has also contributed to the Sons of Anarchy soundtrack.[13]
Sagal was married to Freddie Beckmeier (1978–1981) and Jack White (November 26, 1993–July 24, 2000). In 1991, Sagal learned she was pregnant. This was unexpected by the directors of Married... with Children, so the pregnancy was written into the storyline of the show. However, in October 1991, she had to have an emergency Caesarean section in her seventh month of pregnancy, ending in the stillbirth of a daughter. The pregnancy on the show was then regarded as a "dream", which was mentioned only briefly at the end of the episode "Al Bundy, Shoe Dick". She also had an early miscarriage around this time. She and White eventually had two children. The writers of Married... with Children deliberately didn't write Sagal's two later pregnancies into the show due to the earlier stillbirth, opting instead to shoot her in instances where her midsection was obscured, such as in a taxicab or at a craps table in Las Vegas.[14]
Sagal married writer-producer Kurt Sutter in a private ceremony on October 2, 2004, at their home in Los Feliz, California. They have a daughter, who was born through a surrogate mother.[15]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Failing of Raymond | Girl patient | credited as "Catherine Louise Sagal" television film |
| 1972 | The Bold Ones: The New Doctors | Young nurse | credited as "Katie Sagal" |
| 1973 | Columbo | Secretary | episode: "Candidate for Crime" |
| 1974 | Larry | Cashier | television film |
| 1975 | The Dream Makers | Unemployment manager | television film |
| 1985–1986 | Mary | Jo Tucker | |
| 1987 | Maid to Order | Louise | |
| 1987–1997 | Married... with Children | Peggy Bundy | Series Regular: 250 Episodes |
| 1988 | The Good Mother | Ursula | |
| 1990 | Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme | Mary Quite Contrary | television film |
| Tales from the Crypt | Ms. Kilbasser | episode: "For Cryin' Out Loud" | |
| 1991 | She Says She's Innocent | Susan Essex | television film |
| 1995 | Trail of Tears | Annie Cook | television film |
| Nachtshow | episode: "February 10th, 1995" | ||
| Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man | Duckman's mother | animated series episode: "The Germ Turns" |
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| 1996 | Space Cases | Ma (voice only) | episode: "Mother Knows Best" |
| 1997–2001 | Recess | Flo Spinelli | animated series episodes: "Parents' Night" "Weekend at Muriel's" "Dance Lessons" |
| 1998 | Chance of a Lifetime | Irene Dunbar | television film |
| Mr. Headmistress | Harriet Magnum | television film | |
| 1999 | God's New Plan | Ellen Young | television film |
| Smart House | Pat | television film | |
| That 70s Show | Edna Hyde | episodes: "Career Day" "Prom Night" "Punk Chick" |
|
| 1999–2003 2007–present |
Futurama | Leela | voice only animated series |
| 2000 | Dropping Out | Wendy | |
| Tucker | Claire Wennick | episodes: "Pilot" "Seth Green with Envy" "Everybody Dance Now" |
|
| 2001 | The Geena Davis Show | Ashley | episode: "Girls' Night Out" |
| Recess: School's Out | Mrs. Flo Spinelli | voice only animated film |
|
| 2002 | Following Tildy | Connie St. John | |
| Imagine That | Barb Thompson | ||
| 2002–2005 | 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter | Cate S. Hennessy | Series Regular: 76 Episodes |
| 2004 | When Angels Come to Town | Jo | television film |
| 2004–2006 | Higglytown Heroes | Monica the Police Officer | episodes: "Great Un-Expectations/Snow Dazed" "Smells Like a Myster/Ship Ahoy!" "Wayne's Day Out" |
| 2005 | Campus Confidential | Naomi Jacobs | television film |
| Three Wise Guys | Shirley Crown | ||
| 2005 | Ghost Whisperer | Francie Lewis | episode: "Undead Comic" |
| 2005–2007 | The Shield | Nancy Gilroy | episodes: "Grave" "Exiled" |
| 2005–2010 | Lost | Helen Norwood | episodes: "Orientation" "Lockdown" "The Substitute" "The Candidate" |
| 2006 | I'm Reed Fish | Maureen | |
| Boston Legal | Barbara Little | episodes: "New Kids on the Block" "Desperately Seeking Shirley" "Fine Young Cannibal" "Whose God Is It Anyway?" "The Verdict" |
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| The Search for the Funniest Mom in America | Host | reality series | |
| 2007 | Futurama: Bender's Big Score | Turanga Leela | voice only direct-to-video animated film |
| The Winner | Lydia Berko | episode: "Hot for Teacher" | |
| 2008 | Eli Stone | Marci Klein | episodes: "Patience" "Waiting For That day" |
| CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Annabelle Bundt/Natasha Steele | episode: "Two and a Half Deaths" | |
| Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs | Turanga Leela | voice only direct-to-video animated film |
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| Futurama: Bender's Game | Turanga Leela/Leegola | voice only direct-to-video animated film |
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| 2008–present | Sons of Anarchy | Gemma Teller Morrow | |
| 2009 | House Broken | Mom | |
| Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder | Turanga Leela | voice only direct-to-video animated film |
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| 2010 | Chadam | Sandy | voice only animated web series |
| Jack and the Beanstalk | Jack's mom | ||
| Harps & Angels |
| Year | Title | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Moon Over Brooklyn[16]
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| 1994 | Well...
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Billboard Top Heatseekers – 33[18] |
| 2004 | Room
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| 2009 | Sons of Anarchy: Shelter - EP
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Top Independent Albums — 33[19]
Top Soundtracks — 23 |
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