This young lady was born in Tacoma, Washington but moved to Maryland when she was 11. She spent her teenage years in Silver Spring and graduated from Springbrook High School before attending Montgomery College for a year before moving on to the University of Washington.
She started her acting career in theater, before landing a role in 1977 CBS series, The Andros Targets. She also co-starred with Daryl Hannah in the film The Clan of the Cave Bear (1985) and won a CableAce Award for Best Actress for the HBO series Tanner ’88 (1988). Her notable film roles include The Long Riders(1980), The Right Stuff (1983), The Best of Times(1986), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Bean (1997), and Proof of Life (2001). She played a main role in Jericho (2006) and has appeared as the mother of main character Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation.
