By Jessica Wedemeyer
9:00pm PDT, Mar 17, 2022
Be part of Wonderwall.com as we have a look again at a few of the most iconic main ladies of sitcoms… beginning with this woman. On “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” Mary Tyler Moore, who died at 80 in January 2017, portrayed fictional TV journalist Mary Richards. She may flip the world on along with her smile, and we’ll be without end grateful to her for that! We weren’t the one ones: She took house 4 Emmys for her work on the present and scored one other 4 nominations between 1971 and 1977. In honor of the forty fifth anniversary of the present’s finale — which aired on March 19 — let’s check out extra of sitcom’s main women from through the years …
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“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” additionally launched us to Valerie Harper’s Rhoda Morgenstern, Mary’s finest buddy and neighbor. She was so fashionable, she scored her personal spinoff, “Rhoda,” which aired for 5 seasons on CBS between 1974 and 1978. Valerie, who died at 80 in August 2019 following a prolonged battle with mind most cancers, received three Emmys for taking part in Rhoda on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and a fourth Emmy for her work on the spinoff.
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The redheaded funnywoman is liable for probably the most legendary characters in Hollywood historical past: Lucy McGillicuddy Ricardo on “I Love Lucy,” which ran for six seasons between 1951 and 1957. Though she solely received one Emmy for her work reverse her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz, on the beloved sitcom, she scored a number of extra nominations through the years and took house the Emmy for finest comedienne — a since-retired class — in 1953. Lucille died at 77 in 1989.
Do not make us select only one! The ladies of “Friends” are a package deal deal. Over the course of 10 seasons between 1994 and 2004, Courteney Cox‘s Monica Geller, Lisa Kudrow’s Phoebe Buffay and Jennifer Aniston‘s Rachel Inexperienced grew to become the world’s BFFs. Jen and Lisa each received Emmys for his or her work on the enduring sitcom, which continues to realize new followers even at this time.
Phylicia Rashad starred as “America’s Mom,” Huxtable household matriarch Clair Hanks Huxtable, on “The Cosby Show” for eight seasons between 1984 and 1992. She earned two Emmy nominations — and a legion of followers — for her efforts.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus starred as neurotic copy editor Elaine Benes — the one feminine member of the principle solid — on “Seinfeld” for 9 seasons between 1990 and 1998. The sitcom launched her to superstardom, paving the way in which for lauded performances on “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and “Veep.” The “Saturday Night Live” alum solely took house one Emmy for her work on “Seinfeld,” however she scored six extra nominations through the years.
Whether or not you like her or hate her, there isn’t any denying Roseanne Conner — Roseanne Barr’s on-screen alter ego on “Roseanne” — is actually iconic! The controversial comic starred on the sitcom for 9 seasons between 1988 and 1997 after which returned for a much-buzzed-about tenth season in 2018. She received an Emmy and scored three extra nominations for her work because the blue-collar matriarch of the Conner clan. (Her TV household bought their very own spinoff after ABC canceled “Roseanne” and killed off the title character amid a Twitter racism scandal.)
Shelley Lengthy starred as mental cocktail waitress Diane Chambers on “Cheers” for the primary 5 seasons of the long-running sitcom, which aired from 1982 to 1993. She received one Emmy and scored one other 4 nominations for her work on the Boston-based comedy. Finally, she reprised the function on spinoff “Frasier” — and scored one more Emmy nomination for her efforts!
The age-old query: Diane or Rebecca?! When Shelley Lengthy left “Cheers” after the fifth season, she opened the door for Kirstie Alley’s gold-digging bar supervisor Rebecca Howe, who served because the sitcom’s feminine lead on seasons 6 by means of 11. She received one Emmy and scored one other 4 nominations for her efforts.
Isabel Sanford starred as household matriarch Louise Jefferson reverse Sherman Hemsley’s George Jefferson on 11 seasons on “The Jeffersons” between 1975 and 1985. The couple bought their begin on “All in the Family” and have been so fashionable with viewers, they scored their very own spinoff, for which Isabel — who died at 86 in 2004 — received one Emmy and scored one other six nominations.
Folks beloved the groundbreaking sitcom “Will & Grace” a lot that greater than a decade after its unique eight-season run got here to an finish in 2006, it returned for a three-season revival between 2017 and 2020. In different phrases, Debra Messing portrayed inside designer Grace Adler for greater than twenty years! She received one Emmy and scored one other 4 nominations for her efforts.
It is essentially the most beloved sitcom of the previous twenty years… “The Office.” Jenna Fischer starred as Pam Beesly on all 9 seasons of the office comedy, which aired from 2005 to 2013 and later grew to become the most-streamed present on Netflix. She solely scored one Emmy nomination for her portrayal of the shy Dunder Mifflin receptionist-turned-office administrator, however she’s greater than award-worthy in our e book!
You may’t get rather more iconic than the main women of “The Golden Girls,” which aired for seven seasons between 1985 and 1992. Estelle Getty received one Emmy and scored one other six nominations for her portrayal of Sophia Petrillo, Rue McClanahan received one Emmy and earned one other three nominations for her efficiency as Blanche Devereaux, and Bea Arthur received one Emmy and earned one other three nominations for her work as Dorothy Zbornak. Betty White — the final surviving member of the solid — received one Emmy and earned one other six nominations for taking part in Rose Nylund. What a feat!
Fran Drescher starred as Fran Positive — the extraordinarily modern titular nanny — on six seasons of “The Nanny” between 1993 and 1999. She scored two Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations for her portrayal of the character, who is likely to be extra iconic for the way in which she sounds than for the way in which she seems to be!
Katey Sagal starred as lazy housewife Peggy Bundy on the history-making sitcom “Married… with Children” — the primary unique present to air on FOX when the community launched its personal lineup in 1987. The collection aired for 11 seasons till 1997. Throughout that point, the enduring actress scored 4 Golden Globe nominations for her work on the present.
Whereas followers might need fallen in love with Mindy Kaling when she starred on “The Office,” it was her titular function on “The Mindy Project” that actually stole our hearts. Mindy starred as Dr. Mindy Lahiri, a New York Metropolis-based OB/GYN (and main romantic comedy fanatic) who struggles to take care of a work-life stability. In 2014, Mindy earned a nod for excellent actress in a comedy collection on the NAACP Picture Awards.
Right here now we have Julie Bowen‘s aggressive stay-at-home mother Claire Dunphy and her stepmother, Sofia Vergara‘s Colombian former pageant queen Gloria Pritchett — two iconic main women in their very own proper! The 2 ladies made for fairly the odd couple whereas co-starring on “Modern Family” for 11 seasons between 2009 and 2020. Julie received two Emmys and scored one other 4 nominations for her work on the sitcom, whereas Sofia earned 4 Emmy and 4 Golden Globe nominations through the years.
Tina Fey did not simply star as TV author Liz Lemon on “30 Rock.” She additionally created, wrote and govt produced the lauded sitcom, which aired for seven seasons between 2006 and 2013. Her arduous work paid off: She received six Emmys for the collection.
In the meantime, Tina Fey‘s BFF, Amy Poehler, starred as devoted public servant Leslie Knope on seven seasons of “Parks and Recreation” between 2009 and 2015. She received over viewers and critics alike, scoring 9 Emmy nominations for her work on the sitcom, which she additionally produced. In 2014, she received a Golden Globe for her efficiency on the beloved comedy.
All through the ’90s and ’00s, Alyson Hannigan grew to become broadly identified for her starring roles on TV’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and the large display’s “American Pie” franchise. From 2005 to 2014, nonetheless, she starred as Lily Aldrin, a supportive spouse and kindergarten instructor on “How I Met Your Mother.” We weren’t the one ones who beloved her portrayal: In 2010, Alyson took house a Folks’s Alternative Award for favourite comedic TV actress.
Brandy was nonetheless an adolescent when “Moesha” debuted on UPN in 1996, and she or he grew up earlier than our very eyes on the influential sitcom, which aired for six seasons till 2001. The collection — which has developed a brand new following on Netflix — received numerous followers throughout the nation again within the ’90s and launched its younger result in superstardom. It is nonetheless so beloved, actually, that there are talks of giving it the reboot therapy: “I don’t see it not happening,” Brandy informed “Entertainment Tonight” in August 2020 of reviving “Moesha.”
Kaley Cuoco charmed us as aspiring actress Penny on “The Big Bang Theory,” which aired for 12 seasons between 2007 and 2019. She could not have received any main awards for her work on the insanely fashionable sitcom, however she’ll actually go down in historical past for being a part of the ensemble solid of the longest working multi-camera comedy ever!
“Living Single” was arguably the preferred female-centric sitcom of the early ’90s. Queen Latifah starred as Taste Journal editor-publisher Khadijah James; Kim Fields portrayed Khadijah’s cousin and roommate, Synclaire James-Jones; Erika Alexander performed Khadijah’s finest buddy and faculty roommate, Max Shaw; and Kim Coles rounded out the solid as Khadijah’s childhood pal Regine Hunter. The collection aired for 5 seasons between 1993 and 1998.
Patricia Heaton starred because the title character’s long-suffering spouse, homemaker Debra Barone, on “Everybody Loves Raymond” for 9 seasons between 1996 and 2005. She received two Emmys and scored one other 5 nominations for her efforts.
Candice Bergen starred because the titular investigative journalist and information anchor on “Murphy Brown,” which aired for 10 seasons between 1988 and 1998 after which returned for a shock eleventh season twenty years later. She received 5 Emmys for her work on the sitcom.
Constance Wu scored a significant breakthrough when she was solid as Jessica Huang, the aggressive matriarch of the Huang clan, on “Fresh Off the Boat,” which ran for six seasons between 2015 and 2020. She earned three Critics’ Alternative Tv Award nominations for her work on the sitcom, which made historical past as the primary collection that includes an all Asian American important solid to broadcast greater than 100 episodes.
Jane Kaczmarek starred as Lois — the overbearing mom of 5 rambunctious boys — on “Malcolm in the Middle,” which aired for seven seasons between 2000 and 2006. She earned seven Emmy nominations — however shockingly by no means managed to come back out on prime — for her work on the lauded sitcom.
Suzanne Somers’ Chrissy Snow and Joyce DeWitt’s Janet Wooden have been the 2 main women of “Three’s Company,” which ran for eight seasons between 1977 and 1984. Suzanne scored a single Golden Globe nomination for her work because the ditzy secretary earlier than she departed the sitcom in its fifth season, leaving Joyce and John Ritter to hold the present.
Leah Remini scored a significant breakthrough with “The King of Queens,” which ran for 9 seasons between 1998 and 2007. She starred as sardonic authorized secretary Carrie Heffernan — the spouse of the titular “king” — on the working-class sitcom, which launched her into the highlight. Her chemistry with on-screen husband Kevin James was so top-notch, they later tried to recreate the magic on the short-lived collection “Kevin Can Wait.”
Who’s Vivian Banks in your thoughts?! Janet Hubert starred as Aunt Viv for the primary three seasons of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” however then Daphne Reid took over the function for the following three seasons. We could not probably select! So as a substitute, we’ll concentrate on the girl who owned our hearts for all six seasons: Karyn Parsons, who starred as Will’s cousin, spoiled fashionista Hilary Banks, from 1990 to 1996.
Let’s go to the mall! Cobie Smulders portrayed information anchor Robin Scherbatsky — a former teen pop star in her native Canada — on “How I Met Your Mother,” which aired for 9 seasons between 2005 and 2014. Because the divisive collection finale proved, the sitcom wasn’t nearly how Ted Mosby met his future spouse and child mama — it was about how he realized Robin was the real love of his life.
“Black-ish” has but to conclude its run, however we’re calling it now: Tracee Ellis Ross as Dr. Rainbow Johnson is actually iconic! The singer-actress has starred because the anesthesiologist and matriarch of the Johnson clan since 2014. She received one Golden Globe and scored 4 Emmy nominations for her efforts on the lauded sitcom, which launched two spinoffs.
Zooey Deschanel is not only a film star. In 2011, she started starring on “New Girl.” On the present, which ran for seven seasons till 2018, Zooey portrayed Jess, a unusual instructor who finally ends up transferring right into a downtown Los Angeles loft with three males. Over the course of its run, “New Girl” earned 5 nods at each the Golden Globes and Primetime Emmys.
Is it too quickly to name Kristen Bell an iconic sitcom main woman? We predict not! Kristen starred on Michael Schur’s NBC comedy “The Good Place” from 2016 to 2020, throughout which she earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for finest actress in a tv collection musical or comedy in 2019. She portrayed the present’s lead, Eleanor Shellstrop, a previously egocentric lady who arrives within the afterlife and subsequently modifications her methods.
From 1998 to 2006, Debra Jo Rupp made audiences snicker along with her portrayal of devoted, affectionate and at instances dysfunctional Kitty Forman on “That ’70s Show.” Kitty, a registered nurse, was the mom of Eric and Laurie and the spouse of Pink. The collection earned widespread crucial acclaim, together with 16 Primetime Emmy nominations.