Annie Potts
{{short description|American actress (born 1952)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{for|the American physician|Anna Longshore Potts}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Annie Potts
| image = Annie Potts, 2019 (T6I0YV6Az8c).jpg
| caption = Potts in 2019
| birth_name = Anne Hampton Potts
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|10|28}}
| birth_place = Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1977–present
| alma_mater = Stephens College
| spouse = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|Steven Hartley|1973|1978|reason=divorced}}|{{marriage|Greg Antonacci|1978|1980|reason=divorced}}|{{marriage|B. Scott Senechal|1981|1989|reason=divorced}}|{{marriage|James Hayman|1990}}
}}
| children = 3
}}
Anne Hampton Potts (born October 28, 1952){{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/artist/annie-potts-p57472|title=Annie Potts|work=AllMovie|access-date=November 28, 2019|archive-date=December 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210192109/https://www.allmovie.com/artist/annie-potts-p57472|url-status=live}} is an American actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Corvette Summer (1978) and won a Genie Award for Heartaches (1981), before appearing in Ghostbusters (1984), Pretty in Pink (1986), Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), Who's Harry Crumb? (1989), Ghostbusters II (1989), Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024). She voiced Bo Peep in the Toy Story franchise (1995, 1999, and 2019) and in various Disney video games.
On television, Potts played Mary Jo Jackson Shively on the CBS sitcom Designing Women (1986–1993). She was nominated for a 1994 Primetime Emmy Award for playing Dana Palladino on the CBS sitcom Love & War (1993–1995), she played teacher Louanne Johnson on ABC drama Dangerous Minds for one season 1996–1997, and was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award in 1998 and 1999 for playing Mary-Elizabeth "M.E." Sims in the Lifetime drama series Any Day Now (1998–2002). Her other television credits include GCB (2012), The Fosters (2013–2018), and Young Sheldon (2017–2024).
Early life and education
Potts was born in Nashville, Tennessee,{{cite news | first = Brandy Hilboldt | last = Allport | url = http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/102806/lif_5772890.shtml | title = A.M.Stir | work = The Florida Times-Union | date = October 28, 2006 | access-date = April 24, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095852/http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/102806/lif_5772890.shtml | archive-date = September 29, 2007 | url-status=dead }} the third child of Dorothy Harris (née Billingslea) and Powell Grisette Potts. She has two older sisters. They grew up in Franklin, Kentucky, where she graduated from Franklin-Simpson High School in 1970.1970 Franklin-Simpson High School yearbook
She attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in theater. Potts and her first husband, Steven Hartley, were in a car crash that left several bones below her waist broken,{{cite web|url=http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/personal-training/tips-from-greg-vanvakaris.htm|title=Tips From Greg Vanvakaris, DC, CSCS|work=HowStuffWorks|access-date=October 20, 2014|date=September 29, 2010|archive-date=August 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802213613/http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/personal-training/tips-from-greg-vanvakaris.htm|url-status=live}} including compound fractures to both legs, and caused the loss of the heel of her right foot. Hartley also lost his left leg.{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/was-the-wampa-attack-in-e_b_8035468|title=Was the Wampa Attack in Empire Strikes Back Created to Explain Mark Hamill's Facial Injuries?|date=August 25, 2015|access-date=December 23, 2019|archive-date=August 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815075717/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/was-the-wampa-attack-in-e_b_8035468|url-status=live}}Working Mother, January 1997, p. 25
Career
Potts made her debut on the big screen in 1978 in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer comedy film Corvette Summer, with Mark Hamill. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1979 for her role in the film.{{Cite web|title=Golden Globe Awards Website|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/annie-potts|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922141807/https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/annie-potts |archive-date=September 22, 2019 }} In 1982, she won Genie Awards for Best Performance by a Foreign Actress for her role in the film Heartaches, about a young woman married to a stock car racer and carrying his friend's child. In 1980, she played Edith Bedelmeyer, a woman who shared an attic apartment with three other women (played by Georgia Engel, Lorna Patterson, and Francine Tacker) on the short-lived comedy series Goodtime Girls.
File:Annie Potts Emmys.jpg in 1989]]
Potts played receptionist Janine Melnitz in the Ghostbusters film series; Potts created the character's trademark New York accent based on a friend's who was from the city. She then appeared as the pragmatic interior designer Mary Jo Shively on the CBS television sitcom Designing Women (1986–1993). She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1994 for her role as Dana Palladino on Love & War (1993–1995). Other notable roles include Mary Elizabeth (O'Brien) Sims on the Lifetime Television drama series Any Day Now (1998–2002), for which she was nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, the voice of Bo Peep in three of the Toy Story films, a supporting role in John Hughes's Pretty in Pink, and guest-starring roles on such CBS's television series as Magnum, P.I., Joan of Arcadia, Close to Home, Two and a Half Men, and ABC's Men in Trees, Ugly Betty, and Boston Legal. She played a recurring role as Sophie Devere in the NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from 2005 to 2009.
Potts has done work on audio books; including as the narrator and heroine of Larry McMurtry's Telegraph Days, winning the 2007 Audie Award for Solo Narration-Female, for her portrayal. She starred in the film version of McMurtry's Texasville, a sequel to The Last Picture Show. She made her Broadway debut upon joining the cast of the Tony Award–winning play God of Carnage on November 17, 2009, succeeding Hope Davis in the role of Annette.[http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/64431827.html Potts's Broadway debut]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/god-of-carnage-482510#Replacements |title=God of Carnage: Replacements |publisher=Internet Broadway Database}}
In 2012, Potts starred as Elizabeth "Gigi" Stopper in ABC's comedy-drama series GCB, with Leslie Bibb, Kristin Chenoweth, Jennifer Aspen, Miriam Shor, and Marisol Nichols.{{cite web|url=http://abc.go.com/shows/gcb|title=Good Christian Belles|work=ABC|access-date=October 20, 2014|archive-date=August 17, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817061634/http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/gcb|url-status=live}} She says she based her portrayal of the character on Dixie Carter, adding, "Were she still alive, the role would have been hers and should have been."{{cite news|url=http://downriversundaytimes.com/2012/03/02/celebrity-extra-137/|title=Celebrity Extra|last=Elavsky|first=Cindy|work=Downriver Sunday Times|date=March 5, 2012|access-date=March 16, 2012|archive-date=May 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513084608/http://downriversundaytimes.com/2012/03/02/celebrity-extra-137/|url-status=live}} Potts also played a leading role in the 2012 Hallmark Channel original musical film The Music Teacher, about a high-school music teacher who is on the brink of losing her beloved school music program because of district budget cuts. In an effort to spare the program, Daley's former students band together to stage a musical to raise money to keep the program alive.[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/annie-potts-hallmark-movie-292692 Annie Potts to Star in Hallmark Movie 'The Music Teacher' (Exclusive)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214120437/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/annie-potts-hallmark-movie-292692 |date=December 14, 2019 }}, The Hollywood Reporter, February 21, 2012, by Lesley Goldberg
In March 2013, Potts signed on for the lead role of the ABC comedy-drama pilot Murder in Manhattan about a mother and daughter who team up as amateur sleuths.{{cite web|url=https://www.deadline.com/2013/03/annie-potts-to-star-in-abc-pilot-murder-in-manhattan/|title=Annie Potts To Star In ABC Pilot 'Murder In Manhattan'|date=March 2, 2013|work=Deadline|access-date=October 20, 2014|archive-date=July 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702030240/http://www.deadline.com/2013/03/annie-potts-to-star-in-abc-pilot-murder-in-manhattan/|url-status=dead}} ABC later looked for a cable network to distribute the series, opting not to air it on network television.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/abc-studios-shop-murder-manhattan-520296?mobile_redirect=false|title=ABC Studios to Shop 'Murder in Manhattan' to Other Networks|author=Lesley Goldberg|date=May 9, 2013|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=October 20, 2014|archive-date=March 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318121555/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/abc-studios-shop-murder-manhattan-520296?mobile_redirect=false|url-status=live}} In late 2013, it was announced that Potts would join Diane Paulus' revival of Pippin beginning January 21, 2014. She replaced Tony Award nominee Tovah Feldshuh in the role of Pippin's grandmother Berthe. This marked her first appearance in a Broadway musical.{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/185289-Annie-Potts-Will-Join-Tony-Award-Winning-Broadway-Revival-of-Pippin-in-2014|title=Annie Potts Will Join Tony Award-Winning Broadway Revival of Pippin in 2014|work=Playbill|access-date=October 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716164120/http://playbill.com/news/article/185289-Annie-Potts-Will-Join-Tony-Award-Winning-Broadway-Revival-of-Pippin-in-2014|archive-date=July 16, 2014|url-status=dead}}
From 2017 to 2024, she was a series regular on the CBS sitcom Young Sheldon, playing Connie "Meemaw" Tucker, Sheldon's maternal grandmother. Starting in 2024, she was a series recurring actress on the CBS sitcom Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, playing Connie "Meemaw" Tucker, Georgie Cooper Jr's maternal grandmother.
Personal life
Potts is the mother of three boys: one with her third husband Scott Senechal, and two with her fourth and most recent husband James Hayman.{{cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/people/annie-potts-17175702|title=Annie Potts|website=Biography|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612184411/https://www.biography.com/people/annie-potts-17175702|archive-date=June 12, 2018}}
Acting credits
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Film ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1978
| Vanessa | |
| King of the Gypsies
| Persa | |
| align="center"| 1981
| Bonnie Howard | |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1984
| |
| Crimes of Passion
| Amy Grady | |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1986
| Iona | |
| Jumpin' Jack Flash
| Liz Carlson | |
| align="center"| 1987
| Louise | |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1988
| Darla Porter | |
| She's Having a Baby
| Herself | Cameo |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1989
| Helen Downing | |
| Ghostbusters II
| |
| align="center"| 1990
| Karla Jackson | |
| align="center"| 1992
| Mary Klinglitch | |
| align="center"| 1995
|rowspan=2|Bo Peep |
| align="center"| 1999 |
| align="center"| 2004
| Shirl | |
| align="center"| 2007
| The Sunday Man | Mrs. Culp | Short film |
| align="center"| 2014
| Aunt Harley | |
| align="center"| 2015
| As Good As You | Dr. Laura Berg | |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 2016
| Vanessa the hotel clerk |
| All At Once
| Ginny Maxwell | |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 2017
| Humor Me | Dee |
| Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town
| Mary | |
| align="center"| 2018
| Diane |
| align="center"| 2019
|rowspan=2|Bo Peep |rowspan=3|Voice role |
| align="center"| 2020 |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 2021
| Edmée{{Cite web |last=Sledge |first=Philip |date=April 16, 2021 |title=Arlo The Alligator Boy Cast: Where You've Heard Or Seen The Actors Before |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2565839/arlo-the-alligator-boy-cast-where-youve-heard-or-seen-the-actors-before |access-date=August 5, 2024 |website=Cinema Blend |language=en}} |
| Ghostbusters: Afterlife
|rowspan=2| Janine Melnitz |
| align="center"| 2024 |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1977
| Linda Cleary | Television film |
| Busting Loose
| Helene | 3 episodes |
| align="center"| 1978
| Family | Caddy Wilde | Episode: "Magic" |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1979
| Flatbed Annie & Sweetiepie: Lady Truckers | Flatbed Annie | Television film |
| Visions
| Ellen | Episode: "Ladies in Waiting" |
| align="center"| 1980
| Edith Bedelmeyer | Main cast, 12 episodes |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1982
| Something So Right | Sunday | Television film |
| Bayou Romance
| Lily | Television film |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1983
| Cowboy | D.G. | Television film |
| Remington Steele
| Annie Carpenter | Episode: "Steele Crazy After All These Years" |
| align="center"| 1983–1986
| Tracy Spencer | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1984
| Why Me? | Daria | Television film |
| It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
| Cindy Mills | Television film |
| align="center"| 1985
| Cathy Lowery | Episode: "Wordplay" |
| align="center"| 1986–1993
| Mary Jo Shively | Main cast, 163 episodes |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 1987
| Kathy Sanders | "My Dissident Mom" |
| Amazing Stories
| Bev Binford (voice) | Episode: "The Family Dog" |
| align="center"| 1989
| Hanna-Barbera's 50th: A Yabba Dabba Doo Celebration | Co-host | TV special |
| align="center"| 1993–1995
| Dana Palladino | Main cast, 44 episodes |
| align="center"| 1995
| Her Deadly Rival | Kris Lansford | Television film |
| align="center"| 1996–1997
| LouAnne Johnson | Main cast, 17 episodes |
| align="center"| 1997
| Hadley Martin | Main cast, 12 episodes and also producer |
| align="center"| 1998
| Hercules | Syrinx (voice) | Episode: "Hercules and the Muse of Dance" |
| align="center"| 1998–2002
| Mary Elizabeth 'M.E.' Sims | Main cast, 88 episodes |
| rowspan=“2” align="center"| 1999
| Wrangler (voice) |
| align="center"| 2003
| Defending Our Kids: The Julie Posey Story | Julie Posey | Television film |
| align="center"| 2004
| Huff | Doris Johnson | 4 episodes |
| align="center"| 2004–2005
| Lieutenant Lucy Preston | 11 episodes |
| align="center"| 2005
| Dr. Marla Dodds | Episode: "Divine Directions" |
| align="center"| 2005–2009
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Sophie Devere | 4 episodes |
| align="center"| 2007
| Mary Alice O'Donnell | 4 episodes |
| rowspan="3" align="center"| 2008
| Linda | Episode: "Zero Worship" |
| Boston Legal
| Joy Espenson | Episode: "The Bad Seed" |
| Queen Sized
| Joan Baker | Television film |
| align="center"| 2009
| Lenore | Episode: "Mmm, Fish. Yum." |
| align="center"| 2010
| Marry Me | Vivienne Carter | Miniseries |
| align="center"| 2010
|Kathy Patton |Television film |
| align="center"| 2011
| Five | Charlotte's Mom | Television film |
| rowspan="4" align="center"| 2012
| GCB | Gigi Stopper | Main cast, 10 episodes |
| The Music Teacher
| Alyson Daley | Television film |
| Fish Hooks
| Nurse Fishington (voice) | 3 episodes |
| Animal Practice
| Virginia Coleman | 2 episodes |
| align="center"| 2013–2018
| Sharon Elkin | 11 episodes |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 2013
| Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja | Tawny Zingwald (voice) | Episode: "Stank'd to the Future/Wave Slayers" |
| Grey's Anatomy
| Joyce | Episode: "Map of You" |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 2014
| Roberta Montgomery | Episode: "True Romance" |
| Young & Hungry
| Donna Kaminski (voice) | Episode: "Pilot"; uncredited |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 2015
| Clarissa | Episode: "Special Master: Part Two" |
| NCIS: New Orleans
| Olivia Brody | Episode: "Broken Hearted" |
| align="center"| 2015–2016
| Helen Manning | Recurring role; 5 episodes |
| rowspan="2" align="center"| 2016
| Scandal | Louise Baker | Episode: "Buckle Up" |
| Royal Pains
| Mrs. Sacani | 2 episodes |
| align="center"| 2017–2019
|Olympia Timbers (voice) |4 episodes |
| align="center"| 2017–2024
|Constance "Connie" Tucker (Meemaw) |Main cast, 139 episodes |
| align="center"| 2021
|Edmée (voice) |5 episodes |
| align="center"| 2024
|Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage |Constance "Connie" Tucker (Meemaw) |Recurring role |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Voice role ! Notes |
|---|
| align="center"| 1995
|Disney's Animated Storybook: Toy Story | rowspan=2 |Bo Peep | |
| align="center"| 1999 |
| align="center"| 2009
| Ghostbusters: The Video Game | |
| align="center"| 2010
| rowspan=2 |Bo Peep | |
| align="center"| 2016
| Voice lines removed in a later update |
| align="center"| 2019
| Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered | Janine Melnitz | |
| align="center"| 2023
| Bo Peep | |
=Stage=
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Association ! Category ! Work ! Result |
|---|
| 1979
| New Star of the Year – Actress | Corvette Summer |{{nom}} |
| 1982
| Best Performance by a Foreign Actress | Heartaches |{{won}} |
| 1994
| Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Love & War |{{nom}} |
| 1999
| rowspan=2|Screen Actors Guild Awards | rowspan=2|Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series | rowspan=2|Any Day Now |{{nom}} |
| 2000
|{{nom}} |
| rowspan="2" |2019
|Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards |Best Voice Performance |{{Nominated}} |
| rowspan="2" |Critics' Choice Television Awards
| rowspan="2" |Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | rowspan="2" | Young Sheldon |{{nom}} |
| 2023
|{{nom}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons|Annie Potts}}
- {{Facebook|anne.hamptonpotts}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0001633}}
- {{Tcmdb name}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{iobdb name|9314}}
- {{TV Guide person|annie-potts/140294|Annie Potts}}
{{Ghostbusters}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Annie}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Kentucky
Category:Actresses from Nashville, Tennessee
Category:American film actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:American voice actresses
Category:Best Performance by a Foreign Actress Genie Award winners