Marla Pennington

{{short description|American actress (born 1954)}}

{{BLP more sources|date=July 2021}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Marla Pennington-Rowan

| image =

| caption =

| birth_name = Marla Lynn Pennington

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|3|5}}

| birth_place = Burbank, California, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| spouse = Thomas Patrick Rowan (1988-2021, his death)

| children = 2

| occupation = Actress

| yearsactive = 1974–1989

}}

Marla Lynn Pennington (born March 5, 1954) is an American former actress. She is best known for her role as Joan Anderson{{Citation |title=Small Wonder : Season 2 Episode 21 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25geC0xCxfM |access-date=2023-11-30 |language=en}} Lawson on Small Wonder, her last acting role to date.

Her other television credits include Soap, Diff'rent Strokes, Magnum, P.I., Charlie's Angels, Happy Days, The Incredible Hulk, and General Hospital. Pennington's film credits include National Lampoon's Class Reunion, and The Day of the Locust.

While Small Wonder was her last acting role, she appeared in a brief reunion with her co-stars on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet on January 14, 2009. She provided commentary to the Small Wonder season 1 DVD set, released in February 2010.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

In 1988, Pennington married entertainment lawyer Tom Rowan, son of comedian Dan Rowan (of Rowan and Martin fame) with whom she had a son, Dan, and a daughter, Kat. Upon Small Wonder ending in 1989, she retired from acting to devote time to her family.{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/tv/small-wonder-30th-anniversary-vicki-1980s-tv-128290305450.html|title='Small Wonder': The Strange True Story Behind the Weirdest Sitcom of the '80s|date=4 September 2015 |publisher=}} Rowan died in 2021, leaving Pennington a widow.{{cite web | url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/thomas-rowan-obituary?id=32149767 | title=Thomas Rowan Obituary (2022) - Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Times | website=Legacy.com }}