Pamela Adlon
{{Short description|American actress (born 1966)}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Pamela Adlon
| image = 2024-03-08 SXSW-2024 Variety-comedy-awards 04899 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Adlon at SXSW 2024
| birth_name = Pamela SegallStated on Finding Your Roots, January 25, 2022
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|7|9}}{{cite web |last1=Adlon |first1=Pamela |title=Finding your roots |url=https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/about/meet-our-guests/pamela-adlon |website=PBS}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| citizenship = {{flatlist|
- United States
- United Kingdom{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/VIDEO-Pamela-Adlon-Revisits-Her-Bobby-Hill-Voice-on-THE-TONIGHT-SHOW-20200303|title=VIDEO: Pamela Adlon Revisits Her Bobby Hill Voice on THE TONIGHT SHOW|first=Stage|last=Tube|website=BroadwayWorld.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://fortune.com/longform/pamela-adlon-interview-better-things-season-four/|title=Pamela Adlon wants you to know she has your back|website=Fortune}}}}
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Actress
- writer
- producer
- director
}}
| years_active = 1982–present
| works = Filmography
| spouse = {{marriage|Felix Adlon|1996|2010|end=divorced}}
| children = 3, including Gideon and Odessa
| relatives = Percy Adlon (former father-in-law)
}}
Pamela Adlon ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|d|l|ɒ|n}} {{respell|AD|lon}}; {{née|Segall}}; born July 9, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series King of the Hill (1997–2010),{{cite web|last1=Gross|first1=Terry|title=Pamela Adlon: From 'Hill' Kid To 'Californication'|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/01/04/144319352/pamela-adlon-from-hill-kid-to-californication|website=Fresh Air|publisher=NPR|access-date=June 4, 2014|date=January 4, 2012}} for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in Jungle Cubs (1996–1998), the title role in the Pajama Sam video game series (1996–2001), Lucky in 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997–1998), Margaret "Moose" Pearson in Pepper Ann (1997–2000), Ashley Spinelli in Recess (1997–2001), Otto Osworth in Time Squad (2001–2003), Vidia in the Tinkerbell franchise and Brigette Murphy in Milo Murphy's Law (2016–2019), among numerous others.
Adlon is also known for her roles in the comedy-drama series Californication (2007–2014) and Louie (2010–2015), the latter of which she additionally wrote and produced alongside Louis C.K.{{cite web|last1=Harris|first1=Will|title=Pamela Adlon on snorting fake coke, Louie, and the fate of her Vulcan ears |url=https://www.avclub.com/article/pamela-adlon-snorting-fake-coke-louie-and-fate-her-202837|website=The A.V. Club|publisher=Onion Inc.|access-date=June 4, 2014|date=April 1, 2014}} Her work on Louie garnered her four Primetime Emmy Award nominations. From 2016 to 2022, Adlon starred as Sam Fox on the acclaimed FX comedy-drama series Better Things, which she also co-created, wrote, produced, and directed. The series won a Peabody Award, and she was nominated twice for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/06/louis-c-k-better-things-pamela-adlon-horace-and-pete-fx-1201773843/|title=Louis C.K.-Pamela Adlon FX Comedy Series 'Better Things' Sets Fall Premiere Date|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro|date=June 16, 2016|access-date=November 12, 2016}}
Adlon has appeared in numerous films since making her acting debut in Grease 2 (1982). Her most notable films include Say Anything... (1989), Bed of Roses (1996), Lucky 13 (2005), Conception (2011), First Girl I Loved (2016), I Love You, Daddy (2017), Bumblebee (2018), and The King of Staten Island (2020). She made her feature film directorial debut with the comedy Babes (2024).
Early life
Adlon was born in New York City.{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/pamela-adlon/bio/261638/|work=TV Guide|title=Pamela Adlon Biography|access-date=March 28, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/artist/pamela-adlon-p64332|work=AllMovie|author=Southern, Nathan|title=Pamela Adlon Biography|access-date=March 28, 2020}} She is the daughter of Marina Lucy (née Leece) and Donald Maxwell "Don" Segall, who was a television comedy writer-producer and author of comic books and science fiction pulp novels.{{cite web|title=Donald M Segall, "United States Public Records"|url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KT42-446|website=United States Public Records|publisher=FamilySearch|access-date=June 4, 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Maron|first1=Marc|title=Episode 390 - Pamela Adlon|url=http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_390_-_pamela_adlon|website=WTF with Marc Maron|access-date=June 4, 2014|date=May 20, 2013}} Her father produced The Dave Garroway Show, which became AM New York and then The Today Show. He was a page at NBC with Gilbert Cates and wrote erotic fiction under various pseudonyms, including Troy Conway. Adlon's mother is English, while her father, an American, was from Boston.{{cite news|title=Pamela Adlon Revisits Her Bobby Hill Voice from King of the Hill|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9c9LGg2-Ig |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/n9c9LGg2-Ig |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|access-date=March 4, 2020|work=Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon|publisher=YouTube|date=March 3, 2020}}{{cbignore}} Her father was born to a Jewish family of Russian-Jewish and Ukrainian-Jewish descent, and her mother, originally an Anglican, converted to Judaism.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/arts/television/pamela-adlon-better-things-tampons.html|title=Pamela Adlon: The First Time I Ever Tried a Tampon|first=Pamela|last=Adlon|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 7, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/311181/art-reflects-life-in-pamela-adlons-better-things/|title=Pamela Adlon Wants You to Know 'Better Things' is Scripted|date=February 27, 2020|website=Jewish Journal}} Adlon has said that her parents met at a USO event in Paris.
As a child, Adlon lived in the Carnegie House at 100 West 57th Street. She has said that she and her family lived bi-coastally, moving between Los Angeles and New York because her father was a journeyman writer and producer for TV. She began performing at age nine; one of her father's friends had a radio studio, so she would do voice-over work there. While in Los Angeles she did TV and film acting work. She attended Sarah Lawrence College for a semester. After moving to Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, she shared a house with Anna Gunn.{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/09/06/492811885/actress-pamela-adlon-says-better-things-is-dedicated-to-her-daughters|title=Actress Pamela Adlon Says Better Things Is Dedicated to Her Daughters|work=Fresh Air|publisher=NPR|time=7:20|date=September 6, 2016}}
Career
Adlon made her acting debut as Dolores Rebchuck in the 1982 musical sequel film Grease 2. She had a recurring role as Kelly Affinado in the sitcom The Facts of Life (1983–1984). This was followed by appearances in Bad Manners (1984), Night Court (1984), Willy/Milly (1986), Star Trek: The Next Generation (1989), Say Anything... (1989), Sgt. Bilko (1996), and Plump Fiction (1997). Although successful as a child actress, she struggled to find parts in her 20s. It led her to develop a substantial voice-over career which she cited as saving her career.{{cite news|last1=Rhodes|first1=Joe|title=Her Life as a Mom, an Actress and a Boy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/arts/television/23rhod.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|access-date=June 4, 2014|work=New York Times|date=November 21, 2008}}
Adlon gained further acclaim and recognition for voicing the starring role of Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series King of the Hill (1997–2010), for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 2002.{{cite web|last1=Harris|first1=Will|title=A Chat with Pamela Adlon|url=http://www.bullz-eye.com/television/interviews/2009/pamela_adlon.htm|website=Bullz-Eye|access-date=June 4, 2014|date=August 25, 2009}} Adlon also gained recognition for voicing Margaret "Moose" Pearson in Pepper Ann (1997–2000), Ashley Spinelli in Recess (1997–2001),{{cite magazine|last=Boardman|first=Madeline|title=10 Voices Behind Your Favorite 'Recess' Characters|url=https://ew.com/gallery/recess-characters-actors-voices/?slide=246986#246986|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=2021-02-09|date=2016-04-20|df=mdy-all}} Brigette Murphy in Milo Murphy's Law (2016–2019), and the voice of newborn Halley Wolowitz in The Big Bang Theory.
Adlon is recognizable for her husky voice, which led to her voicing young boys in numerous animated series and films. She voiced Baloo in Jungle Cubs (1996–1998), the title role in the video game series Pajama Sam (1996–2001), Lucky in 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997–1998), Hector McBadger in Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks (2003–2007), and Andy in Squirrel Boy (2006–2007), among numerous others. She was nominated for an Annie Award for her role as Otto Osworth in the Cartoon Network animated comedy series Time Squad (2001–2003). She continued to voice characters in films, such as The Animatrix (2003) and as Vidia in the Tinker Bell film series (2008–2015).
Adlon had notable live-action roles as Emma Path in the ABC legal drama series Boston Legal (2007–2008), Marcy Runkle in the Showtime comedy-drama series Californication (2007–2014), and as Pamela in the FX comedy series Louie (2010–2015). She was also a writer and consulting producer for the lattermost series.{{cite web|last1=Haglund|first1=David|title=Character Studies: Pamela from Louie|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/02/02/pamela_adlon_the_second_most_important_actor_on_tv_s_best_comedy.html|website=Slate|access-date=June 4, 2014|date=February 2, 2012}}
File:Pamela Adlon at San Diego Comic-Con 2011 cropped.jpg in 2011]]
Adlon's professional relationship with Louis C.K. began in 2006 when she played his wife in the short-lived HBO sitcom Lucky Louie. She appeared as the friend of Louie (a fictional character based on C.K.) in his FX single-camera series Louie. She appeared in every season but the third.{{cite news| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/magazine/inside-the-bald-angry-head-of-louis-ck.html |newspaper= New York Times | title= Grumpus Maximus | first= Andrew | last= Goldman | date= June 17, 2011 |access-date= December 21, 2012}} Adlon co-wrote seven episodes of the series and became a consulting producer. She earned a total of four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her work on Louie. She earned two nominations as a producer for Outstanding Comedy Series, one nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for co-writing the episode "Daddy's Girlfriend Part 1", and one nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.{{Cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/bios/pamela-adlon|title=Pamela Adlon|website=Television Academy}}
In 2015, FX gave a pilot order to Better Things, a comedy created by and starring Adlon. She plays an actress raising three daughters. The pilot was written by Adlon and Louis C.K., who also directed it.{{cite web |url= https://deadline.com/2015/01/pamela-adlon-louis-ck-comedy-pilot-fx-1201352796/|title= FX Orders Comedy Pilot Starring Pamela Adlon From Louis CK|last1= Andreeva|first1= Nellie|date= January 18, 2015|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=January 31, 2015}} It was picked up for a 10-episode series on August 7, 2015.{{cite web|last1=Rose|first1=Lacey|title=Louis C.K., Pamela Adlon's Better Things Comedy Lands Series Order at FX|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/louis-ck-pamela-adlons-fx-813831|website=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=August 13, 2015|date=August 7, 2015}}{{cite web|last1=Andreeva|first1=Nellie|title=Louis C.K.-Pamela Adlon Comedy Better Things Gets FX Series Order|url=https://deadline.com/2015/08/better-things-louis-ck-pamela-adlon-fx-comedy-series-1201495143/|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=August 13, 2015|date=August 7, 2015}} The show, which premiered on September 8, 2016, is semi-autobiographical.{{cite news|last1=Fernandez|first1=Maria Elena|title=Pamela Adlon Can't Believe She Has Her Own Show|url=https://www.vulture.com/2016/09/pamela-adlon-better-things-conversation.html|access-date=September 12, 2016|work=Vulture|date=September 8, 2016}} C.K. served as a co-writer and occasional director for the first two seasons, while Adlon has served as director and writer throughout the series' run.
The series received widespread critical acclaim and was honored with a Peabody Award. Adlon received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the first two seasons of Better Things.{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/sites/default/files/Downloads/69th-nominations-list-v2.pdf|title=69th Primetime Emmy Award Nominations|publisher=Emmys.com|access-date=July 19, 2016}} She also received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy, and four nominations for the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy. Adlon was represented by manager Dave Becky until November 2017, when she fired him following his involvement in the Louis C.K. sexual harassment scandal.{{cite news|last1=Holloway|first1=Daniel|title=Pamela Adlon Fires 3 Arts' Dave Becky Following Louis C.K. Harassment Claims|url=https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/pamela-adlon-louis-ck-dave-becky-1202614115/|access-date=April 15, 2018|work=Variety|date=November 13, 2017}}
Adlon had recent live-action roles in the romantic drama film First Girl I Loved (2016), the science fiction action film Bumblebee (2018), and the comedy-drama film The King of Staten Island (2020). She had a guest role as Mrs. Wolowitz in the CBS sitcom Young Sheldon (2017) and a recurring role as Dr. Leigh in the acclaimed NBC drama series This Is Us (2020).
Adlon made her feature directorial debut with Babes.{{cite magazine|last=Gardner|first=Chris|title=Pamela Adlon Sets Feature Directorial Debut With Ilana Glazer Pregnancy Comedy (Exclusive)|date=June 14, 2022|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/pamela-adlon-feature-directorial-debut-ilana-glazer-1235164731/|accessdate=October 20, 2023}}{{cite web|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|title=Pamela Adlon-Directed Pregnancy Comedy From FilmNation And Range Media Partners Rounds Out Its Cast|date=July 13, 2022|website=Deadline Hollywood|url=https://deadline.com/2022/07/pamela-adlon-pregnancy-movie-cast-set-1235063449/|accessdate=October 20, 2023}}{{cite web|last=Fleming|first=Mike Jr.|title=Neon Lands U.S. Deal For 'Babes', Pamela Adlon's Directing Debut Starring Ilana Glazer, Michelle Buteau & Hasan Minhaj|date=October 5, 2023|website=Deadline Hollywood|url=https://deadline.com/2023/10/neon-us-deal-babes-pamela-adlon-ilana-glazer-michelle-buteau-hasan-minhaj-1235565108/|accessdate=October 20, 2023}}
Personal life
In 1996, Adlon married {{ill|Felix Adlon|de}}, the son of German director Percy Adlon. Felix Adlon directed Pamela in Eat Your Heart Out (1997).{{cite web |title=Eat Your Heart Out |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/521881/eat-your-heart-out/ |website=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=25 February 2022 |language=en}} They divorced in 2010, and he then moved to Germany. They have three daughters who are actresses: Gideon, Odessa, and Valentine "Rocky" Adlon.
Adlon splits her time between the Upper West Side of Manhattan and Los Angeles.{{cite web|last1=Salisbury|first1=Vanita|title=21 Questions: Louie's Pamela Adlon Thinks Louis C.K. Is the Mickey Mouse of New York|url=https://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/03/pamela-adlon-21-questions.html|magazine=New York|access-date=June 4, 2014|date=March 7, 2014}}
In January 2020, Adlon became a citizen of the United Kingdom.{{Cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/B7Rx8EshLQr/|title=Pamela Adlon on Instagram: "Oi! I am now a Citizen of the UK. Or a British Citizen. I can now work and play and live across the pond. (Also, I may have done it just to..."|website=Instagram|access-date=January 14, 2020}}
Filmography
{{main|Pamela Adlon filmography}}
Adlon is known for her collaborations with Louis C.K and her performances in Lucky Louie (2006), Louie (2010–2015), and Better Things (2016–2022). She has had major performances in The Facts of Life (1983–1984) and Californication (2007–2014) as well as making guest appearances in The Jeffersons (1984), Boston Legal (2007–2008), Parenthood (2012), and This Is Us (2020). She is also a well known voice artist. Her voice credits include the animated programs Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), Bobby's World (1992–1998), Rugrats (1992–2004), Recess (1997–2001), King of the Hill (1997–2010), The Oblongs (2001), Bob's Burgers (2012–2020), and Babes (2024).{{Cite web |date=2024-08-20 |title=How Are We Not Talking About This All the Time? |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/how-are-we-not-talking-about-this-all-the-time/ |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=Los Angeles Review of Books}}
Awards and nominations
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite magazine |author=Battan, Carrie |date=February 11, 2019 |title=Raw material: Pamela Adlon mines decades of experience on the fringes of Hollywood |department=Annals of Entertainment |magazine=The New Yorker |volume=94 |issue=48 |pages=20–26 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/02/11/pamela-adlon-the-tv-auteur-hiding-in-plain-sight |access-date=May 23, 2019}} (Online version is titled "Pamela Adlon, the TV auteur hiding in plain sight".)
External links
- {{IMDb name|0781899}}
- {{Twitter|pamelaadlon}}
{{EmmyAward VoiceOver 2001-2025}}
{{Portal bar|Biography||New York (state)|New York City}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adlon, Pamela}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:20th-century American comedians
Category:20th-century American Jews
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American comedians
Category:21st-century American Jews
Category:21st-century British actresses
Category:Actresses from Manhattan
Category:American child actresses
Category:American expatriate actresses
Category:American expatriates in England
Category:American film actresses
Category:American people of English descent
Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Category:American television actresses
Category:American television directors
Category:American video game actresses
Category:American voice actresses
Category:American women television directors
Category:American women television producers
Category:British people of Russian-Jewish descent
Category:British people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Category:British television actresses
Category:British women television producers
Category:Comedians from Manhattan
Category:Jewish American actresses
Category:Jewish American comedians
Category:Jewish British actresses
Category:Jewish British comedians
Category:Jewish women comedians
Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
Category:People from the Upper West Side
Category:People with multiple citizenship
Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners
Category:Sarah Lawrence College alumni