Wendie Malick

Wendie Malick (born December 13, 1950) is an American actress and former fashion model, known for her roles in various television comedies. She starred as Judith Tupper Stone in the HBO sitcom Dream On and as Nina Van Horn in the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me!, with the latter earning nominations for two Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe Award.

Malick starred as Victoria Chase in the TV Land comedy series Hot in Cleveland. She is also known for her recurring role as Gayle Buchannon on Baywatch as well as Ronee Lawrence on the eleventh and final season of Frasier. Her film credits include Scrooged, The American President, Racing Stripes, and Confessions of a Shopaholic. Malick has made over 50 guest appearances on television shows, primarily on comedies, and starred in a number of made-for-television films. In animation, she has voiced Burdine Maxwell in the first season of Bratz, Beatrice Horseman on the Netflix series BoJack Horseman and Eda Clawthorne on the Disney Channel series The Owl House.

Malick was born on December 13, 1950, in Buffalo, New York, the daughter of Gigi, a former model, and Kenneth Malick (1920–2021), who worked in sales. Her paternal grandfather, Ayad Malick, was an Egyptian from a Coptic Christian family who met her grandmother Sarah Belle Float, a Pentecostal missionary, in 1913. Her other ancestry is French, German, and English. She graduated from Williamsville South High School in 1968. Malick is an alumna of the William Esper Studio for the performing arts in Manhattan, New York City.

After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, in 1972, Malick began fashion modeling for the Wilhelmina modeling agency. She left to work for Republican Congressman Jack Kemp. She soon left Washington, D.C., to pursue a career on stage and screen. She began working as an actress in 1982 in the film A Little Sex. The same year, Malick auditioned for the role of Diane Chambers in the NBC sitcom Cheers,; Shelley Long was ultimately cast as Diane. She was also part of the cast of the ABC medical drama series Trauma Center. The series was cancelled after a single season. In 1986, Malick guest starred as Cecile's henchwoman in the 5,559th episode of Another World. In the late 1980s, Malick began her career in television comedies. She had a recurring role on Kate & Allie as Allie's ex-husband's new wife, and played a supporting role in the 1988 film Scrooged as Bill Murray's sister-in-law.

In 1990, Malick was cast in the HBO comedy series Dream On as Judith Tupper Stone, Brian Benben's neurotic but endearing ex-wife. She remained on this show until it ended in 1996, winning four CableACE Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. During Dream On years, Malick also acted in other television series, appearing in dramas, such as NYPD Blue as a battered socialite in 1993, and L.A. Law and Tales from the Crypt, and sitcoms, including Mad About You, Seinfeld, and Cybill. She also appeared in several television films, including Dynasty: The Reunion (1991), Madonna: Innocence Lost (1994), and Apollo 11 (1996). Malick starred in the 1999 Lifetime Television film Take My Advice: The Ann and Abby Story, in which she played the dual roles of identical twin sibling advice columnists Ann Landers (Eppie Lederer) and "Dear Abby" Abigail Van Buren (Pauline Phillips). As lead actress, she starred in the 1997 independent drama film Jerome.

In 1996, Malick starred as the lead character in her own comedy series, Good Company on CBS. The show was cancelled after only six episodes. In 1997, she began starring as Nina Van Horn, a shallow, boozing former supermodel on the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me!. She continued in this role until the show ended in 2003. She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1999 and 2002, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film in 1999. She also guest-starred on The X-Files in 1998. She starred in Disney's animated film The Emperor's New Groove as Chicha in 2000 alongside her fellow Just Shoot Me co-star David Spade, who voices Emperor Kuzco. In 2000, Malick was honored by Women in Film as A Woman of Vision, along with Tipper Gore, Gwen Ifill, and Roseanne Barr.

In 2003, Malick joined the cast of Cheers spin-off Frasier, portraying Ronee Lawrence, a Seattle lounge singer and Frasier's (Kelsey Grammer) childhood babysitter who develops a relationship with Frasier's father, Martin Crane (John Mahoney). Eventually, her character married Martin in the series finale "Goodnight, Seattle". Malick and Mahoney also both appeared in 1995 film The American President. In 2002, she starred opposite Shirley Jones and Cloris Leachman in the comedy film Manna from Heaven. She provided the voice of Principal Folsom for the Disney animated series Fillmore! until its end in 2004. In 2005, she co-starred in the Nickelodeon animated series The X's as Mrs. X.

From 2005 to 2006, Malick starred opposite John Stamos in the ABC comedy series Jake in Progress. Malick was to be part of the cast of the series Modern Men, but due to a Jake in Progress renewal, her role on Modern Men was recast with Jane Seymour. Both Jake in Progress and Modern Men were cancelled in 2006. Also in 2005, Malick starred as Clara Dalrymple in the film Racing Stripes. In 2005 and 2006, she provided the voice of Burdine Maxwell in the animated series Bratz. In late 2006 and early 2007, she starred in another short-lived comedy series, Big Day on ABC. Starting in 2005, Malick did voice work on radio and television ads for Marshalls department stores. Malick guest-starred on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Law & Order in 2005. In film, she appeared in Waiting..., Adventureland, and Confessions of a Shopaholic as the instructor of the "Shopaholics Anonymous" group, Miss Korch.