American actress Loni Anderson is best known for playing the title character in the comedy “WKRP in Cincinnati.” She received three “Golden Globe” and two “Emmy Award” nominations for the series. She was reared in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she was born.
Loni Anderson’s Parents and Age
Maxine Hazel and Klaydon Carl Anderson welcomed Loni Anderson into the world on August 5, 1946, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her father was an environmental chemist, while her mother was a working model. Loni grew raised under the strong influence of her mother.
Loni has always been attracted by the entertainment industry. She decided to become an actress by the time she was 9 years old. She quickly revealed to her mother that she wanted to work in acting.
Despite her mother’s support, the family had no professional contacts. Loni had to put in a lot of effort in order to realize her aspirations.
Loni Anderson’s Education
In 1963, Loni earned her diploma from Roseville’s “Alexander Ramsey Senior High School.” She continuously acted like a diva at her school and won a few beauty awards. Loni enrolled at the “University of Minnesota” to study art after finishing high school.
She entered a number of beauty contests while she was a teen and won a number of them. She participated in the “Miss Minnesota” contest on behalf of her community and finished as the first runner-up.
Loni Anderson’s Career
A tiny part in the movie “Nevada Smith,” starring Steve McQueen, was given to Lori in 1966. In the next years, she appeared in countless auditions for roles. But there wasn’t much of a success.
After making her acting debut, she went almost a decade without receiving any good acting roles. Throughout this period, she kept up her teaching career.
She was given a few guest TV parts in the middle of the 1970s. She had brief appearances in two episodes of “S.W.AT.” and one episode of “Police Woman” in 1975.
She returned to the big screen in 1976 with a brief, uncredited role in the movie “Vigilante Force.” After she played a guest role in two episodes of the well-known comedy “Three’s Company” in 1978, her life took a turn for the better.
Despite being brief, the position helped her in landing a part in the comedy “WKRP in Cincinnati,” which turned out to be her first significant breakout project.
Loni was featured as Jennifer Marlow, a receptionist, in “WKRP in Cincinnati.” It arised to the status of the sitcom’s most loved character.
One of the most popular television programs of the 1970s was comedy as well. For her part in the comedy, Loni received several “Golden Globe” and “Emmy Award” nominations. Loni had an appearance in 89 episodes of the show, which continued till 1982.
Loni appeared in a number of further television shows, including “The Incredible Hulk,” “The Love Boat,” and “Fantasy Island.” Additionally, she acted in the television movies “The Jayne Mansfield Story” and “Sizzle.”
She had her first significant film role in 1983. The character was called “Pembrook Feeny” and appeared in the action-comedy movie “Stroker Ace.” The movie ended up failing both critically and financially.
Later, she continued to make appearances on television and, in 1984, became the lead in the television series “Partners in Crime.” Only 13 episodes of the series were shown, making it a short-lived series.
The principal character in the comedy “Easy Street” from 1986 was Loni. The 22-episode television series was considered a commercial and critical failure.
Loni made appearances in TV movies including “Whisper Kill” and “Too Good to be True” during the latter half of the 1980s.
Loni returned to the big screen in 1992 with the comedy-drama movie Munchie, which also served as Jennifer Love Hewitt’s feature film debut. The movie, which starred Loni and brought in average box office revenue, featured Loni as a major part.
She made a comeback to television in 1993, starring in the popular series “Nurses,” which had average ratings. For 22 episodes, Loni performed the part of “Casey MacAfee,” and reviewers praised her work.
Later, she had appearances in the shows “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “Melrose Place.” Loni had a significant television return in 2003 with the comedy “The Mullets,” in which she played a vital part. After 11 episodes, the comedy was canceled due to low ratings.
Loni almost disappeared from the acting scene after the failure of “The Mullets.” Recently, she was seen making brief appearances in the television shows “Baby Daddy” and “Love You More.” The online series “My Sister Is So Gay” also featured her.