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Judith Light (born
Judith Ellen Licht on
February 9,
1949) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Angela Bower on
ABC's sitcom Who's the Boss?Biography
Early life
Licht was born in
Trenton,
New Jersey of Jewish heritage, the daughter of Benjamin Licht (Benny Light), who owned a major furniture store in Trenton.
Career
Light first found fame on television after being recast in the role of Karen Wolek on the ABC
soap opera One Life to Live. (The Karen Wolek role had previously been portrayed by actresses Kathryn Breech and
Julia Duffy). This role was quite lucrative for Light and spawned one of the show's most-remembered storylines; Light's character became a
prostitute after she became bored with her life as a
housewife. On trial, Karen saved her friend
Viki Lord from being convicted of killing her
pimp by admitting that she had been a prostitute to the entire town, including her faithful husband. Light won
Daytime Emmy Awards in 1980 and 1981.
This star power allowed her to be cast in a lead role on the ABC sitcom
Who's the Boss?. She played the role of the assertive
advertising executive Angela Bower from
1984 to
1992. She often played the
comic foil to
Tony Danza's character, Tony Micelli. The
series is currently in
syndication.
As of 2006, she has a recurring role on
NBC's
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, where she plays Judge
Elizabeth Donnelly, who served as an EADA and Bureau Chief in the
Manhattan District Attorney's office before being appointed to the bench in Season 7. She is also a recurring regular on ABC's
Ugly Betty, where she'll play Claire Meade, the estranged wife of Bradford Meade and the mother of Daniel Meade, who is spending time in a rehabilatation clinic.
Light recently starred in an episode of
Family Guy where she played a cartoon version of herself obsessed with Tony Danza and making out with a constructed dummy of Tony in her house. She also recently appeared in an episode of the NBC sitcom
Twenty Good Years.
Personal life
Light has become a
gay rights activist after helping former
Who's the Boss? co-star
Danny Pintauro cope with his sexuality. Light has done work for many LGBT charities and spoke at the
1993 March on Washington. She is also a prominent
AIDS activist and played
Ryan White's mother in a
1989 TV-movie on his life (one of many acclaimed movies-for-television she has made). Light was also the spokesperson for an anti-
acne product,
Proactiv Solution.
Light is married to television actor
Robert Desiderio. They met when they were both on
One Life to Live.
External links
*
http://www.judithlight.com/ Judith Light Official Website*imdb name|id=0509937|name=Judith
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