Meredith Baxter

Meredith Baxter
Meredith Baxter at the AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) benefit
Birth name	Meredith Ann Baxter
Born	June 21 1947 (1947-06-21) (age 60) South Pasadena, California
Occupation	actress
Spouse(s)	Michael Blodgett (1995-2000) David Birney (1974-1990) 3 Children Robert Lewis Bush (1966-1969) 2 Children

Meredith Baxter (born June 21, 1947 in South Pasadena, California) is an American actress.

Biography

Early Life

Her mother was the late actress and sitcom creator Whitney Blake, and her father is Tom Baxter, who worked in radio. Her stepfather is sitcom writer, Allan Manings.

Career

She is best known for her work on two television shows. She first became popular in Hollywood playing the role of Nancy Lawrence Maitland on the television drama Family from 1976 to 1980. She received two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, in 1977 and 1978. The second role she is well-known for is ex-flower child Elyse Keaton on the sitcom Family Ties, which aired from 1982 to 1989. (Coincidentally, Meredith was born on the same date as her Family Ties husband, Michael Gross but in a different city.) In reality, she was only 14 years older than Michael J. Fox, who played her son, Alex. In 1981, she starred with Annette O'Toole and Shelley Hack in HBO's Standing Room Only series production of Vanities. Since Family Ties ended its run, Meredith has been directing and starring in TV movies. In 1992, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special for her work in , in which she plays a divorcée who was convicted of murder in the shooting of her ex-husband and his young wife. She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy award in 1993 for her work as a lesbian raising a young son in a CBS after-school special. In 1997, she once again played the mother of a character played by Michael J. Fox, this time on the sitcom Spin City. In 2005, she began appearing in television commercials for Garden State Life Insurance Company. In 2006 she temporarily co-hosted the Today Show with Matt Lauer. Most recently in 2007 she made a guest appearance on the ABC drama What About Brian.Several 2007 appearances as dying mother of central cast member on "Cold Case" TV series.

Personal Life

She was married three times, most notably to actor David Birney, whom she met on the set of the sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie; she played his wife on the series. After the show was canceled, the couple became engaged and were married in 1974. From that date until their divorce in 1989, she was credited as Meredith Baxter Birney, a name still commonly associated with her by the general public as she went by it during her most prominent period of work.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

• Meredith Baxter at the Internet Movie Database