KATEY SAGAL BIOGRAPHY,GREAT PICTURES: 2009

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Biography

Date of Birth 19 January 1954, Hollywood, California, USA Birth Name Catherine Louise Sagal Height 5' 9" (1.75 m) Mini Biography An extremely gifted and versatile performer adept at both comedy and drama, actress/singer Katey Sagal became a household name in the late 80s as the fabulously brazen, undomesticated "Peg Bundy" on the enduring Fox series "Married with Children" (1987). During its lengthy run, she received three Golden Globe and two American Comedy Award nominations. As popular and identifiable as her Bundy persona was, Katey assertively moved on without a hitch after the show went off the air, not only starring in other sitcoms and TV movies, but portraying characters that were polar opposite to the outrageous role that first earned her nationwide attention. In recent years, in addition to her busy on-camera scheduling, Katey has retraced her steps back to her first love: singing and songwriting. With the support of her record label Valley Entertainment, she released the album "Room" in 2004, which combined such classics as "Feel a Whole Lot Better" and "(For the Love of) Money" with original songs she penned, including "Life Goes Round," "Daddy's Girl" and "Wish I Were a Kid". "Room" is her first CD since her 1994 debut "Well." Born Catherine Louise Sagal, her father was the late Boris Sagal, the noted TV and film director; her mother, Sara Zwilling, was a director and singer. Katey began performing at age 5 and studied voice and acting at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. A singing waitress during her "salad" years, she first started performing with the band "The Group with No Name," and then caught a break after hooking up with Gene Simmons and his '70s rock band KISS. IN the meantime she gained valuable experience as a backup recording singer for Simmons and such other established stars as Bob Dylan, Olivia Newton-John, Etta James and Tanya Tucker. Katey also was dynamic performing live backup with diva Bette Midler as one of her "Harlettes" in Bette's wildly avant garde stage shows during the late '70s and early '80s. In 1985, while performing on stage in a musical, she was spotted by talent agents who subsequently cast her as Mary Tyler Moore's feisty co-worker "Jo Tucker" in "Mary" (1985), a short-lived comedy series. From that point on she focused on film and TV. In 1987 she won the role of Peg Bundy in "Married with Children" (1987), and the rest is history. In her post-Bundy career, Katey has continued to demonstrate a strong range, playing a much more responsible parent in the popular sitcom "8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter" (2002). Co-starring the late John Ritter, Katey valiantly moved to single head of household after Ritter's sudden passing in 2003 with highly successful results. Katey has earned equally fine kudos for her TV movies, appearing in such fare as Chance of a Lifetime (1998) (TV), a charming romantic comedy that also co-starred John Ritter, God's New Plan (1999) (TV)_, a tearjerker in which she played a dying mom, and the Disney offerings Smart House (1999) (TV) and Mr. Headmistress (1998) (TV). The voice of Turanga Leela, the beautiful one-eyed alien, in the "Futurama" animated series, she also has guested on such series as "The Ghost Whisperer," "Lost," "Boston Legal," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Eli Stone". Feature films have included Maid to Order (1987), The Good Mother (1988), the Sundance Film Festival favorite Dropping Out (2000), Following Tildy (2002) and the indie I'm Reed Fish (2006). More recently she played Jack's mother in a live action/adventure retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk (2009/II) that also featured the talents of Christopher Lloyd, James Earl Jones and Chevy Chase. Katey resides in the Los Angeles area with husband, writer/producer/director/creator Kurt Sutter, whose acclaimed work includes "The Shield" and the offbeat "Sons of Anarchy," the latter show created by Sutter with Katey intriguingly cast as a motorcycle club family matriarch. Their share their home with three children, Sarah, Jackson and Esmé, and three dogs, Lumpy, Lola and Blue. IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net SpouseKurt Sutter (2 October 2004 - present) 1 child Jack White (26 November 1993 - 24 July 2000) (divorced) 2 children Freddie Beckmeier (1 May 1977 - 1981) (divorced) Trade Mark Her high and lilting voice Trivia Wore a wig for her role as Peg Bundy in "Married with Children" (1987). Older sister of Liz Sagal, Jean Sagal and Joe Sagal. Daughter of Boris Sagal. She appeared in the music video and sang in the choir on the song "Voices That Care." She has been a back-up singer for Bob Dylan, Bette Midler, Gene Simmons and Tanya Tucker. Daughter Sarah Grace White was born 7 August 1994. Son Jackson James White was born 1 March 1996. Her mother was a Southern belle of English stock. Her father was a Russian-Jewish immigrant. Step-granddaughter of Ernest Belcher. Her father, Boris Sagal, was a director, and her mother was a singer. Her sisters, Liz Sagal and Jean Sagal, are identical twins. In a far cry from the red-wigged, stiletto-heeled "Peg Bundy" on "Married with Children" (1987), she plays a responsible sitcom parent "Cate Hennessey" on "8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter" (2002). Released a second CD in June 2004 called "Room," a collection of pop originals and classics. Her father, Boris Sagal, later married renowned dancer/choreographer Marge Champion after her mother's death. Was hired to sing back-up for Bob Dylan during his 1978 tour but was fired (along with half the band) a week before it started up. One of her "Peg Bundy" bras is located in the Frederick's of Hollywood Lingerie Museum in Hollywood. It was stolen during the 1993 riots, but was returned by the thieves after they discovered its value. Her godfather is producer Norman Lear. Her younger brother Joe Sagal appeared in a couple of "Married with Children" (1987) episodes. In December of 1989, she miscarried her first baby in the second month of her pregnancy. A second child, born in October 1991, whom she named Ruby Jean, was stillborn. She missed several episodes of "Married with Children" (1987) at the time of her second loss while recovering. The pregnancy had been incorporated into earlier episodes but after the tragedy was later dismissed as a "bad dream.". Her older brother David is a lawyer. He studied at Harvard. At the auditions of "Married with Children" (1987), it was her own idea of dressing up Peggy by wearing clothes from the 1960s. Parodied her role of Peg via a similarly attired character in the "Futurama" (1999) episode "A Bicyclops Built for Two.". She and her husband, writer-producer Kurt Sutter, welcomed their first child, daughter Esmé Louise Sutter, on January 10, 2007. Daughter Esmé Louise Sutter was born via surrogate. Her first marriage, to bass player Freddie Beckmeyer, ended in divorce after three years. A second to Jack White, who was involved in the "Mighty Ducks" hockey film series as both actor and adviser, also ended in divorce. She has two children from her second marriage, Sarah and Jackson. Personal Quotes It was never about sort of being famous. I just wanted to be good at what I did. It isn't often that an actress gets to spend so much time on ONE job. In the acting business, you usually go from one thing to another. [on being an older mom] My thing about having another child was, time's-a-wasting! I thought about being an older parent and what that means for another child, but I was somewhat of an older parent when I had Sarah and Jackson in my late 30s. I have an enormous family with many cousins, and Esmé has an older brother and sister. So, I felt it was okay to do this.