Joely Fisher Biography

Joely Fisher (born October 29, 1967) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her work on television as Paige Clark on Ellen as well as Joy Stark in the Fox sitcom 'Til Death.

Background

Fisher was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Connie Stevens. Her younger sister is actress Tricia Leigh Fisher. She is the half-sister of actress Carrie Fisher and producer Todd Fisher, from her father's previous marriage to actress Debbie Reynolds. Her parents divorced when she was age two, and she was raised by her mother.

Fisher and her sister toured the world with Stevens, attending different schools and having tutors. Fisher graduated from Beverly Hills High School, then attended Emerson College in Boston and studied at the University of Paris for one semester.

She was named Miss Golden Globe at the 1992 Golden Globe Awards.

Career

Her first movie role was Averil in the comedy Pretty Smart (1986), which starred her sister, Tricia. Joely then played Kris in TV's Schoolbreak Special drama Dedicated to the One I Love (1991) opposite Danielle Ferland. Next came the feature I'll Do Anything (1994) starring Nick Nolte, which helped her career as bigger roles followed.

She had a variety of guest roles on series such as Growing Pains, Blossom, Caroline in the City, The Golden Palace, The Outer Limits, Grace Under Fire and Coach.

In 1994, she was cast as Paige Clark on the sitcom Ellen. She played the role until the series ended in 1998. That same year, she earned a Golden Globe Award nomination. She also sang the theme song "Who has a perfect smile? Who has a comical style, who likes to hang out with her friends, who who? Ellen!" with Clea Lewis.

She followed Ellen with the role of Dr. Brenda Bradford in the feature movie Inspector Gadget (1999) opposite Matthew Broderick.

Fisher's Broadway debut was as a replacement in the revival of Grease (1994). She was also a replacement in the revival of Cabaret (1998). Her vocal range is alto.

From 2003 until 2005, she starred in the Lifetime network's drama series Wild Card as insurance investigator Zoe Busiek. After that, she had a recurring role as Lynette's boss Nina on Desperate Housewives.

From 2006 until 2010, Fisher starred opposite actor Brad Garrett as Joy Stark in the Fox TV sitcom 'Til Death.

Personal life

Fisher married cinematographer Christopher Duddy in 1996. They have three daughters, Skylar Grace (born 2001), True Harlow (born 2006), and Olivia Luna (adopted September 2008). She is also stepmother to Duddy's two sons, Cameron (born c. 1986) and Collin (born circa 1988). As of at least 2004, the family lives in Los Angeles next to Fisher's sister Tricia, with whom she is close.

In late 2008, she became an artist ambassador for Save the Children. She traveled to Xai-Xai, Mozambique, to visit with children that are part of the child sponsorship programs.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1987	Pretty Smart	Averil
1994	I'll Do Anything	Female D Person
1994	'	Maggie
1994	Mixed Nuts	Susan
1997	Family Plan	Lauren Osborne	Uncredited
1999	Inspector Gadget	Dr. Brenda Bradford / RoboBrenda/Voice of opera hand (uncredited)
2000	Nostradamus	Lucy Hudson
2005	Slingshot	Emma
2007	Cougar Club	Lulu
2007	Murdering Mama's Boy	Claire	Short film
2009	You	Kimberly
2014	Fatal Acquittal	Cassidy Miller
2014	Killing Winston Jones	Devon

Television

Year	TV Show	Role	Notes
1988	Something Is Out There	Leanne Healy	Episode: "The Keeper"
1989	Starting from Scratch	Sylvia	Episode: "Kate Leaves Home"
1990	Mulberry Street	Rosalie	TV movie
1990	Growing Pains	Sally Garner	Episode: "Future Shock" Episode: "The World According to Chrissy"
1991	Blossom	Bambi	Episode: "Tough Love"
1991	CBS Schoolbreak Special	Kris Stone	Episode: "Dedicated to the One I Love"
1993	'	Paula Webb	Episode: "Runaways"
1994	ABC Weekend Specials	(voice)	Episode: "The Magic Flute"
1994	'	Stacy	TV movie
1994-98	Ellen	Paige Clark	96 episodes
1996	Caroline in the City	Jill	Episode: "Caroline and the Ex-Wife"
1996	'	Amy	Episode: "Out of Body"
1996	Superman: The Animated Series	Lana Lang (voice)	Episode: "My Girl"
1997	Superman: The Animated Series	Lana Lang (voice)	Episode: "The Late Mr. Kent"
1997	Seduction in a Small Town	Sandy Barlow	TV movie
1997	Coach	Paige Clark	Episode: "Viva Las Ratings"
1997	Grace Under Fire	Paige Clark	Episode: "Vegas"
1997	'	Paige Clark	Episode: "Drew Gets Married"
1997	Jitters	Rita Domino	TV movie
1998	In the Loop		TV series
1998	Icebergs: The Secret Life of a Refrigerator		TV movie
1998	Perfect Prey	Elizabeth Crane	TV movie
1998	Thirst	Susan Miller	TV movie
1998	Superman: The Animated Series	Lana Lang (voice)	Episode: "Obsession"
1999	Love, American Style	Jeannie	Segment: "Love and The Heimlich Maneuver"
1999	Coming Unglued	Laura Hartwood	TV movie
1999	Kidnapped in Paradise	Beth Emerson	TV movie
2000	Grosse Pointe	Hope Lustig	5 episodes
2000	Normal, Ohio	Pamela Theresa Gamble-Miller	7 episodes
2001	Danny	Molly	9 episodes
2002-03	Baby Bob	Lizzy Collins Spencer	14 episodes
2003-05	Wild Card	Zoe Busiek	36 episodes
2005	Fertile Ground	Dr. Jamie Novak	TV movie
2005	Desperate Housewives	Nina Fletcher	5 episodes
2006-10	'Til Death	Joy Stark	81 episodes
2011	Wizards of Waverly Place	Meg Robinson	Episode: "Alex the Puppetmaster"
2012	Cupid, Inc.	Eve Lovett	TV movie
2012	RuPaul's Drag U	Guest Professor	Episode: "Time to Grow Up"
2014-16	Last Man Standing	Wendi	6 episodes

Theater

Year	Production	Role	Notes
1994	Grease	Betty Rizzo
1998	Cabaret	Sally Bowles

Discography

1993

Tradition: A family at Christmas

She sang 3 songs with her mother Connie Stevens and sister Tricia Leigh Fisher. She has 1 solo: Grown Up Christmas List

S.T.A.GE. Music of Harold Arlen

"One for my baby"

Lerner, Lowe, Lane and Friends

"Come back to me."