Katey Sagal Biography

Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is best known for her role as Peggy Bundy on the long-running Fox comedy series Married... with Children, for which she was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Television Series and two American Comedy Awards during the show's run.

Sagal is also well known for voicing the character Leela on the animated science fiction series Futurama and its related direct-to-DVD movies since 1999, as well as for starring on the show 8 Simple Rules in the role of Cate Hennessy. In the latter role, she worked with John Ritter until his death, leading to Sagal taking over as the series lead for the remainder of the show's run.

Since 2008, she has portrayed Gemma Teller Morrow in the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy, for which she won a Golden Globe in 2011. She has been married to Sons of Anarchy creator, Kurt Sutter, since 2004.

Early life

Sagal was born in California to a show business family of five children, including younger twin sisters Jean and Liz Sagal, and brother Joe Sagal all three of whom are actors and David Sagal. Her mother, Sara Zwilling, was a writer and producer who died of heart disease; her father, Boris Sagal, was a Ukrainian-born director of Jewish background. who died in 1981 in an accident on the set of the television movie World War III. Sagal and her siblings grew up in Brentwood, Los Angeles. Her godfather is Norman Lear.

Acting career

Sagal graduated from California Institute of the Arts, and began her acting career in Hollywood, appearing in several made for TV movies between 1971 and 1975, including a small role as a receptionist in the Columbo installment Candidate for Crime (directed by her father). Sagal's first major role was as a newspaper columnist in the series Mary starring Mary Tyler Moore. This led to her being cast as Peggy Bundy on the sitcom Married... with Children (1987-1997). She portrayed the lower-class, sex-starved wife of shoe salesman Al Bundy. Sagal brought her own red bouffant wig to audition for the role, and with the producers' approval, the look transitioned into the show. As Peg, she wore the wig, capri-length leggings with a large belt, and high slip-on heels, which were all fashion styles from the 1960s. The series ran for eleven years.

After the end of Married With Children, several more television films followed; she also contributed to the children's cartoon Recess as the voice of Spinelli's mother. In 1999, Matt Groening cast her as the purple-haired, cyclopian spaceship captain, Leela, in his science fiction animated comedy Futurama. The show developed a cult following but was cancelled after four seasons. However, airings in syndication on Adult Swim and Comedy Central increased the show's popularity and led Comedy Central to commission a series of Futurama direct-to-DVD films, which the network later rebroadcast as 16 episodes, season five. She reprised her role as Leela in these films, and in the new season that began airing June 24, 2010.

Sagal guest starred as Edna Hyde, Steven Hyde's mother, in three episodes of That '70s Show. She starred in the short-lived NBC sitcom Tucker the following year.

She was cast as the wife of John Ritter in the sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter in 2002. Ritter had completed only three episodes of the second season before his death, and the show was cancelled in 2005 after its third season.

In 2005, she made two appearances on Lost as Helen Norwood. In 2007, she had a role in the season finale of The Winner as Glen Abbot's former, and Josh's current, teacher, with whom Glen has his first sexual experience. The following year, she appeared in four episodes of the short-lived series Eli Stone.

In January 2009, Sagal reunited with her TV son David Faustino (Bud Bundy from Married with Children) for an episode of Faustino's show Star-ving. In 2010, she appeared twice more on Lost. In 2009, she starred in the film House Broken with Danny DeVito. In 2010, she returned to the stage in Randy Newman's musical Harps & Angels.

She currently stars as Gemma Teller Morrow on the TV show Sons of Anarchy, created by her husband, Kurt Sutter.

In 2013, Sagal had a cameo on Glee as Nancy Abrams, Artie Abrams' mother.

Musical career

Sagal started her career in show business as a singer and songwriter. In 1973, she worked as a backing vocalist for various singers, including Bob Dylan and Tanya Tucker. In 1976, while a member of The Group With No Name, she contributed to the album Moon over Brooklyn. She was a member of Bette Midler's backup group The Harlettes in 1978, and again from 1982-83. She performed backing vocals on the self-titled Gene Simmons solo album, the Molly Hatchet album Take No Prisoners and on Olivia Newton-John's 1985 single "Soul Kiss". Sagal also provided the vocals for "Loose Cannons", the theme song for the movie featuring Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd in 1990. The song featured her singing most of the song, while Aykroyd sang the chorus and did some background impersonations from the movie.

On April 19, 1994, she released her first solo album, Well... On June 1, 2004, she released her second album, Room. She has also contributed to the Sons of Anarchy soundtrack.

Personal life

Sagal was married to German American musician Freddie Beckmeier (1978-1981).

In 1991, while working on "Married... with Children", Sagal learned she was pregnant with husband Jack White's child. This was unexpected so the pregnancy was written into the storyline of the show. However, in October 1991, she had to have an emergency Caesarean section in her seventh month of pregnancy, ending in the stillbirth of a daughter. The pregnancy on the show was then regarded as a "dream", which was mentioned only briefly at the end of the episode "Al Bundy, Shoe Dick". Sagal and White eventually had two children " a daughter in 1994 and a son in 1996. The writers of Married... with Children deliberately did not write Sagal's two later pregnancies into the show due to the earlier stillbirth, opting instead to shoot her in instances where her midsection was obscured, such as in a taxicab or at a craps table in Las Vegas.

Sagal married writer-producer Kurt Sutter in a private ceremony on October 2, 2004, at their home in Los Feliz, California. They have a daughter born in 2007 through a surrogate mother.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	The Failing of Raymond	Girl patient	credited as "Catherine Louise Sagal" television film
1972	The Bold Ones: The New Doctors	Young nurse	credited as "Katie Sagal"
1973	Columbo	Secretary	episode: "Candidate for Crime"
1974	Larry	Cashier	television film
1975	The Dream Makers	Unemployment manager	television film
1985-1986	Mary	Jo Tucker	Series Regular: 13 Episodes
1987	Maid to Order	Louise
1987-1997	Married... with Children	Peggy Bundy	Series Regular: 250 Episodes
1988	The Good Mother	Ursula
1990	Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme	Mary Quite Contrary	television film
	Tales from the Crypt	Ms. Kilbasser	episode: "For Cryin' Out Loud"
1991	She Says She's Innocent	Susan Essex	television film
1995	Trail of Tears	Annie Cook	television film
	Nachtshow		episode: "February 10th, 1995"
	Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man	Duckman's mother	animated series episode: "The Germ Turns"
1996	Space Cases	Ma (voice only)	episode: "Mother Knows Best"
1997-2001	Recess	Flo Spinelli	animated series episodes: "Parents' Night" "Weekend at Muriel's" "Dance Lessons"
1998	Chance of a Lifetime	Irene Dunbar	television film
	Mr. Headmistress	Harriet Magnum	television film
1999	No Higher Love	Ellen Young
	Smart House	Pat	television film
	That '70s Show	Edna Hyde	episodes: "Career Day" "Prom Night" "Punk Chick"
1999-2013	Futurama	Turanga Leela (voice only)	Series Regular: 136 Episodes
2000	Dropping Out	Wendy
	Tucker	Claire Wennick	Series Regular: 13 Episodes
2001	The Geena Davis Show	Ashley	episode: "Girls' Night Out"
	Recess: School's Out	Mrs. Flo Spinelli	voice only animated film
2002	Following Tildy	Connie St. John
	Imagine That	Barb Thompson	Series Regular: 2 Episodes
2002-2005	8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter	Cate S. Hennessy	Series Regular: 76 Episodes
2004	When Angels Come to Town	Jo	television film
2004-2006	Higglytown Heroes	Monica the Police Officer	episodes: "First Snow/Snow Dazed" "Smells Like a Myster/Ship Ahoy!" "Wayne's Day Out"
2005	Campus Confidential	Naomi Jacobs	television film
	Three Wise Guys	Shirley Crown
2005	Ghost Whisperer	Francie Lewis	episode: "Undead Comic"
2005-2007	The Shield	Nancy Gilroy	episodes: "Grave" "Exiled"
2005-2010	Lost	Helen Norwood	episodes: "Orientation" "Lockdown" "The Substitute" "The Candidate"
2006	I'm Reed Fish	Maureen
	Boston Legal	Barbara Little	episodes: "New Kids on the Block" "Desperately Seeking Shirley" "Fine Young Cannibal" "Whose God Is It Anyway?" "The Verdict"
	The Search for the Funniest Mom in America	Host	reality series
2007	Futurama: Bender's Big Score	Turanga Leela	voice only direct-to-video animated film
	The Winner	Lydia Berko	episode: "Hot for Teacher"
2008	Eli Stone	Marci Klein	episodes: "Patience" "Waiting For That day"
	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Annabelle Bundt/Natasha Steele	episode: "Two and a Half Deaths"
	Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs	Turanga Leela	voice only direct-to-video animated film
	Futurama: Bender's Game	Turanga Leela/Leegola	voice only direct-to-video animated film
2008-present	Sons of Anarchy	Gemma Teller Morrow	Series Regular: 53 Episodes
2009	House Broken	Mom
	Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder	Turanga Leela	voice only direct-to-video animated film
2010	Chadam	Sandy	voice only animated web series
	Jack and the Beanstalk	Jack's mum
	Harps & Angels
2012	The Comedy Central Roast Of Roseanne	Herself
2013	Glee	Nancy Abrams	episode: "Wonder-ful"
2013-present	Super Duper Rocket	Chrystal Findlee	voice only animated series

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Chart positions
1976	Moon Over Brooklyn Released: 1976 Label:	"
1994	Well... Released: April 19, 1994 Label: Virgin/EMI Records	Billboard Top Heatseekers - 33
2004	Room June 1, 2004 Label: Valley Entertainment	"
2009	Sons of Anarchy: Shelter - EP Nov 24, 2009 Label: 20th Century Fox	Top Independent Albums " 33 Top Soundtracks " 23

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Film or series	Result
1989	American Comedy Awards	Funniest Female Performer in a TV Series	Married... with Children
1991	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy	Married... with Children
1992	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy	Married... with Children
1993	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy	Married... with Children
1993	American Comedy Awards	Funniest Female Performer in a TV Series	Married... with Children
1994	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy	Married... with Children
2005	Prism Awards	Performance in a Comedy Series	8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter
2009	TV Land Awards	Innovation Award (Shared with: Christina Applegate, David Faustino, Ted McGinley, Ed O'Neill)	Married... with Children
2010	Television Critics Association Awards	Individual Achievement in Drama	Sons of Anarchy
2010	Ewwy Award	Best Actress in a Drama Series	Sons of Anarchy
2010	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama	Sons of Anarchy
2011	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress - Television Series Drama	Sons of Anarchy
2011	Prism Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama	Sons of Anarchy
2011	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Actress in a Drama Series	Sons of Anarchy
2011	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama	Sons of Anarchy
2012	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Actress in Drama Series	Sons of Anarchy