Cynthia Stevenson

One of TV's finest comedic actresses, 'Cynthia Stevenson' (qv) was born in Oakland, California, to Al Stevenson, an upholstery warehouse owner and Gayle Stevenson née Boniface, an editor. She moved north with her mother and brother, Gregory, to Bellevue, Washington and then to Vancouver, British Columbia, where she spent most of her childhood.Cynthia took her first step toward an acting career in the University of Victoria's Phoenix Theatre Program. Cynthia returned to California to complete her training, attending the renowned American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco, and the Drama Studio London at Berkeley.After arriving in Los Angeles, Cynthia found roles with an improv group and in two local theatre productions, one of which was a long-running hit, "The Ladies Room," written and directed by 'Robin Schiff' (qv) and produced by _Heartaches (1915)_ (qv), which brought Cynthia critical acclaim for her comedic skills. Because of this work, she landed an immediate job on a TV sketch comedy, _Off the Wall (1986)_ (qv), where she was featured in 26 episodes.Cynthia quickly built her resume with guest parts on popular sitcoms, including "Max Headroom," "Empty Nest," "The Famous Teddy Z.," "Newhart," Major Dad" and many others. In between came her first starring role as talk show host Jennifer Bass in _My Talk Show (1990)_ (qv), an original, offbeat nightly series, described as the "first cult hit" of the 1990s. It proved to be Cynthia's big break, as director _Above the Limit (1900)_ (qv) noticed and cast her as Bonnie Sherow opposite star _Photographing a Ghost (1898)_ (qv) in the Oscar nominated film _The Player (1992)_ (qv).Legendary TV producers 'Cheri Steinkellner' (qv) and 'Bill Steinkellner' (qv) chose Cynthia for a recurring guest spot on their iconic hit series _Cheers (2011)_ (qv). The producers then tapped her for a co-starring role in their next sitcom _Bob (1992)_ (qv) playing the daughter of cartoonist 'Bob Newhart' (qv). That performance, in turn, inspired the same production team to create a new show [link-tt0112006] especially for Cynthia. Co-starring as Hope opposite Jessica Lundy (as Gloria), the talented cast included 'Tiffani Thiessen' (qv) and 'Enrico Colantoni' (qv). Whenever talking about her career path, Cynthia has always been quick to point out that it was Cherie and 'Bill Steinkellner' (qv) who gave it movement and direction.With a versatility that has moved easily between TV and film, Cynthia had top roles in several 1990's character-driven ensemble features, such as _Watch It (1993)_ (qv), produced by 'David Brown' (qv) and written and directed by [link-nm0002368]; _Forget Paris (1995)_ (qv), written, produced, directed and starring 'Billy Crystal' (qv); _Home for the Holidays (1995)_ (qv) produced and directed by 'Jodie Foster' (qv); _Live Nude Girls (1995)_ (qv) written and directed by 'Julianna Lavin' (qv) and _Happiness (1998)_ (qv), written and directed by _Love or Riches (1911)_ (qv). In addition she has been a recurring guest on network and cable shows, including "Ally McBeal," "Monk," "Six Feet Under," "According to Jim" and "The L. Word."When Lifetime decided to enter into the half hour comedy business, they tapped Cynthia for the lead role in Susan Beavers' _Oh Baby (1998)_ (qv), an innovative, first-person take on single motherhood created by _Only the Cool (1970)_ (qv). It ran for two years. She then relocated to Vancouver (known as "Hollywood North") where she starred as the troubled Joy Lass in the long-running Showtime favorite _Dead Like Me (2003)_ (qv). While working in Vancouver, Cynthia was featured in several family films, including _Agent Cody Banks (2003)_ (qv) and _Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004)_ (qv), plus her repeating role as Jackie Framm in _Air Bud: Golden Receiver (1998)_ (qv) and its five subsequent comedies for Disney, and the TV movie _A Little Thing Called Murder (2006)_ (qv) opposite 'Judy Davis' (qv) and directed by _In Little Italy (1909)_ (qv).Before leaving Canada and returning to Southern California in 2008, Cynthia had a regular role as a feisty female sheriff on ABC's _Men in Trees (2006)_ (qv) and also starred in Lifetime TV's Christmas comedy _Will You Merry Me? (2008)_ (qv), as well as the films _Neverwas (2005)_ (qv), _Case 39 (2009)_ (qv), _I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009)_ (qv), _Jennifer's Body (2009)_ (qv), and the long-awaited _Dead Like Me: Life After Death (2009)_ (qv).Cynthia's busy roster continues to expand back home with roles in such films as _Reunion (2009)_ (qv), _Tiger Eyes (2012)_ (qv) and _Baja (2018)_ (qv). TV guest appearances have included such popular programs as "Life Unexpected," "Grey's Anatomy," "Off the Map," "Chaos," "Private Practice," "Sleepy Hollow" and "Supergirl," with recurring roles on _Your Family or Mine (2015)_ (qv) and _How to Get Away with Murder (2014)_ (qv).Cynthia lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband and son.::Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]