Debra Jo Rupp on AllMovie

A prolific television actress who has also found success on the big screen, Debra Jo Rupp has endeared herself to audiences nationwide as the lovable mother on the retro television sitcom That '70s Show, a fact that may have never been had her parents been successful in dissuading her from a career in front of the cameras. Born in Glendale, CA, and raised in Massachusetts, Rupp knew early on that she longed for a life in the limelight, though her parents sent her to the University of Rochester in New York specifically because they didn't have a drama department. Despite their best efforts, a mere month after she was enrolled Rupp received a letter stating that the school would indeed be adding drama to the course listings and fate seemed to be working in her favor. After graduating in 1974, her professors advised her to seek out work in New York, and it wasn't long before she was shining under the bright lights of Broadway and making her film debut in the 1988 Tom Hanks comedy Big.

Numerous television roles were quick to follow, and in addition to such small-screen efforts as The Odd Couple: Together Again (1993) and The Invaders (1995) Rupp's feature career continued to gain momentum with roles in Death Becomes Her (1992) and Sgt. Bilko (1996). Fans of The Jeff Foxworthy Show cold catch a glimpse of Rupp during the show's first season, and bit parts in Clockwatchers (1997) and Senseless (1998) only scratched the surface of her comedic talents. Though Rupp would later appear in the acclaimed HBO production From the Earth to the Moon (1998), it was her role as the effervescent mother in That '70s Show that truly tapped into her abilities as a comedic actress and served as the true launching point of her career. Voice work in the television series Teacher's Pet followed soon thereafter, and though the series would quickly be canceled, a feature-film version was quickly put into production due to the series' loyal fan base. By the dawn of the new millennium, Rupp was cast in a feature role in the comedy Lucky 13 (2000). In 2003 she would appear in the family film Spymate. Other television work has included recurring roles on such small-screen gems as Seinfeld and Friends.