Patricia Wettig(I)
- Actress
- Producer
Three-time Emmy Award winner Patricia Wettig made a noticeable dramatic
impact on late 1980s TV as wife and mom Nancy Weston on the
award-winning series
Thirtysomething (1987).
Although her husband, actor Ken Olin, also
co-starred on the series, they had different spouses on the show. Known
for her searching blue eyes, touching sensitivity, obvious intelligence
and controlled intensity, her post series' career didn't live up to
what many expected for her; however, lately her fans have enjoyed her
major resurgence again on TV as part of the talented ensemble of
Brothers & Sisters (2006),
with her husband serving as one of the producers.
Patricia was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 4, 1951, one of four
daughters born to Tennessee college basketball coach Clifford Neal and
his wife Florence. Raised in Grove City, Pennsylvania, she studied
drama at Temple University in Philadelphia, then graduated from Ohio
Wesleyan in 1974. She trained with the Neighborhood Playhouse in the
early years and made ends meet at one time as a personal dresser to
singer/dancer/actress Shirley MacLaine.
She also performed with New York's Circle Repertory Company during the
years 1980 and 1981, appearing in such off-Broadway productions as
"Innocents, Thoughts, Harmless Intentions," "The Woolgatherer," "Childe
Byron," "The Diviners" and "Threads". She met Olin when both were cast
in a 1982 production of "A Streetcar Named Desire" wherein they DID
play a married couple (she portrayed Stella, he played Stanley). They
wed later that year and had two children together -- Clifford (born
1983) and Roxanne (born 1986).
The comely, wide-smiling, sharp-featured blonde soon began to appear on
some of the higher-rated dramatic shows of the day including
Hill Street Blues (1981)
and L.A. Law (1986), and a recurring
part on St. Elsewhere (1982).
Her success on
Thirtysomething (1987), for
which she also won a Golden Globe Award, led to her title role as a
victim of rape in
Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story (1992)
and as a school teacher passenger in
Stephen King's
The Langoliers (1995),
not to mention a choice part in her debut movie
Guilty by Suspicion (1991)
starring Robert De Niro. She also
bookended the hugely popular movie
City Slickers (1991) series (as
Billy Crystal's wife) with her appearance
in the sequel.
Since then Patricia has been spotted in recurring roles on the series
Breaking News (2002),
Prison Break (2005) (as a female
Vice President) and Alias (2001), the
last-mentioned being executive produced by husband Ken. She also played the "other woman" in the Sally Field family drama series Brothers & Sisters (2006), also directed by and featuring Ken.
Perhaps inspired by her husband, who successfully rechanneled his energies and
talents as a TV producer and director, Patricia has more or less
downplayed her acting career in recent years while earning an M.F.A. in
playwriting from Smith College in 2001. Since that time she has focused
diligently on the pen, but was more recently seen as her character Nancy on a "thirtysomething revisited" TV movie "Thirtysomething Sequel" (????).
impact on late 1980s TV as wife and mom Nancy Weston on the
award-winning series
Thirtysomething (1987).
Although her husband, actor Ken Olin, also
co-starred on the series, they had different spouses on the show. Known
for her searching blue eyes, touching sensitivity, obvious intelligence
and controlled intensity, her post series' career didn't live up to
what many expected for her; however, lately her fans have enjoyed her
major resurgence again on TV as part of the talented ensemble of
Brothers & Sisters (2006),
with her husband serving as one of the producers.
Patricia was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 4, 1951, one of four
daughters born to Tennessee college basketball coach Clifford Neal and
his wife Florence. Raised in Grove City, Pennsylvania, she studied
drama at Temple University in Philadelphia, then graduated from Ohio
Wesleyan in 1974. She trained with the Neighborhood Playhouse in the
early years and made ends meet at one time as a personal dresser to
singer/dancer/actress Shirley MacLaine.
She also performed with New York's Circle Repertory Company during the
years 1980 and 1981, appearing in such off-Broadway productions as
"Innocents, Thoughts, Harmless Intentions," "The Woolgatherer," "Childe
Byron," "The Diviners" and "Threads". She met Olin when both were cast
in a 1982 production of "A Streetcar Named Desire" wherein they DID
play a married couple (she portrayed Stella, he played Stanley). They
wed later that year and had two children together -- Clifford (born
1983) and Roxanne (born 1986).
The comely, wide-smiling, sharp-featured blonde soon began to appear on
some of the higher-rated dramatic shows of the day including
Hill Street Blues (1981)
and L.A. Law (1986), and a recurring
part on St. Elsewhere (1982).
Her success on
Thirtysomething (1987), for
which she also won a Golden Globe Award, led to her title role as a
victim of rape in
Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story (1992)
and as a school teacher passenger in
Stephen King's
The Langoliers (1995),
not to mention a choice part in her debut movie
Guilty by Suspicion (1991)
starring Robert De Niro. She also
bookended the hugely popular movie
City Slickers (1991) series (as
Billy Crystal's wife) with her appearance
in the sequel.
Since then Patricia has been spotted in recurring roles on the series
Breaking News (2002),
Prison Break (2005) (as a female
Vice President) and Alias (2001), the
last-mentioned being executive produced by husband Ken. She also played the "other woman" in the Sally Field family drama series Brothers & Sisters (2006), also directed by and featuring Ken.
Perhaps inspired by her husband, who successfully rechanneled his energies and
talents as a TV producer and director, Patricia has more or less
downplayed her acting career in recent years while earning an M.F.A. in
playwriting from Smith College in 2001. Since that time she has focused
diligently on the pen, but was more recently seen as her character Nancy on a "thirtysomething revisited" TV movie "Thirtysomething Sequel" (????).