Patricia Wettig facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Patricia Wettig
Wettig at the 41st Primetime Emmy Awards in 1989
Born	Patricia Anne Wettig (1951-12-04) December 4, 1951 (age 73) Milford, Ohio, U.S.
Alma mater	Temple University
Occupation	Actress, playwright
Years active	1982–present
Spouse(s)	Ken Olin ​ (m. 1982)​
Children	2

Patricia Anne Wettig (born December 4, 1951) is an American actress and a writer of plays. She is well-known for playing Nancy Weston in the TV show Thirtysomething (1987–1991). For this role, she won a Golden Globe Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards, which are big awards in television.

After her success in Thirtysomething, Patricia Wettig appeared in several movies. These include Guilty by Suspicion (1991), City Slickers (1991), and City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994). She also acted in the miniseries The Langoliers (1995). She returned to TV in 1995 with a main role in the show Courthouse. Later, she played Caroline Reynolds in the drama Prison Break (2005–2007). She also played Holly Harper in the family drama Brothers & Sisters (2006–2011).

Early Life and Education

Patricia Wettig was born in Milford, Ohio. Her mother was Florence, and her father, Clifford Neal Wettig, was a high school basketball coach. She has three sisters named Pam, Phyllis, and Peggy. She grew up in Grove City, Pennsylvania, and finished high school in 1970.

She went to Ohio Wesleyan University and then graduated from Temple University in 1975. Later in her life, she went back to school. In 2001, she earned a special degree called a Master of Fine Arts in playwriting from Smith College. She wrote a play called F2M, which was performed in 2011.

Acting Career Highlights

Patricia Wettig started her career on stage, acting in plays. She also worked as a personal dresser for the famous actress Shirley MacLaine.

Early TV Roles

In the 1980s, she appeared in TV shows like Remington Steele, Hill Street Blues, and L.A. Law. From 1986 to 1987, she had a repeating role as Joanne McFadden in the medical drama St. Elsewhere.

Breakthrough in Thirtysomething

In 1987, Patricia Wettig got the role of Nancy Weston in the ABC drama series thirtysomething.

Patricia Wettig and Ken Olin at the 41st Annual Emmy Awards

Her acting in Thirtysomething was highly praised. She played a character who was dealing with cancer, and her performance received a lot of attention. She won three Primetime Emmy Awards for this role. She won for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1988. Then, she won for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series in both 1990 and 1991.

In 1991, she also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. The show Thirtysomething finished in 1991 after four seasons.

Movies and Later TV Work

After Thirtysomething, Patricia Wettig started acting in movies. Her first big movie role was in Guilty by Suspicion (1991), where she acted alongside Robert De Niro. She also played Billy Crystal's wife in the comedy movies City Slickers (1991) and City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994). In 1993, she had a main role in the movie Me and Veronica.

She also starred in several TV movies, such as Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story (1992) and Parallel Lives (1994). In 1995, she played Laurel Stevenson in the Stephen King miniseries The Langoliers. Later that year, she returned to TV with a main role as a tough judge in the CBS show Courthouse.

From 2002 to 2004, she had a repeating role as Dr. Judy Barnett on the show Alias. From 2005 to 2007, Wettig appeared in 13 episodes of the Fox TV drama Prison Break. In this show, she played the fictional Vice President Caroline Reynolds.

She then joined the ABC comedy-drama series Brothers & Sisters, which started in September 2006. In this show, Wettig played Holly Harper, who was the mistress of the Walker family's father. She left the show during its fifth and final season.

In 2012, Wettig joined a national tour for the play The Normal Heart. In 2019, she had a main role in an episode of the Netflix series Heartstrings. In 2020, ABC planned a new show that would continue the story of Thirtysomething. Patricia Wettig was set to return for this new series.

Personal Life

Patricia Wettig is married to actor and producer Ken Olin. They got married in 1982. They have two children: a son named Clifford, born in 1983, and a daughter named Roxy, born in 1985.

Awards and Recognitions

Patricia Wettig has won several important awards for her acting.

See also

In Spanish: Patricia Wettig para niños