Judith Light

Judith Ellen Light was born on Feb. 9, 1949 in Trenton, NJ. Shortly after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in drama, Light became a professional stage actor, making her way to Broadway by 1975 with a role in the contemporaneous revival of "A Doll's House." Just two years later, Light landed her breakout role on the soap opera "One Life to Live" (ABC 1968-2012), on which she'd star through 1983. Light's performance as the character Karen Wolek earned her two Daytime Emmy Awards. Upon leaving the series, she became the costar of the popular sitcom "Who's the Boss?" (ABC 1984-1992), on which she played single parent Angela Bower. Following the conclusion of the series, it would be more than a decade before Light landed another regular television role; in the interim period, she worked again on the stage and in notable one-off and recurring performances, namely on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC 1999-). Her next regular role came with the comedy series "Ugly Betty" (ABC 2006-2010), which earned Light her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Not long afterward, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the 2011 Broadway production of "Lombardi." Though she did not win, she'd go on to win a Tony the following year for her role in "Other Desert Cities" and another in 2013 for "The Assembled Parties." Her next such accolade would come by way of her performance on the dramedy series "Transparent" (Amazon 2014-19), on which she played the narcissistic Shelly Pfefferman. In addition to two Emmy nominations, her work on the series earned her a Golden Globe nomination.