Birth Date: 14th January, 1943
Age: 66
Birth Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Profession Actress
Active in career since: 1969
Early life
Holland Taylor is the third born {and last} daughter of her mother Virginia Taylor and the only child of her father C. Tracy Taylor {an attorney}. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1943. She had 2 sisters named Pamela and Patricia. She had done her schooling from Westtown School; a Quaker boarding school then majored in drama at Bennington College in 1964.before moving to NEW YORK with desire to become a great big Broadway star.
Career
Holland’s career began in theater. In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s she appeared in many Broadway and off-Broadway productions like starring roles in Butley and A.R.Gurney’s”THE Cocktail Hour” she was also starred in broadways most infamous flop, Moose Murders for which she had done rehearsal for less than one week, because of the old hand character actress, Eve Arden who has hopped from a falling ship.
In 1983 Taylor acted in “Breakfast with less and Bees”, which inspired John Simon {New York magazine theater critic} to sing…. “Miss Taylor is one of the few utterly technically accomplished actresses, attractive, elegant and graceful actress in their theater…seeing her many turn into Taylor freak…”
During 1978 to 1979 she was casted as the pure evil Denise Cavanaugh on the soap Opera the edge of night which was encouraged by her coach Stella Adler. California Holland was cast as Ruth Dunbar in the sitcom “Bosom Buddies” (1980) with Tom Hanks. It was Holland’s “breakout” role and it lead to many other TV and film offers including the movie Romancing the Stone (1984) as Kathleen Turner’s book publisher and friend. After some years she finally decided to shift to California for good from New York. Till now she was well known for her work in the film industry. She was good in both Comedy and Drama.
Now she asterisked from 1992 to 1993 in THE POWERS THAT BE by Norman Lear with David Hyde Pierce and John Forsythe and during 1995 to 1998 on THE NAKED TRUTH. She played the character of judge in Roberta Kittleson on THE PRACTICE during 1998 to 2003. Holland won an Emmy in 1999 for her work in “The Practice” (1997). In her speech she said :thanked David e Kelley and the producer /writer and creator of The Practice for giving her a chariot to ride up her on: A Woman Who puts a flag on the moon for women over 40.who can think, who can work, who can cook.. She said the recognition of her work means a lot “to have a great part like this at my age is rich, rich, rich”. She also had a supporting role on the TV series TWO and a Half Men for which she was nominated at the Emmys since its inception in 2003, playing the snooty, Evelyn Harper, domineering mother of the two lead characters, the brothers Alan and Charlie.
She also played a legal professional in legally Blondein 2001 which was the comedy in which she played a tough Harvard law professor. Some of the guest roles include appearances on Veronica’s Closet, ER and recurring roles on billionaire and as monk on the l word. During 1999 to 2001, Hedda Hopper-esque Letitia Devine on the lot for which she was nominated for an Emmy.
Her animated roles are prudence, the castle’s majordomo and love interest of the grand duke, in Disney’s Cinderella-2 and Cinderella -3: a twist in time.
The first love of the Taylor has always been theater and when she is not on the work on Two and a Half Men she spends her time on the extensive research and writing of a one-woman play based on the life of late Texas Governor Ann Richards. It will have its first appearance in the year 2009.
