Meredith Baxter

She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy award in 1993 for her work as a lesbian raising a young son in a CBS after-school special. In December 2003 she wrote a letter informing Democrat John Kerry that his pheasant hunting had cost him her vote. In 1992, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special for her work in A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story, in which she plays a divorcée who kills her ex-husband and his young lover. She is also a lifelong Democrat. Since Family Ties has been canceled, Meredith has been directing and starring in TV movies. A lifelong animal rights advocate, McClanahan was one of the first celebrity supporters of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The second role she is well-known for is ex-flower child Elyse Keaton on the sitcom Family Ties, which aired from 1982 to 1989. McClanahan expected negative fan reaction but was generally popular, even getting one letter advising her on the best poisons to kill Pat with!.

She received two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, in 1977 and 1978. Due in part to McClanahan's performance, he short-term role was extended to over a year before Caroline was finally brought to justice after kidnapping the twins. She first became popular in Hollywood playing the role of Nancy Lawrence Maitland on the television drama Family, from 1976 to 1980. While taking care of twins Michael and Marianne Randolph, Caroline fell in love with their father, John, and began poisoning their mother, Pat. She is best known for her work on two television shows. Unlike a number of actors who become famous after leaving soaps, McClanahan has always praised daytime drama and the people who work in it. From that date until their divorce in 1989, she was credited as Meredith Baxter-Birney. Her breakout role was of maniacal nanny Caroline Johnson on Another World from July 1970-September 1971.

After the show was canceled, the couple became engaged and were married in 1974. In the latter series, broadcast from 1985 until 1992, McClanahan portrayed the man-crazed Southern belle Blanche Deveraux. She was married three times, most notably to actor David Birney, whom she met on the set of the sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie; she played his wife on the series. In the former series, broadcast from 1972 to 1978, McClanahan played Maude Findlay's best friend, Vivian Harmon. Her stepfather is sitcom writer Allan Manings. Rue McClanahan (born February 21, 1934 in Healdton, Oklahoma) is an American actress, best known for her roles acting alongside Beatrice Arthur on the television sitcoms Maude and The Golden Girls. Her mother is actress and sitcom creator Whitney Blake, and her father is Tom Baxter, who worked in radio.

She was born in South Pasadena, California. Meredith Baxter (born June 21, 1947) is an American actress.