Kathy Kinney

Kathy Kinney is an American actress and comedian. After appearing as Prudence Godard on the CBS sitcom Newhart (1989–1990), she achieved fame with her portrayal of Mimi Bobeck on ABC's The Drew Carey Show (1995–2004). Her film credits include Parting Glances (1987), Scrooged (1988), Three Fugitives (1989), Stanley & Iris, Arachnophobia (both 1990), This Boy's Life (1993), and Picking Up the Pieces (2000).

Early life, family and education

Kinney was born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Her father died when she was 15 years old.

After high school, Kinney worked for the California Conservation Corps between 1972 and 1974. After completing a six-month Back Country season in Kings Canyon National Park, she left the program with thousands of dollars in scholarships. She attended the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point in the 1970s but received her degree in 2016. In 1976, she moved to New York City, where she found work as a secretary at WCBS-TV.

Career

Armed with the success of Parting Glances, Kinney visited friends in Los Angeles, and decided to permanently move there to pursue a career in acting. In LA, Kinney worked regularly as a character actress, landing small roles in various TV series such as Seinfeld (Season 4, Episode 22, "The Handicap Spot"), Grace Under Fire, Full House, Boy Meets World, The Larry Sanders Show and My Name Is Earl. Her first memorable television role is generally considered her regular stint on Newhart as Miss Goddard, the town librarian (1989–1990). Her performances in feature films include Arachnophobia, Stanley & Iris, Scrooged, Three Fugitives, Lenny the Wonder Dog, and This Boy's Life.

The Drew Carey Show aired on ABC from 1995 to 2004. Her character Mimi Bobeck was originally intended for a one-time appearance in the pilot, when she interviewed for a cosmetics job at Winfred-Louder. When she was turned down due to her garish makeup, Mimi raised a fuss and threatened to sue. Positive public reaction prompted the Mimi storyline to continue (the store hired her as a secretary to prevent her from suing).

Kinney and Carey have performed many times since working together on his sitcom. Kinney appeared in the American version of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, hosted by Carey and also on ABC. They appeared in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (another series on ABC), contemporaneous with The Drew Carey Show's second season). In 2006, she visited Iraq with Carey and his Improv All-Star Team, a series of USO performances for American troops; as a result, she appears in the documentary film Patriot Act: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie. On March 24, 2009, Kinney appeared in character as Mimi in the beginning of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. (Ferguson was a co-star on The Drew Carey Show, playing Mimi and Carey's boss, Mr. Wick.) A week later, on April Fools' Day, Kinney reprised her role as Mimi during that day's The Price Is Right, hosted by Carey, appearing as a guest model. She repeated the role on April Fool's Day in 2010, this time usurping the post of executive producer. She replaced the show's announcer with a man in a monkey suit along with using four male models. Beginning in March 2011, Kinney appeared in Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza TV gameshow. In September 2019, Kinney appeared in the episode "Bigger Kids, Bigger Problems" of the TV series American Housewife. She played the lunch lady and reunited with former co-stars Carey, Ryan Stiles and Diedrich Bader as part of ABC's Cast from the Past Week.

In 2008, Kinney became the co-creator, co-president and star of MrsP.com, an entertainment website for children. Kinney portrays Mrs. P, an eccentric redhead who loves books and reads classic children's stories from her magical library. After nearly two years in development, the site launched in beta on November 10, 2008.

She guest starred on the animated TV series The Penguins of Madagascar as Rhonda the walrus, Marlene's disgusting roommate, in the 2009 episode "Roomies". Rhonda made a second appearance in the episode "The Hoboken Surprise" in 2011.[citation needed] She also guest-starred on The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

In March 2010, Kinney co-authored the book Queen of Your Own Life: The Grown-up Woman's Guide to Claiming Happiness and Getting the Life You Deserve with Cindy Ratzlaff, published by Harlequin.

Filmography

Film

Television

External links

• atIMDb