Caroline Gilchrist Rhea is a Canadian stand-up comedian and actress who was the original
host of the reality television show The Biggest Loser on NBC until she was replaced by Alison
Sweeney after the end of the third season.
She is also known for her role as Hilda Spellman from Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and for replacing
Rosie O'Donnell as the hostess of her syndicated talk show, renamed The Caroline Rhea Show.
Rhea provides the voice for Linda Flynn-Fletcher, the mother of Phineas and Candace Flynn and
stepmother of Ferb Fletcher, on the Disney Channel series Phineas and Ferb.
Early life Rhea was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec,
the daughter of Marjorie, an antiques dealer, and David Rhea, an obstetrician and gynecologist.
She has two sisters, Cynthia and Celia.
She attended The Study, an all-girls private school in Westmount, Quebec and Dalhousie
University in Nova Scotia.
Career Her film debut was as an extra in the film
Meatballs III, shot on location near Montreal.
She moved to New York in 1989 to study stand-up comedy at the New School for Social Research.
Rhea has said that her true training came from her first gigs at the comedy club, Catch
a Rising Star.
Performing around New York City, she quickly gained a reputation in the city's competitive
comedy scene.
These performances were augmented with appearances on MTV's Half-Hour Comedy Hour, Comic Strip
Live and Caroline's Comedy Hour.
She decided to move to Los Angeles for a career in Hollywood, debuting in NBC television series
Pride & Joy co-starring with Jeremy Piven.
She gained fame for her role as Aunt Hilda on the ABC television show, Sabrina the Teenage
Witch, as well as being a regular on the latest incarnation of Hollywood Squares.
In 2002, Rhea landed her own syndicated daytime talk show, The Caroline Rhea Show.
Rosie O'Donnell hand-picked Rhea as her replacement.
In 2004, Rhea became the first host of the series, The Biggest Loser on NBC, a weight
loss reality show in which overweight members of two teams try to lose the most weight.
After her 3rd season, Rhea was replaced by Alison Sweeney.
In 2005, Rhea was in the movie The Perfect Man, playing a co-worker of Jean.
She has appeared in Comic Relief 8, as well as the Ms. Foundation's "Women of Comedy from
Caroline's Comedy Club".
She appeared as a contestant in 2001 on a special edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,
winning $125,000 for charity.
She had her own stand-up special as part of Bravo's three-part Funny Ladies series, along
with Joan Rivers and Paula Poundstone.
Rhea has had a recurring role on the hit Disney Channel Original Series, The Suite Life of
Zack & Cody as Ilsa Shickelgubermeiger-Von Helsing der Keppelugerhofer, an inspector
turned manager of the rival hotel.
In the series, she is well known for a large mole on her cheek.
She has appeared on Disney's Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire as the mother and also Christmas
with the Kranks in 2004.
She has competed on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown and GSN's World Series of Blackjack.
She now does the voice of Linda Flynn in Phineas and Ferb, an animated show with Ashley Tisdale,
Mitchel Musso, and Alyson Stoner.
Rhea will next appear on the upcoming Fox animated series Two Dreadful Children.
Caroline Rhea also plays Noleta Nethercott on the TV series Sordid Lives: The Series.
She has also been in the original Lifetime Television movie To Be Fat Like Me with Kaley
Cuoco.
Rhea stars as a down on her luck waitress alongside Justin Guarini and Mircea Monroe
in the Marvista Entertainment production of Fast Girl.
Rhea has also done a live webcast with author, Meg Cabot.
Rhea currently hosts the Canadian television series Cake Walk: Wedding Cake Edition on
Slice, which premiered September 7, 2011.
She is also frequently a guest on the revival of Match Game on Canada's The Comedy Network.
In 2013, Rhea hosted a travelling live stage show version of the game show Family Feud
which toured fairs in the US and Canada, including the Calgary Stampede.
In 2014, Rhea is the host for the The Underfashion Club Femmy Awards at Cipriani 42 Street in
New York.
Personal life Rhea and ex husband, comedian Costaki Economopoulos
have a daughter Ava, who was born in New York on Thursday, October 23, 2008.
Filmography See also
List of Quebec comedians List of Canadian comedians
References
External links CarolineRhea.com
TV.com - The Caroline Rhea Show Biggest Loser Club Official Site
Ruth Myles: Survey Says...Family Feud Live! brings popular game show to the stampede
Caroline Rhea at the Internet Movie Database Caroline Rhea at the Internet Off-Broadway
Database Match Game