Patricia Castle Richardson is an American television and film actress
best known for her portrayal of Jill Taylor on the sitcom Home Improvement,
for which she was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award for
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Richardson also received a
Independent Spirit Award nomination for her performance in Ulee's Gold.
Early life Richardson was born in Bethesda,
Maryland as the third daughter of Mary Elizabeth and Laurence Baxter
Richardson. Her sisters' names are Marianna 'Ann' Bales, Lynn Richardson
and Catherine 'Cathy' Moseley. Her father was a corporate executive and
retired naval officer. Richardson attended the Holton-Arms School in
Maryland and then The Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas. She is a 1973 graduate of
Southern Methodist University, where she was friends with classmates Beth Henley
and Stephen Tobolowsky, who was slated to be a cast member of Home Improvement
but had other contractual commitments when the series began filming.
Tobolowsky initially suggested to producers of Home Improvement that
Richardson be considered for the role of Jill Taylor after Frances Fisher was
deemed too serious for the role. Career
Richardson began as an understudy in Angela Lansbury's Broadway production of
Gypsy: A Musical Fable, eventually playing several parts. Early on, she
played roles in programs such as Double Trouble, The Equalizer, Quantum Leap,
and Kate & Allie. She appeared in one episode of The Cosby Show in the third
season. Richardson also appeared in the films C.H.U.D. and You Better Watch Out.
In 1991, Richardson landed her breakout role in ABC comedy series Home
Improvement after Frances Fisher tested poorly in the role of Jill Taylor.
Richardson received four Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe
nominations in this role. After Home Improvement fame, she appeared in
several made-for-TV films and won an Independent Spirit nomination in 1997
for her first major theatrical film role in Ulee's Gold.
In 2002, Richardson was cast as new lead in the Lifetime medical drama series
Strong Medicine, as Dr. Andy Campbell. She replaced Janine Turner, who left the
show. The series ended in 2005. She later was cast in a recurring role as
Sheila Brooks, campaign director for Republican presidential candidate Arnold
Vinick in the final two seasons of NBC political drama The West Wing.
Richardson appeared in the first season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In
2008, Ms. Richardson was the executive producer of the video documentary Long
Story Short, which tells the story of Larry and Trudie Long, a popular Asian
American nightclub act of the '40s and '50s, told through the eyes of their
daughter, actress Jodi Long. In 2010, she appeared in an NBC made-for-TV film,
The Jensen Project, and in 2011, she appeared in the Lifetime TV film
Bringing Ashley Home, also starring AJ Cook and Jennifer Morrison. In 2011, she
starred in the coming-of-age film Beautiful Wave and in the following year
appeared as Lola in the Hallmark Channel TV film Smart Cookies. In 2012
Richardson filmed the film Avarice, which was released on 8 August 2013. In
2013, Richardson taped two movies for the Hallmark channel. The first one was
Friend Request which was released on October 5, 2013, the second one being
Snow Bride which was released on 9 November 2013.
On the Season 4 Episode 12 episode of Last Man Standing entitled 'Helen
Potts', Richardson guest-starred as the titular character and reunited with her
former Home Improvement co-star, Tim Allen. At the end of the episode 'Helen
Potts', it was revealed that one of her son's name is Randy, who was portrayed
by her other Home Improvement co-star; Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
In 2015 she ran for the position of national president of the SAG-AFTRA
after having served on the board for many years. She lost the election to Ken
Howard. Personal life
Richardson married fellow actor Ray Baker in 1982. They had three children
together: Henry Richardson Baker, and twins Roxanne Elizabeth Baker and Joseph
Castle Baker, before they got divorced in August 1995. Richardson is the
godmother of actress Betty Gilpin, the daughter of actor Jack Gilpin.
Richardson had a long-term relationship with retired psychologist Dr. Mark
Cline, whom she had met when they were both students at the Southern Methodist
University. When she joined the cast of Strong Medicine, Richardson mentioned in
an interview they lived together in her LA home. Details about when or why they
broke up were never revealed. She has also served as a spokeswoman for
"Cure PSP", a website that tries to raise awareness of progressive
supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration, and multiple system
atrophy, as her father died from the disease in 2005.
Filmography = Film=
= Television= References
External links Patricia Richardson at the Internet
Movie Database Patricia Richardson on Twitter