Category:
Richest Celebrities › Actors
Net Worth:
$2 Million
Birthdate:
Aug 9, 1958 (66 years old)
Birthplace:
Winter Park
Gender:
Female
Height:
5 ft 3 in (1.62 m)
Profession:
Nationality:
United States of America
Amanda Bearse is an actress, comedian, and television director who has a net worth of $2 million. Amanda Bearse is best known for starring on the Fox television sitcom “Married with Children” and in the supernatural horror film “Fright Night.” She also appeared in the television films “First Affair,” “Goddess of Love,” and “Here Come the Munsters.” As a director, Bearse directed episodes of such television shows as “Jesse,” “Reba,” “Dharma & Greg,” “Veronica’s Closet,” and “The Big Gay Sketch Show.”
Amanda Bearse was born on August 9, 1958 in Winter Park, Florida. Following her graduation from Winter Park High School in 1976, she attended Rollins College. Bearse subsequently transferred to Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama, and finally earned her associate’s degree from Young Harris College in Georgia. She went on to study acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City and directing at both the American Film Institute and the University of Southern California.
Bearse got her start on television in 1982 when she began playing Amanda Cousins on the long-running soap opera “All My Children.” She remained on the show until 1983. That year, Bearse played Karen in the CBS television film “First Affair.” After a break from the small screen, she returned in 1986 with a guest role on the ABC primetime soap opera “Hotel.”
Bearse had her biggest television role on the Fox sitcom “Married with Children,” which debuted in 1987. She played Marcy Rhoades, the feminist next-door neighbor of the Bundy family. Her character was the best friend of matriarch Peggy, played by Katey Sagal, and the nemesis of patriarch Al, played by Ed O’Neill. For the first few seasons of the series, Marcy was married to banker Steve Rhoades, played by David Garrison; after their divorce, she married the rakish Jefferson D’Arcy, played by Ted McGinley. “Married with Children” was a huge hit, running for 11 seasons through 1997 and becoming one of the longest-running sitcoms in the history of American television. In addition to acting on the show, Bearse directed around 30 episodes of “Married with Children.”
Bearse didn’t appear on many other shows during or after the original run of “Married with Children.” However, she did have roles in two television films: “Goddess of Love,” which aired on NBC in 1988, and “Here Come the Munsters,” which aired on Fox on Halloween in 1995. Bearse also appeared as her “Married with Children” character Marcy in the 1990 ABC television special “The Earth Day Special,” and was in an episode of the short-lived Fox series “Likely Suspects.”
After the end of “Married with Children,” Bearse mainly focused on television directing. She directed episodes of such shows as “Reba,” “Malcolm & Eddie,” “Dharma & Greg,” and “Veronica’s Closet.” Bearse didn’t appear on another show until 2001, when she reprised her role as Marcy in an episode of the WB sitcom “Nikki.” A decade-long television acting hiatus followed, during which time Bearse continued directing, including on Rosie O’Donnell’s “The Big Gay Sketch Show.” She returned to acting in 2011 with a guest role on the Lifetime series “Drop Dead Diva.” Bearse went on to appear on the FX Charlie Sheen sitcom “Anger Management” in 2013.
Bearse made her big-screen debut with a small part in the 1984 comedy film “Protocol,” starring Goldie Hawn and Chris Sarandon. She had her breakout the next year when she appeared in the teen sex comedy “Fraternity Vacation” and the supernatural horror film “Fright Night,” the latter reuniting her with Chris Sarandon. “Fright Night” has since become a cult classic, and has spawned its own media franchise. Bearse didn’t appear on the big screen again until 1995, when she had a brief role in Gregg Araki’s black comedy thriller “The Doom Generation.”
After 25 years of not appearing in any feature films, Bearse returned to the big screen in 2020 to play Marjorie Phelps in the German science-fiction horror comedy “Sky Sharks.” Other cast members were Tony Todd, Lynn Lowry, Mick Garris, and Eva Habermann. Bearse next appeared in the 2022 gay romcom “Bros,” playing the mother of Luke Macfarlane’s character. The year after that, she appeared in the comedy “Tapawingo,” starring Jon Heder and Billy Zane.
In 1993, Bearse came out publicly as lesbian. With her wife Carrie Schenken, she has a daughter named Zoe.
