{{short description|American actress}} {{Infobox person | name = Stephanie Hodge | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1956|12|24|mf=y}} | birth_place = Wilmington, Ohio, U.S. | occupation = Actress, voice actress, comic, writer | years_active = 1988–present | spouse = {{marriage|Lance Lyon|1992}} | children = 1 }}
'''Stephanie Hodge''' (born December 24, 1956) is an American actress and stand-up comedian, known for her roles as Nurse Sandy Miller in the NBC sitcom ''Nurses'' from 1991 to 1993 and Jennie Malloy on the WB sitcom ''Unhappily Ever After'' from 1995 to 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/person/stephanie-hodge/biography.html |title=Stephanie Hodge |publisher=Movies.yahoo.com |date= |accessdate=2014-04-04}}</ref>
== Early life and career == Hodge was born in Wilmington, Ohio, the daughter of a college professor and schoolteacher.<ref name=tu/> She attended Wilmington College and Ohio University in Athens, OH.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/32627/Stephanie-Hodge/biography |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410175012/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/32627/Stephanie-Hodge/biography |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-04-10 |title=Stephanie Hodge – Biography – Movies & TV |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=The New York Times |date=2014 |accessdate=2014-04-04}}</ref> In 1980s, she began working as a stand-up comedian, and appeared in films including ''Big Top Pee-wee'' (1988) and ''I, Madman'' (1989). In 1990, Hodge made her television debut with co-starring role on the short-lived CBS sitcom ''Sugar and Spice''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present|year=2003|publisher=Ballantine Books|isbn=0-345-45542-8|pages=1147}}</ref> Later, she starred alongside Cynthia Stevenson in the syndicated variety comedy ''My Talk Show''. In 1991, she released her stand-up comedy special, ''Stephanie Hodge: Straight Up''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PS1g1rnX7rsC&pg=RA12-PP19 |title=Variety and Daily Variety Television Reviews, 1993-1994|date=September 1, 1996|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780824037970|via=Google Books}}</ref>
In 1991, Hodge went to star in the NBC sitcom ''Nurses'', a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls''. The show was created by Susan Harris as a star vehicle for Hodge,<ref name=tu>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tulsaworld.com/archive/stephanie-hodge-leaves-stand-up-for-sitcom-nurses-star-terrified-of-hospitals/article_7b459d4d-355a-5ddc-aca7-540900a17568.html|title=Stephanie Hodge Leaves Stand-Up for Sitcom // 'Nurses' Star Terrified of Hospitals|website=Tulsa World|date=29 September 1991 }}</ref> but later was more ensemble cast. She left the series in 1993, after two seasons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1993/tv/reviews/nurses-the-eagle-has-landed-1200433206/|title=Nurses the Eagle Has Landed|first1=Todd|last1=Everett|date=September 24, 1993}}</ref> The following year, she went to star in the CBS sitcom ''Muddling Through'' playing the role of ex-convict trying to turn her life around. The series received negative reviews and was canceled after one season.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1994-07-09-9407070516-story.html|title='MUDDLING'|first=KEN PARISH PERKINS Chicago|last=Tribune|website=Sun-Sentinel.com|date=9 July 1994 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1994/tv/reviews/muddling-through-1200438062/|title=Muddling Through|first1=Tony|last1=Scott|date=July 7, 1994}}</ref> In 1995, she began starring alongside Geoff Pierson in The WB sitcom ''Unhappily Ever After''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/1995/tv/reviews/unhappily-ever-after-3-1200440115/|title=Unhappily Ever After|first1=Tony|last1=Scott|date=January 11, 1995}}</ref> The series was initially supposed to be a starring vehicle for Hodge, whose character Jennie was the focus of the first few episodes. The series concept was later re-worked. By the show's third season, Nikki Cox became a breakout character. The producers tried to kill off Jennie's increasingly-unnecessary character and return her as a ghost; negative audience reaction made them quickly reverse this action.<ref>{{cite magazine| url = https://ew.com/article/1997/09/12/back-dead/| title = Back from the dead {{!}} EW.com| magazine = Entertainment Weekly}} </ref> The character was brought back to life in a deliberately-bizarre sequence in which a network executive wandered onto the set and announced that she was no longer dead. Nevertheless, Hodge decided to leave the show in 1998, and several episodes after Jennie's bizarre reappearance, she abandoned her family for a lesbian lover and was never seen again. After leaving ''Unhappily Ever After'', Hodge appeared in the 2001 science fiction film ''Evolution''. The following years, she guest-starred in a number of sitcoms, including ''Reba'', ''The Suite Life of Zack and Cody'', ''The War at Home'', ''Dog with a Blog'', and on several episodes of Funny or Die. Her dramatic credits include ''NCIS'', ''Bones'', ''Scandal'' and ''The Rookie''.
== Personal life == She has been married to Lance Lyon since 1992. They have one daughter named Harper.
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- |1988 |''Big Top Pee-wee'' |Mermaid | |- |1989 |''I, Madman'' |Mona | |- |1990 |''Sugar and Spice'' |Bonnie Buttram |Series regular, 7 episodes |- |1990 |''Almost an Angel'' |Diner Waitress | |- |1990–1991 |''My Talk Show'' |Angela Davenport |Series regular, 59 episodes |- |1991–1993 |''Nurses'' |Nurse Sandy Miller |Series regular, 46 episodes |- |1994 |''Muddling Through'' |Connie Drego |Series regular, 10 episodes |- |1995–1998 |''Unhappily Ever After'' |Jennie Malloy |Series regular, 77 episodes |- |2001 |''Evolution'' |Jill Mason | |- |2003 |''Reba'' |Career Counselor |Episode: "The Best and the Blondest" |- |2004 |''NCIS'' |Sheriff Charlene Dupray |Episode: "The Good Samaritan" |- |2004 |''Combustion'' |Stella |TV movie |- |2005 |''The Suite Life of Zack and Cody'' |Brianna's Mom |Episode: "The Fairest of Them All" |- |2005 |''Twins'' |Rita |1 episode |- |2006 |''The War at Home'' |Rachel |Episode: "Snow Job" |- |2006 |''One on One'' |Jackie |Episode: "California Girl" |- |2008 |''Yes Man'' |Ticket Lady | |- |2010 |''Good Luck Charlie'' |Miss Covington |Episode: "Double Whammy" |- |2013–2014 |''Dog with a Blog'' |Gator |Episodes: "Tyler Gets a Grillfriend" and "Will Sing for Food Truck" |- |2016 |''Bones'' |Janis Collins |Episode: "The Movie in the Making" |- |2018 |''Scandal'' |Clerk |Episode: "The List" |- |2018 |''The Rookie'' |Ricky |Episode: "Time of Death" |- |2019 |''NCIS: Los Angeles'' |Tangerine |Episode: "The Sound of Silence" |- |2020 |''Perry Mason'' |Betty |Episode: "Chapter Six" |- |2022 |''Young Sheldon'' |Pat |Episode: "A Lobster, an Armadillo and a Way Bigger Number" |- |2023 |''NCIS'' |Greta Ford, FLETC instructor |Episode: "Too Many Cooks" |- |2026 |Jury Duty |Helen Schaffer |Series regular |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=0388105|name=Stephanie Hodge}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodge, Stephanie}} Category:1956 births Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actresses Category:Living people Category:People from Wilmington, Ohio Category:American women comedians Category:Wilmington College (Ohio) alumni Category:Ohio University alumni Category:20th-century American actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:Comedians from Ohio Category:20th-century American comedians Category:21st-century American comedians