Valerie Harper

Actress Valerie Harper's fame largely rests on her colorful portrayal of television's "New Yawk-er" Rhoda Morgenstern. After growing up in New Jersey, Harper became a chorus dancer in the Big Apple, hoofing with the Radio City Rockettes and performing in such Broadway musicals as Li'l Abner, Take Me Along, Wildcat and Subways Are for Sleeping. Her first film appearance was in the 1959 movie adaptation of Li'l Abner. She attended Hunter College and the New School for Social Research.

During the 1960s, she did comedy-improv work with Second City and Paul Sill's Story Theatre. In the popular mid-1960s comedy record album When You're in Love, the Whole World Is Jewish, Harper can be heard offering an embryonic version of Rhoda Morgenstern, a character she based on her friend Penny Almog. The "Rhoda-like" persona that she developed was so comedic and endearing that in 1970, based on a one sentence audition, she was hired to play Mary Tyler Moore's best friend, Rhoda Morgenstern, on what would become the sitcom sensation The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

In 1974, after winning three Emmys for that role, Valerie Harper starred in her own spin-off series, Rhoda. Valerie made her formal film debut in Freebie and the Bean, earning a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of a Puerto Rican housewife. After toting up many stage and TV-movie credits, she returned to the weekly-series grind in 1986 with Valerie. She has starred in two series since leaving Valerie (1990's City and 1995's The Office).

"Rhoda was Jewish," Harper says, "a wonderful thing for girls of any ethnicity, black women and Hispanic women" of that time, because she was a role model for working women.

Extremely active in social causes off camera, Valerie Harper was co-founder of an anti-hunger organization called LIFE (Love Is Feeding Everyone).

I'm a Zionist," Valerie proclaims proudly. "I'm not Jewish, but I guess I've always been a Zionist without knowing the word for it."

In 2005-2006 Valerie garnered glowing reviews as Golda Meir in Golda's Balcony, a play by William Gibson, in the first North American tour of this production winning the Touring Broadway Award for best play of 2006. The play, based on fact, hinges on the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Golda Meir reflects on her life, recalling her successes in helping found the Jewish state, and her failures, professional and personal. And while Golda Meir carried a heavy burden as the nation's prime minister, Harper points out that she was also a very funny lady, not unlike Rhoda. She mimics Meir's flat Milwaukee accent: "I can understand why the Arabs want us dead, but do they really expect us to cooperate?" "That Yiddish humor," Harper says, "it's wonderful."

In September 2006 she recreated her performance as Golda in the film adaptation of Golda's Balcony in a riveting portrait of one of the great women of our time.

In recognition of her contribution to Israel, Valerie was named Honorary Grand Marshall of Israel's 60th anniversary parade in New York City.