Who's the boss?

Actress. Born Judith Ellen Licht on February 9, 1949, in Trenton, New Jersey. A versatile performer, Judith Light has successfully tackled daytime dramas, prime time sitcoms, and the New York stage. A graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University, she made her Broadway debut in a 1975 revival of Henrik Ibsen’s drama, A Doll’s House.

Two years later, Judith Light was on her way to becoming a darling of daytime television as Karen Wolek on One Life to Live. From 1977 to 1982, she played a reformed prostitute, a performance that netted her two Daytime Emmy Awards. Light moved on to guest spots on several primetime series, such as St. Elsewhere and Family Ties before landing a starring role on Who’s the Boss.

On the popular sitcom, which debuted in 1984, Judith Light played Angela Bower, a powerful advertising executive and divorced mother of one, who hired former baseball player Tony Micelli (played by Tony Danza) to be her live-in housekeeper. Much of the comedy came from their domestic situation and clashing backgrounds. Tony’s daughter Samantha (Alyssa Milano), Angela’s son Jonathan (Danny Pintauro), and Angela’s mother Mona (Katherine Helmond) completed the cast. Audiences really liked Light’s portrayal of Angela, an uptight, but caring career woman, and enjoyed the romantic tension between her character and Tony’s. The lasted for eight seasons, finishing its run in 1992.

After the show ended, Judith Light starred in several television and made a few attempts to return to series television, including the short-lived 1993 show Phenom and 1998’s The Simple Life. She returned to the stage in 1999 in the off-Broadway production of Wit. She earned strong reviews for her portrayal of university professor battling ovarian cancer and reprised the role for the national tour.

Judith Light didn’t stay away from television for too long, however. In 2002, she took on a recurring role on the hit series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, playing a sharp, tough judge. Light returned to her comedic roots in 2006 with the dramatic comedy Ugly Betty starring America Ferrera. On the series, she portrays Claire Meade, the much beleaguered, highly alcoholic wife of a publishing titan. 

Since 1985, Judith Light has been married to fellow actor Robert Desiderio; the couple met on the set of One Life to Live. In addition to acting, she is a strong supporter of a number of AIDS-related charities