Judith Light

Judith Light married television actor Robert Desiderio in January 1985. She met her future husband while she was working on the soap opera ‘One Life to Live’ in 1968.

She never wanted to have children because with an acting career she would not have been able to be a full-time mother.

Judith Light was born on February 9, 1949, in Trenton, New Jersey, to Pearl Sue, a model, and Sidney Light, an accountant.

In 1966, she graduated high school from St. Mary's Hall–Doane Academy in Burlington, New Jersey. She then earned a degree in drama from Carnegie Mellon University.

In 1970, Judith Light started off her acting career on stage, making her debut in ‘Richard III’ at the California Shakespeare Festival. Five years later, she made her Broadway debut in ‘A Doll's House,’ followed by her role in the Broadway play ‘Herzl’ in 1976.

Despite getting such a good beginning to her career, she was completely out of acting assignments for a few years in the 1970s. Almost on the verge of being broke, she was toying with the idea of quitting her dream career—acting.

The year 1977 proved to be a lucky one for her as she was called to audition for a role in a soap opera titled ‘One Life to Live’, to be aired on ABC. Judith was confused about accepting the offer as she never wanted to act in soap operas or sitcoms and get typecast. Eventually, the attractive pay package that was attached to it lured her to accept the offer.

She played the role of Karen Wolek on ‘One Life to Live’, and according to her, it was one of her most-remembered roles and shows of her life, which made her a household name for the next six years. This role helped her to get some significant guest appearances on a number of television series like ‘St. Elsewhere’ and ‘Family Ties’.

In 1984, she landed another important role in her career in ‘Who's the Boss?,’ a show that lasted for eight seasons. On the popular sitcom, she portrayed Angela Bower, an uptight advertising executive and a divorced mother. The role gave her the opportunity to do some comedy, and the romantic tension between the characters Angela and Tony was really enjoyed by the viewers as well as the critics.

Judith Light’s performance on ‘One Life to Live’ helped the show get good ratings and earned her critical acclaim from critics. Her dramatic performance of a housewife-turned-prostitute and the strong courtroom scene is still regarded as one of the most memorable scenes in television dramas.

Her role in ‘Who's the Boss?’ was applauded, and TV Guide ranked the show as the 109th best sitcom of all time. She earned strong reviews for her performance as a university professor who was battling ovarian cancer in the play ‘Wit’. In the television series ‘Dallas’, her villainous role of Judith Brown Ryland was applauded, and Entertainment Weekly praised her as a "scene-stealer".