Nancy Ann Travis (born September 21, 1961) is an American actress. She began her career on Off-Broadway theater, before her first leading screen role in the ABC television miniseries Harem opposite Omar Sharif. Her breakthrough came in 1987, playing Sylvia Bennington in the comedy film Three Men and a Baby. She later starred in its sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady (1990).
Travis's first job after graduating from high school was in a play, It's Hard to Be a Jew, at The American Jewish Theatre in NYC. She also acted in commercials, notably for Twinkies and Levi's Jeans.[5] After that, Travis appeared in a stage version of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs and was a founding member of the Off-Broadway theater company Naked Angels. She appeared in their Frank Pugliese play Aven U-Boys, as well as in King of Connecticut. She made her Broadway debut in I'm Not Rappaport in 1985.[6] She starred in Athol Fugard's My Children, My Africa. In 1985, Travis made her screen debut playing a supporting role in the made-for-television biographical film Malice in Wonderland starring Elizabeth Taylor.[7] The following year she received a star-billing role in the two-part ABC miniseries, Harem opposite Omar Sharif.[1] She later made guest-starring appearances in television series Spenser: For Hire and Tales from the Darkside.
In 1995, Travis moved to television with the leading role as a female executive producer of a television cop show, in the CBS sitcom Almost Perfect.[1] The show was canceled after two seasons. She did voice-over work in the animated series Duckman from 1994 to 1997. She starred in an episode of Robert Altman's anthology series, Gun in 1997, and went to star and produce Lifetime romantic drama film, My Last Love (1999).[11] In 1999, Travis also produced and starred and in the short-lived CBS sitcom Work with Me.[12] Due to low ratings, the show was cancelled after four episodes.[13] The following year she returned to cinema playing supporting role in the drama film Auggie Rose.[14] She also starred in the political comedy-drama film Running Mates with Three Men and a Baby co-star Tom Selleck.
In 2011, Travis was cast in the ABC sitcom Last Man Standing opposite Tim Allen.[20][21] Travis also was cast in the same time in The CW medical drama series Hart of Dixie as Emmeline "Mrs. H" Hattenbarger, but due to her commitments with the 20th Century Fox-produced Last Man Standing left the show after two episodes.[22]Last Man Standing was canceled in 2017, after six seasons and 130 episodes, but was revived by Fox in the fall of 2018.[23] The show debuted on September 28, 2018, and had its highest rating since season two.[24] The series ended in 2021 after 194 episodes.
From 2017 to 2018, Travis played Brendan Gleeson's ex-wife in the crime thriller series Mr. Mercedes. In 2018, Travis was cast as a female lead opposite Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin in the Netflix comedy series The Kominsky Method, created by Chuck Lorre.[25] In 2022, she returned to film, starring opposite Hilary Swank in the drama Ordinary Angels directed by Jon Gunn.[26] She next was cast in the Hallmark Channel Neo-Western drama series Ride playing the role of Isabel McMurray, the family matriarch.[27] The series was canceled after one season later that year.[28]
Personal life
In 1994, Travis married Robert N. Fried, the former president and CEO of Savoy Pictures and Founder and former CEO of Hallmark Movies Now (formerly known as SpiritClips and FeeIn). They have two sons: Benjamin E., and Jeremy. She starred in the 2007 short film Sally, featuring Benjamin and written by her husband.[29]
^ ab"Nancy Travis (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 3, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
