Valerie Harper was born in Suffren, New York. She began her career as a dancer with the Corps de Ballet at Radio City Music Hall and gradually moved into acting, working in everything from industrial shows to regional theatre to the Second City comedy troupe of Chicago. She made it to Broadway in productions of King Lear, Something Different, Metamorphosis, and the Tony award winning Story Theatre. She was nominated for a Tony award for her role in Looped.
Eventually, she transitioned to television and found stardom on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," for which she received two Golden Globe nominations and won three Emmy® Awards as Rhoda Morgenstern. She was again nominated for three Golden Globe awards and won an Emmy® Award for her show lead role on "Rhoda."
Her feature films include "Chapter Two," "Freebie and the Bean," and "The Last Married Couple in America."
Harper recently guest starred on "Desperate Housewives" and "Drop Dead Diva." She has also guest starred on "’Til Death," "Committed," "That ‘70s Show," "Sex and the City," "Touched by an Angel" and "Melrose Place."
