- Born
- Birth nameTessie Jean Washam
- Height5′ 4″ (1.63 m)
- Tess Harper attended Southwest Missouri State University, now known as Missouri State University, in Springfield, MO. During the late 1960s, she did "street" acting in the theme parks, Dogpatch, USA, in Jasper, AR, and Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. She was discovered while doing theater work in Dallas, TX. After being turned down at an audition for a Chuck Norris movie, Harper was recruited to come do a reading for "Tender Mercies" with Robert Duvall, for which she was selected to play the supporting role, earning her a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actress.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Jerry Bradley <jbrad@ipa.net>
- SpouseKen Harper(1971 - 1976) (divorced)
- ParentsRosemary Washam (Langston)Ed Washam
- She worked so hard to get rid of her Arkansas hillbilly accent and of course what does she often play... a country lady.
- She was involved with Southwest Missouri State University's Tent Theatre, in Springfield, Missouri, in the same summer as Kathleen Turner. SMSU's Tent Theatre has also had as some of its graduates John Goodman and a few others, presently on Broadway.
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