Biography for
Katey Sagal

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For over a decade, actress/singer Katey Sagal became synonymous with the vulgar, brazen, undomesticated "Peg Bundy" TV persona on "Married with Children" (1987). Somehow she managed to achieve the impossible by completely sidestepping the damaging stereotype with her portrayal of a much more responsible parent in her later sitcom, "8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter" (2002). Co-starring with the late John Ritter until his sudden passing in 2003, Katey valiantly moved front-and-center with successful results. Born Catherine Louise Sagal in 1954, her father was Boris Sagal, the noted TV and sometime film director (Girl Happy (1965) with Elvis Presley was one). He died tragically on May 22, 1981, while on the set for World War III (1982) (TV), when he accidentally walked into a helicopter rear rotor. Katey's mother, Sara Zwilling, was a director and singer who died in 1975 at the age of 47 from heart disease. A singer/songwriter who began performing by age 5, Katey studied voice and acting at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. A singing waitress during her "salad" years, she started up with a band, "The Group with No Name," and then caught a break after hooking up with Gene Simmons and his '70s rock band KISS. She went on to become a backup recording singer for Simmons and other established stars, including Etta James and Tanya Tucker. Katey also performed live backup with Bette Midler as one of the "Harlettes" in Bette's wildly avant garde stage shows during the late '70s and early '80s. After that, Katey started focusing on TV and film. In 1985, while performing on stage in a musical, she was spotted by talent agents who subsequently cast her as Mary Tyler Moore's feisty co-worker, "Jo Tucker," in "Mary" (1985), a short-lived comedy series. Her work on "Mary" (1985) helped her to get "Married with Children" (1987), and the rest is history. In an attempt to distance herself from the "Peg Bundy" image, Katey has over the years purposely turned to TV movies, appearing in such fare as 1998's _'Chance of a Lifetime'_ , a charming romantic comedy that also co-starred John Ritter, and 1999's _"God's New Plan'_, a tearjerker in which she played a dying mom. Her first marriage, to bass player Freddie Beckmeyer, ended in divorce after three years. A second to Jack White, who was involved in the "Mighty Ducks" hockey film series as both actor and adviser, also ended in divorce.

Spouse

Trade Mark

Her high and lilting voice

Trivia

Wore a wig for her role as Peg Bundy in "Married with Children" (1987).

Older sister of Liz Sagal, Jean Sagal and Joe Sagal.

Daughter of Boris Sagal.

She appeared in the music video and sang in the choir on the song "Voices That Care."

She has been a back-up singer for Bob Dylan, Bette Midler, Gene Simmons and Tanya Tucker.

Daughter Sarah Grace White was born 7 August 1994.

Son Jackson James White was born 1 March 1996.

Her mother was a Southern belle of English stock. Her father was a Russian-Jewish immigrant.

Step-granddaughter of Ernest Belcher.

Stepdaughter of Marge Champion.

Her father, Boris Sagal, was a director, and her mother was a singer.

Her sisters, Liz Sagal and Jean Sagal, are identical twins.

In a far cry from the red-wigged, stiletto-heeled "Peg Bundy" on "Married with Children" (1987), she plays a responsible sitcom parent "Cate Hennessey" on "8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter" (2002).

Released a second CD in June 2004 called "Room," a collection of pop originals and classics.

Her father, Boris Sagal, later married renowned dancer/choreographer Marge Champion after her mother's death.

Was hired to sing back-up for Bob Dylan during his 1978 tour but was fired (along with half the band) a week before it started up.

One of her "Peg Bundy" bras is located in the Frederick's of Hollywood Lingerie Museum in Hollywood. It was stolen during the 1993 riots, but was returned by the thieves after they discovered its value.

Her godfather is producer Norman Lear.

Her younger brother Joe Sagal appeared in a couple of "Married with Children" (1987) episodes.

In December of 1989, she miscarried her first baby in the second month of her pregnancy. A second child, born in October 1991, was stillborn. She missed several episodes of "Married with Children" (1987) at the time of her second loss while recovering. The pregnancy had been incorporated into earlier episodes but after the tragedy was later dismissed as a "bad dream.".

Her older brother David is a lawyer. He studied at Harvard.

At the auditions of Married...With Children, it was her own idea of dressing up Peggy by wearing clothes from the 50s.

Parodied her role of Peg via a similarly attired character in the "Futurama" (1999) episode "A Bicyclops Built for Two.".

She and her husband, writer-producer Kurt Sutter, welcomed their first child, daughter Esmé Louise Sutter, on January 10, 2007.

Daughter Esmé Louise Sutter was born via surrogate.

Personal Quotes

"It was never about sort of being famous. I just wanted to be good at what I did."

"It isn't often that an actress gets to spend so much time on ONE job. In the acting business, you usually go from one thing to another.''

[on being an older mom] My thing about having another child was, time's-a-wasting! I thought about being an older parent and what that means for another child, but I was somewhat of an older parent when I had Sarah and Jackson in my late 30s. I have an enormous family with many cousins, and Esmé has an older brother and sister. So, I felt it was okay to do this.

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