MIMI KENNEDY is a sought after American actress. Her acting career spans decades of television, theater and film. She recently wrapped her 8 year run on the hit Chuck Lorre comedy MOM on CBS. She garnered a Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series for her portrayal of Marjorie in Season 1 of MOM before becoming a series regular in Season 2. (Season 8 premiered on November 5th, 2020. It was announced in February that this would be the final season, with the series finale airing on May 13th. )This was the second pairing of Kennedy and Lorre; she played ‘Abby O’Neil’ on the hit television series DHARMA & GREG for five seasons. Dharma & Greg is currently available to stream on Hulu. All 8 seasons of MOM are currently airing in syndication and on multiple streaming platforms.
Born in Rochester, N.Y., Kennedy ignited her acting career on stage opposite TV legend Sid Caesar in Neil Simon’s “Last Of The Red Hot Lovers”, along with Doris Roberts, who became a friend and mentor. On “3 Girls 3”, a musical-variety mini-series with Debbie Allen and Ellen Foley, she played opposite Bob Hope, Carl Reiner, Flip Wilson, and Steve Martin (in his prime-time TV debut.) Regular TV series roles followed, as Stockard Channing’s sister In “Just Friends,” Co-starring with Peter Cook in “The Two of Us,” and as Jenna Elfman’s hippie mom in “Dharma & Greg.”
As Queen-B Ruth Sloan on “Homefront,” she netted another American Television Critics nomination, this time as Best Supporting Actress in a Drama. She recurred as CIA Director and House Minority Leader in HBO’s “The Brink” and “Veep,” respectively.
Her Broadway debut was as the Pink Lady Jan in the original run of “Grease.” She has performed the 1-woman play about newspaper advice columnist Ann Landers at Pasadena and Cleveland Playhouses. In 2013 she wrote and starred in a 1-woman play about suffragist and abolitionist Matilda Joslyn Gage.
Her most notable films include “In the Loop,” “Midnight in Paris,” “Pump Up the Volume,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Man in the Chair,” and “The Five-Year Engagement.” 2021 releases include the Tony Hale’s comedy “Eat Wheaties!” and the feel good film “Saving Paradise.”
A progressive grassroots leader, Kennedy unites nonviolence, world peace, and human rights with a focus on women and children. She is a nationally-respected activist on Election Integrity since 2004, advising both local and federal officials about improvements in election transparency, auditabity, accessibility and security.
Her memoir “Taken To The Stage” was praised for addressing the moral and psychological challenges of an acting career. She is currently updating it for paperback and audible release.
She lives in Los Angeles with her husband of 43 years, Larry Dilg, an English teacher and musician. They have two children and two grandchildren.
Her mid-life memoir, Taken To The Stage (Smith&Kraus,1996) is available in the shop and on Amazon. For a complete list of roles and career achievements visit Mimi Kennedy’s IMDB profile. Follow Mimi on Social Media on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
