Marilu Henner

A vivacious red-haired actress known for her Midwestern sass, Marilu Henner starred in several Broadway plays like "Grease" before landing her career-defining role of tough New York cabbie Elaine Nardo on the classic sitcom "Taxi" (ABC, 1978-1983). Although Henner was never nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on the series, she was made an honorary New York cabbie and achieved through this one series, television immortality as the only female in a legendary ensemble cast. A popular fixture of tabloids for relationships with famous men like John Travolta, everyone's favorite guy's gal parlayed her sitcom success by co-starring in feature films like the campy favorite "Johnny Dangerously" (1984) and "Perfect" (1985) and guest-starring on innumerable television shows throughout the 1980s and into the next decade. She also parlayed her interest in health and fitness into a new career, co-writing Marilu Henner's Total Health Makeover in 1998 and continuing to churn out nonfiction healthy-lifestyle titles over the next several years. In addition to her viability as a health guru, her acting career flourished in the 1990s and into the millennium, during which time she played Burt Reynolds's wife on the popular CBS sitcom "Evening Shade" (1990-1994) and appeared as one of the more respectable contestants on "Celebrity Apprentice" (NBC, 2004- ). One of the few actresses who could be both beautiful and just 'one of the guys,' Henner's unique appeal helped make her one of the more admired television stars of her generation.