Lauren Tewes Biography

Lauren Tewes (born October 26, 1953) is an American actress, best known for her role on the television comedy anthology series The Love Boat, which originally aired during the 1970s and 1980s.

Early years

Cynthia Lauren Tewes was born October 26, 1953 in Braddock, Pennsylvania, and raised in Whittier, California, Tewes attended Pioneer High School and Rio Hondo College and also studied at the University of California, Riverside, where she won the 1st Annual Chancellor's Award for Excellence in the Theatre.

Career

Tewes made her stage debut in Arsenic and Old Lace at the Pacific Conservatory Theatre in California.

Tewes is best known for playing "Julie McCoy", the cruise director on the television comedy anthology series The Love Boat. She was chosen for the role over 100 other actresses.

During the early 1980s, Tewes had roles in plays such as Born Yesterday and Crimes of the Heart.

Tewes was replaced on The Love Boat in 1984 after a highly public battle with cocaine abuse (which she eventually overcame), although she did reprise her role as a guest in a 1985 episode. Shortly after conquering her drug addiction, Tewes was cast in the 1985 CBS sitcom pilot Anything for Love, along with Vicki Lawrence and Rebeca Arthur. The pilot aired as a special that summer, but did not get picked up as a series.

Tewes appeared in a 1998 episode of The Love Boat: The Next Wave, a revival of the original series. In 2000-2001, she had a recurring role as a police detective on The Fugitive.

Personal life

Tewes lives near Seattle, Washington, where she has appeared in regional theatre and voice-over work. Roles have included Mrs. Pearce in My Fair Lady at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle in 2003, and Karen Noone in Craig Lucas's Prayer for My Enemy at the Intiman Theatre in 2007. Tewes has had roles in radio dramas performed by Imagination Theater.

Tewes eventually went to culinary school and works as a caterer and a cheese steward in a Seattle WA, grocery store. "It was hard," she says, "but I learned a skill I have used as a backup." She gave up acting when her third husband died, but later returned to the stage for local productions. She's also done voiceovers.

Tewes married three times: John Wassel (1977-1981), Paolo Noonis (1986 - ?) and Bob Nadir (May 1, 1996 - Apr 25, 2002).