Jenny O’Hara

About

Jenny O’Hara (born February 24, 1942) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in My Sister Sam (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in The King of Queens (2001–2007), and Nita in Big Love (2006–2009).

O’Hara was born in Sonora, California. Her father, John B. O’Hara, was a salesman, and her mother, Edith (Hopkins) O’Hara, was a journalist and drama teacher, who founded and continued to run the 13th Street Repertory Company in New York City for many years before her death at age 103 in 2020. Jenny, her singer/actress younger sister Jill O’Hara, and her singer/guitarist brother Jack O’Hara, grew up amid their mother’s pursuit of a theatrical career. John and Edith O’Hara eventually divorced. Jenny O’Hara debuted on stage at age 5 at the Bushkill Playhouse in the Poconos.

In 1964 O’Hara appeared on Broadway in the dramatic play Dylan. In 1969 she appeared in the musical The Fig Leaves Are Falling. Her other Broadway credits include Promises, Promises, The Iceman Cometh, and The Odd Couple.
In 1970, O’Hara succeeded her younger sister, Jill (who had been nominated for a Tony Award) in the musical
Promises, Promises. She graduated…