Wendy Thomas

About

Melinda Lou “Wendy” Thomas-Morse (born September 14, 1961) is the daughter of American businessman Dave Thomas, the founder of the fast food brand Wendy’s. She is the namesake and mascot of the brand. She uses the name Wendy Thomas in her role as a spokesperson for Wendy’s.

Thomas was born in Columbus, Ohio, grew up in Upper Arlington, and is the fourth child of Dave and Lorraine Thomas.
Her siblings couldn’t pronounce her name, so they started calling her Wenda, which then turned into Wendy. The eight-year-old would eventually become the namesake of her father’s restaurant Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers, or just “Wendy’s” for short. In addition to being the namesake, her likeness was used as the Wendy’s logo in the form of a young freckle-faced girl in red braids. Thomas graduated from the University of Florida in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in consumer behaviorism.

Thomas owned several Wendy’s restaurants near Dallas, Texas until 1999. After the death of her father Dave Thomas in 2002, she and her siblings bought restaurants in her native Columbus area. As of September 2010, Thomas herself owned or co-owned more than 30 Wendy’s stores…