Judith Ellen Light (born February 9, 1949) is an American actress and producer. She is a two-time Tony Award winner.

Light made her professional stage debut in 1970, before making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of A Doll's House. Her breakthrough role was in the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live from 1977 to 1983, where she played the role of Karen Wolek. For this role, she won two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She later starred as Angela Bower in the long-running ABC sitcom Who's the Boss? from 1984 to 1992, and later starred in many television films and short-lived series. She played the recurring role of Elizabeth Donnelly in the NBC legal crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2002–2010) and Claire Meade in the ABC comedy-drama Ugly Betty (2006–2010), for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 2007.

She received her first nomination for a Tony Award in 2011, for her performance in the original Broadway play Lombardi. In 2012 and 2013, Light won two consecutive Tony Awards for Best Featured Actress in a Play, for her performances in Other Desert Cities and The Assembled Parties. From 2013 to 2014, Light played the role of villainous Judith Brown Ryland in the TNT drama series, Dallas. In 2014, she began starring as Shelly Pfefferman in the Amazon Studios critically acclaimed dark comedy-drama, Transparent for which she received Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy, and Critics' Choice Television Award nominations.

Early life Light was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the daughter of Pearl Sue (née Hollander), a model, and Sidney Light, an accountant. Light graduated from high school in 1966 at St. Mary's Hall–Doane Academy in Burlington, New Jersey. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in drama. She recalled the university as "rigorous" and "amazing". Afterwards, she started out on stage, making her professional debut in Richard III at the California Shakespeare Festival in 1970.

Personal life Family Light is Jewish. She has been married to television actor Robert Desiderio since 1985, when they met while co-starring on One Life to Live. They have no children, and reside in California. She speaks French fluently.

Activism Light is a gay rights activist and helped former Who's the Boss? co-star Danny Pintauro in coming out. She has done work for many LGBT charities. She sits on the board of the Matthew Shepard Foundation and spoke at the 1993 March on Washington. In 1998, she had a library named after her at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.

She is also a prominent AIDS activist and played Ryan White's mother in the 1989 TV movie on his life The Ryan White Story. Also, she sits on the board of Point Foundation, a LGBT organization that provides financial support, mentoring, leadership training and hope to meritorious students who are or feel marginalized due to sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

On April 1, 2010, Judith Light joined Cyndi Lauper in the launch of her Give a Damn campaign to bring a wider awareness of discrimination of the LGBT community as part of her True Colors Fund. The campaign is to bring straight people to stand up with the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community and stop the discrimination. Other names included in the campaign are Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Mraz, Elton John, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Kardashian, Clay Aiken, Sharon Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

Judith Light Actress - Date of Birth 9 February 1949, Trenton, New Jersey, USA

Height 5' 7" (1.7 m)

Mini Bio (1) Judith Light was born February 9, 1949 in Trenton, New Jersey to Pearl Sue and Sidney Light. Judith later graduated from St. Mary's Hall-Doane Academy in Burlington, New Jersey, and later enrolled at Carnegie-Mellon University, where she earned a degree in drama. With several television appearances, perhaps Judith is best remembered as Angela Bower in the 1980's sitcom Who's the Boss? (1984).

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anthony Ronald Vario

Spouse (1) Robert Desiderio (1 January 1985 - present)

Trade Mark (1) Her deep-set eyes

Attended Carnegie Mellon University, graduated 1971.

Attended St. Mary's Hall in Burlington, New Jersey.

One of her performances on One Life to Live (1968) - "Karen Wolek on the Stand" - was so powerful and is remembered so vividly that, to this day, it is used as a model in acting classes throughout the nation. Additionally, it was recently honored as being one of TV Guide's "100 Most Memorable Moments on Television."

While on One Life to Live (1968) Judith won two Emmys, two Soapy Awards and a Soap Opera Hall of Fame Award.

For her outstanding performance in the off-Broadway tour of "Wit", Judith received the Helen Hayes Award in Washington, DC, as well as the Elliot Norton Award in Boston.

Shaved her head completely to star as Vivian Bearing (a literary academic dying of ovarian cancer) in the off-Broadway show, "Wit", in 1999.

Met her husband Robert Desiderio when they were both on the soap opera One Life to Live (1968).

She stated the reason she never had children wasn't because she didn't want them, it was because if she wanted to have children she wanted to be a full-time mother and with an acting career she wouldn't have been able to do that.

As a strong supporter of gay rights, she and husband Robert Desiderio honored with the Matthew Shepard Foundation's 1st Annual "Making a Difference" Award for their Longstanding Commitment to Erase Hate.

She is the only child of Sue and Sidney Light.

Friend of Jill Eikenberry and Tony Danza.

Born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey, her parents nurtured her interest in acting throughout her childhood and supported her decision to study in a summer program at Carnegie-Mellon University between her junior and senior years of high school. This experience prompted her to enroll in that institution where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

She played "Jeanne White" in the the made-for-TV movie The Ryan White Story (1989). She also spoke at the 20th anniversary of Ryan's death at Clowes Hall.

Nominated for 2013 [Tony Award]] as Best Featured Actress for her role in Richard Greenberg's drama, "The Assembled Parties", on stage at the Samuel E. Friedman Theatre/Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City.

For three straight years she has been nominated for Broadway's Tony award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play, and has won twice for "Other Desert Cities" (2012) and "The Assembled Parties" (2013).

Is only three years older than Mitch Pileggi but plays his mother on Dallas (2012).

Is an only child. Ironically, Danny Pintauro, who played her son on Who's the Boss? (1984), is an only child, as well.

Personal Quotes (1) Acting is no mere translation or abstraction from life, it is life itself. - her senior yearbook quote