Charlotte Rae
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Born Name:
Charlotte Rae Lubotsky
Born Date: April 22, 1926
Born Place: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Died Date: August 5, 2018
Died Place: Los Angeles, California
Occupations: Actress, comedian, singer
Brief Biography: Charlotte Rae was beloved for her iconic role as the wise and warm-hearted housekeeper Edna Garrett on Diff'rent Strokes and its hit spin-off The Facts of Life. Her six-decade career spanned award-winning Broadway stage performances, early television comedy, and musical recordings.
Education:
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Russian Jewish immigrants, her mother was a childhood friend of future Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. Rae attended Shorewood High School and later Northwestern University, where she befriended future star Cloris Leachman. She dropped out of college and relocated to New York City in 1948 to pursue a career in stage acting and comedy.
Career Highlights:
Although she initially trained as a dramatic actress, Rae found her niche in comedy. She began making waves in the 1950s on Broadway and television, performing in acclaimed plays like The Threepenny Opera and Pickwick (which earned her a Tony Award nomination). Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, she established herself as a prolific character actress, regularly appearing on Car 54, Where Are You?, Sesame Street, and All in the Family. Her defining television role came in 1978 when she was cast as Mrs. Garrett in Diff'rent Strokes. The character proved so popular that it led to The Facts of Life in 1979, a show she led until 1986. Her performance on The Facts of Life earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 1982.
Later Life and Legacy:
After leaving The Facts of Life, Rae continued to work actively on television, doing voice work for animated series like 101 Dalmatians: The Series and making guest appearances on shows like ER and Girl Meets World. She also released an autobiography, The Facts of My Life (co-written with her son Larry Strauss), and made her final film appearance in the 2015 feature film Ricki and the Flash.
Born Date: April 22, 1926
Born Place: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Died Date: August 5, 2018
Died Place: Los Angeles, California
Occupations: Actress, comedian, singer
Brief Biography: Charlotte Rae was beloved for her iconic role as the wise and warm-hearted housekeeper Edna Garrett on Diff'rent Strokes and its hit spin-off The Facts of Life. Her six-decade career spanned award-winning Broadway stage performances, early television comedy, and musical recordings.
Education:
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Russian Jewish immigrants, her mother was a childhood friend of future Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. Rae attended Shorewood High School and later Northwestern University, where she befriended future star Cloris Leachman. She dropped out of college and relocated to New York City in 1948 to pursue a career in stage acting and comedy.
Career Highlights:
Although she initially trained as a dramatic actress, Rae found her niche in comedy. She began making waves in the 1950s on Broadway and television, performing in acclaimed plays like The Threepenny Opera and Pickwick (which earned her a Tony Award nomination). Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, she established herself as a prolific character actress, regularly appearing on Car 54, Where Are You?, Sesame Street, and All in the Family. Her defining television role came in 1978 when she was cast as Mrs. Garrett in Diff'rent Strokes. The character proved so popular that it led to The Facts of Life in 1979, a show she led until 1986. Her performance on The Facts of Life earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 1982.
Later Life and Legacy:
After leaving The Facts of Life, Rae continued to work actively on television, doing voice work for animated series like 101 Dalmatians: The Series and making guest appearances on shows like ER and Girl Meets World. She also released an autobiography, The Facts of My Life (co-written with her son Larry Strauss), and made her final film appearance in the 2015 feature film Ricki and the Flash.