Early life and career

Duffy was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Mary Katherine (Duffy), a real estate agent, and Joseph Hinds. Her early career included parts in soap operas such as One Life to Live, The Doctors and Love of Life. Duffy also appeared in movies such as Night Warning (1981) and Cutter's Way (1981). She made an appearance on the television sitcom Cheers during the show's first season in 1982; she had been considered for the role of Diane Chambers, the sitcom's female lead.

In 1983, she played Princess Ariel Baaldorf in the medieval spoof Wizards and Warriors, which had a short run on the CBS television network.

Duffy joined the main cast of the sitcom Newhart during its second season in 1983. She had initially made an appearance in the fourteenth episode of the first season of the series, playing the part of Dick Loudon's (played by Bob Newhart) self-infatuated preppy maid Stephanie Vanderkellen. It is perhaps her most popular role and one she played for seven seasons. She earned Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the role every year from 1984 through 1990. She also received a Golden Globe nomination and won three Viewers For Quality Television Awards for her work. Julia was actually pregnant during several episodes of Newhart. To hide it, she wore baggy clothes and stood behind furniture.

After the end of Newhart in 1990, Duffy briefly starred in the sitcom Baby Talk alongside George Clooney, but because of her low ratings, the series was retooled and Duffy was replaced by Mary Page Keller. She worked again with Clooney some years later in the Coen Brothers' comedy Intolerable Cruelty. In 1991, she joined the cast of Designing Women, essentially replacing Delta Burke, the show's breakout star, who was fired after quarrels with producers. Duffy played Allison Sugarbaker, Burke and Dixie Carter's previously unseen cousin on the show. Duffy's tenure on the sitcom's sixth season turned out to be the highest-rated season in the show's history, partly because of the highly publicized cast additions of Duffy and Jan Hooks. However, because of the negative public and critical backlash to the snobbish portrayal of Duffy's character on the series, she was released from her contract and she was not asked to return for the show's seventh and final season, thus leading her to be replaced by Judith Ivey.

From 1993 to 1995, Duffy played Barb Ballantine on the short-lived comedy series The Mommies. Duffy played Lindsay Mercer, one of the failed buyers of Winfred-Lauder and the ex-wife of "Lord Mercer" on The Drew Carey Show. She has a recurring role on the Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh as Linda Hayfer, a high school English teacher who despises Drake. She appeared on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as the rich mother of Jason, a boy who goes on a date with Maddie Fitzpatrick (Ashley Tisdale).

She made a brief appearance in the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP as the owner of a stage that LuLu wanted to rent.

On September 19, 2014 Julia appeared on Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor Podcast.

Personal life

Duffy graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in 1972. She has been married since 1984 to actor Jerry Lacy, co-star of Dark Shadows and Love of Life, and has 2 children, Kerry Kathleen and Daniel. They live in Los Angeles.

Filmography

[ Source: Wikipedia ]