Born: September 21, 1961
Age: 63
Birthplace: New York City, New York, U.S.
Nancy Ann Travis (born September 21, 1961) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films Three Men and a Baby (1987) and its sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady (1990), Air America (1990), Internal Affairs (1990), So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), Greedy (1994), and Fluke (1995). She currently stars as Vanessa Baxter in the ABC sitcom Last Man Standing.
Travis was born in New York City, the daughter of Theresa, a social worker, and Gordon Travis, a sales executive. Travis was raised in Boston, Massachusetts, and Baltimore, Maryland. She was raised Catholic.
Travis' first job after graduating from high school was in a play, It's Hard to be a Jew, at The American Jewish Theatre in NYC. After that, Travis appeared in a stage version of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs and was a founding member of the Off-Broadway theater company Naked Angels. She appeared in their Frank Pugliese play Aven U-Boys, as well as in King of Connecticut. She made her Broadway debut in I'm Not Rappaport. She starred in Athol Fugard's My Children, My Africa.
Travis has had roles in many films, including Three Men and a Baby and its sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady, plus Air America and Internal Affairs (as the wife of Andy GarcĂa), So I Married an Axe Murderer as the bride of Mike Myers, thriller The Vanishing with Kiefer Sutherland, Greedy with Michael J. Fox, and in the action-comedy Destiny Turns on the Radio with Dylan McDermott. Others notable films include the 1995 box office bomb Fluke, 1996 Whoopi Goldberg's comedy Bogus, political comedy/drama Running Mates with Three Men and a Baby co-star Tom Selleck, 2001 drama film Auggie Rose, 2005 comedy The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and 2007 ensemble cast romantic drama The Jane Austen Book Club adapted from the 2004 novel of the same name by Karen Joy Fowler. She was featured in Chaplin opposite Robert Downey, Jr., portraying Joan Barry, the woman who filed a paternity suit against Chaplin.
Travis starred with Peter Gallagher and Isabella Rossellini in the Tom Cruise-directed episode of the Showtime series Fallen Angels in 1993. From 1995-1997, Travis played a leading role in the CBS sitcom Almost Perfect. The show was canceled after two seasons. In 1999 she starred in the short-lived TV series Work with Me, Travis was also a producer. Due to low ratings, the show was cancelled after four episodes.
Travis had the leading role of psychology professor Dr. Joyce Reardon in 2002's four-hour television adaptation of Stephen King's Rose Red. In 2002, Travis joined the cast of the CBS sitcom Becker as Chris Connor. She starred in the show for its final two seasons, replacing the series' original female lead, Terry Farrell. From 2007 to 2009 Travis appeared in the television sitcom The Bill Engvall Show as Bill's wife Susan. In 2009 she starred in the Hallmark Channel film Safe Harbor, about a happily married couple, Doug (Treat Williams) and Robbie Smith (Travis) about to retire and spend their days cruising the world on their sailboat. In 2010, she starred in TV films The Pregnancy Pact, In My Shoes and was a guest star in two episodes of Desperate Housewives. In 2011, she guest starred in the television series Grey's Anatomy and How I Met Your Mother.
In 2011, Travis was cast in the ABC sitcom Last Man Standing opposite Tim Allen. Travis also appeared in The CW medical drama series Hart of Dixie as Emmeline 'Mrs. H' Hattenbarger. On May 20, 2011, it was announced that Travis would not continue with the series due to her commitment with Last Man Standing. She was written out after the first two episodes.
In 1994, Travis married Robert N. Fried, the former president and CEO of Savoy Pictures and currently Founder & CEO of Feeln (formerly known as SpiritClips). They have two sons: Benjamin, born in 1998, and Jeremy, born in 2001. She starred in the 2007 short film Sally, featuring Benjamin and written by her husband.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1985 | Malice in Wonderland | Ann | Television film |
1986 | Harem | Jessica Gray | Television film |
1987 | Three Men and a Baby | Sylvia Bennington | |
1988 | Married to the Mob | Karen Lutnick | |
1988 | Eight Men Out | Lyra Williams | |
1988 | I'll Be Home for Christmas | Leah Bundy | |
1989 | How Much Is Really True? | Short film | |
1990 | Loose Cannons | Riva | |
1990 | Internal Affairs | Kathleen "Kathy" Avilla | |
1990 | Air America | Corinne Landreaux | |
1990 | Three Men and a Little Lady | Sylvia Bennington | |
1992 | Passed Away | Cassie Slocombe | |
1992 | Chaplin | Joan Barry | |
1993 | The Vanishing | Rita Baker | |
1993 | So I Married an Axe Murderer | Harriet Michaels | |
1994 | Greedy | Robin | |
1995 | Fluke | Carol Johnson | |
1995 | Lieberman in Love | Kate | Short film |
1995 | Destiny Turns on the Radio | Lucille | |
1995 | Body Language | Atty. Theresa Janice 'T.J.' Harlow | |
1996 | Bogus | Lorraine Franklin | |
1999 | My Last Love | Susan Morton | Also producer |
2000 | Running Mates | Jennifer 'Jenny' Pryce | Television film |
2000 | Beyond Suspicion | Carol | |
2005 | The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants | Lydia Rodman | |
2007 | The Jane Austen Book Club | Cat Harris | |
2007 | The Party Never Stops: Diary of a Binge Drinker | April Brenner | Television film |
2007 | Sally | Sally | Short film |
2009 | Safe Harbor | Robbie | Television film |
2010 | The Pregnancy Pact | Lorraine Dougan | Television film |
2010 | A Walk In My Shoes | Cindy/Trish | Television film |
2014 | Squatters | Carol | |
2014 | Dissonance | Bobbi | Short film |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Spenser: For Hire | Maggie Ellis | Episode: The Hopes and Fears |
1993 | Fallen Angels | Bette Allison | Episode: The Frightening Frammis |
1994 - 1997 | Duckman | Bernice / Beverly / Beatrice/Grandma-ma | 67 episodes, voice role |
1995 - 1997 | Almost Perfect | Kim Cooper | Series regular, 34 episodes |
1996 | The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest | Spencer | voice role |
1998 | Superman: The Animated Series | Darci Mason | 1 episode, voice role |
1999 | Work with Me | Julie Better | Series regular, 9 episodes, also producer |
2002 | Stephen King's Rose Red | Prof. Joyce Reardon | Miniseries |
2002 - 2004 | Becker | Chris Connor | Series regular, 39 episodes |
2007 - 2009 | The Bill Engvall Show | Susan Pearson | Series regular, 30 episodes |
2008 | Medium | Laura Swenson | Episode: Do You Hear What I Hear? |
2010 | Desperate Housewives | Dr. Mary Wagner | 2 episodes |
2011 | Grey's Anatomy | Alison | Episode: Not Responsible |
2011 | How I Met Your Mother | Cheryl | Episode: Legendaddy |
2011 | Hart of Dixie | Emmeline Hattenbarger (Mrs. H) | 2 episodes |
2011 - present | Last Man Standing | Vanessa Baxter | Series regular |