Early life

Richardson was born in Bethesda, Maryland as the third daughter of Mary Elizabeth (née Howard) and Laurence Baxter Richardson. Her sisters' names are Marianna 'Ann' Bales (née Richardson), Lynn Richardson and Catherine 'Cathy' Moseley (née Richardson). Her father was a corporate executive and retired naval officer. Richardson attended the Holton-Arms School in Maryland and then The Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas. She is a 1973 graduate of Southern Methodist University, where she was friends with classmates Beth Henley and Stephen Tobolowsky, who was slated to be a cast member of Home Improvement but had other contractual commitments when the series began filming. Tobolowsky initially suggested to producers of Home Improvement that Richardson be considered for the role of Jill Taylor after Frances Fisher was deemed too serious for the role.

Career

Richardson began as an understudy in Angela Lansbury's Broadway production of Gypsy: A Musical Fable, eventually playing several parts. Early on, she played roles in programs such as Double Trouble, The Equalizer, Quantum Leap, and Kate & Allie. She appeared in one episode of The Cosby Show in the third season. Richardson also appeared in the films C.H.U.D. and You Better Watch Out.

In 1991, Richardson landed her breakout role in ABC comedy series Home Improvement after Frances Fisher tested poorly in the role of Jill Taylor. Richardson received four Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations in this role. After Home Improvement fame, she appeared in several made-for-TV films and won an Independent Spirit nomination in 1997 for her first major theatrical film role in Ulee's Gold.

In 2002, Richardson was cast as new lead in the Lifetime medical drama series Strong Medicine, as Dr. Andy Campbell (née March). She replaced Janine Turner, who left the show. The series ended in 2005. She later was cast in a recurring role as Sheila Brooks, campaign director for Republican presidential candidate Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) in the final two seasons of NBC political drama The West Wing.

Richardson appeared in the first season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2008, Ms. Richardson was the executive producer of the video documentary Long Story Short, which tells the story of Larry and Trudie Long, a popular Asian American nightclub act of the '40s and '50s, told through the eyes of their daughter, actress Jodi Long. In 2010, she appeared in an NBC made-for-TV film, The Jensen Project, and in 2011, she appeared in the Lifetime TV film Bringing Ashley Home, also starring AJ Cook and Jennifer Morrison. In 2011, she starred in the coming-of-age film Beautiful Wave and in the following year appeared as Lola in the Hallmark Channel TV film Smart Cookies. In 2012 Richardson filmed the film Avarice, which was released on 8 August 2013. In 2013, Richardson taped two movies for the Hallmark channel. The first one was Friend Request which was released on October 5, 2013, the second one being Snow Bride which was released on 9 November 2013.

On the Season 4 Episode 12 episode of Last Man Standing entitled 'Helen Potts', Richardson guest-starred as the titular character and reunited with her former Home Improvement co-star, Tim Allen. At the end of the episode 'Helen Potts', it was revealed that one of her son's name is Randy, who was portrayed by her other Home Improvement co-star; Jonathan Taylor Thomas.

In 2015 she ran for the position of national president of the SAG-AFTRA after having served on the board for many years. She lost the election to Ken Howard.

Personal life

Richardson married fellow actor Ray Baker in 1982. They had three children together: Henry Richardson Baker (born on February 22, 1985), and twins Roxanne Elizabeth Baker and Joseph Castle Baker (born on January 3, 1991), before they got divorced in August 1995. Richardson is the godmother of actress Betty Gilpin, the daughter of actor Jack Gilpin.

Richardson had a long-term relationship with retired psychologist Dr. Mark Cline, whom she had met when they were both students at the Southern Methodist University. When she joined the cast of Strong Medicine, Richardson mentioned in an interview they lived together in her LA home. Details about when or why they broke up were never revealed.

She has also served as a spokeswoman for "Cure PSP", a website that tries to raise awareness of progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration, and multiple system atrophy, as her father died from the disease in 2005.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	You Better Watch Out	Moss' mother
1984	C.H.U.D.	Ad Woman
1986	Yuri Nosenko, KGB	Joan Black	Television movie
1987	Hands of a Stranger	Helen	Television movie
1989	The Parent Trap III	Cassie McGuire	Television movie
1989	Lost Angels	Cheryl's Mother
1989	In Country	Cindy
1996	Sophie & the Moonhanger	Bonnie Edgerton	Television movie
1996	Undue Influence	Laurel Vega	Television movie
1997	Ulee's Gold	Connie Hope	Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
2001	Blonde	Gladys Baker
2001	Viva Las Nowhere	Helen/Wanda
2005	Candy Paint	Linda Miller	Short film
2007	California Dreaming	Aunt Bonnie
2009	Lost Dream	Patricia
2010	The Jensen Project	Ingrid	Television movie
2011	Beautiful Wave	Sue
2011	Bringing Ashley Home	Michelle McGee	Television movie
2012	Smart Cookies	Lola	Television movie
2013	Avarice	Claire
2013	Snow Bride	Maggie Tannenhill	Television movie

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Love, Sidney	N/A	Episode: "A Piece of the Rock"
1984	Double Trouble	Beth McConnell	8 episodes
1985	ABC Weekend Special	Pamela Sawyer	Episode: "The Adventures of Con Sawyer and Hucklemary Finn"
1985	Kate & Allie	Pamela	Episode: "The Reunion"
1986	Spenser: For Hire	Sarah Cabot	Episode: "Shadowsight"
1987	The Cosby Show	Mrs. Schrader	Episode: "Calling Doctor Huxtable"
1987	The Equalizer	Sandy	Episode: "In the Money"
1988	Eisenhower and Lutz	Kay 'K.K.' Dunne	13 episodes
1989	Quantum Leap	Rachel Porter	Episode: "Good Morning, Peoria - September 9, 1959"
1989-1990	FM	Lee-Ann Plunkett	13 episodes
1991-1999	Home Improvement	Jill Taylor	202 episodes Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Female TV Performer Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Series Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Comedy Series
1999	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Annabel Hayes	Episode: "Wanderlust"
2002-2005	Strong Medicine	Dr. Andy Campbell	59 episodes Nominated—Prism Award for Best Performance in a Drama Series
2005-2006	The West Wing	Sheila Brooks	9 episodes
2015-2016	Last Man Standing	Helen Potts	2 Episodes "Helen Potts", "Tanks For The Memories"

Charities

Patricia Richardson supports the following charitable causes: Cancer, Women's Issues, Breast Cancer.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]