Career

Conn made her debut as an actress in the 1960s. Her notable characters since the 1970s, when she first became prominent, include:

• Laurie Robinson in You Light Up My Life, 1977 (for which Kasey Cisyk provided the character's singing voice)
• "Frenchy" in the feature films Grease (1978) and Grease 2 (1982)
• Helen on The Practice (1976-77)
• Denise Stevens Downey on Benson (1981-85)
• Stacy Jones on Shining Time Station (1989-95)

Conn provided the voice for Raggedy Ann in the animated feature Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1977) directed by Richard Williams. Her voice is one of her trademarks. She appeared as a celebrity guest on game shows like Match Game, The $20,000 $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramids, Chain Reaction, and Go.

In 2013, she starred as "Pearl" in the play A Heap of Livin' by Elliot Shoenman, at The Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles.

In January 2016, she had a cameo as Vi in the Grease: Live television special on Fox.

Activism

Conn's son Daniel was diagnosed with autism. On November 13, 2008, she was named national celebrity spokesperson for Autism Speaks. Before that, she was a spokesperson for the National Alliance for Autism Research, now part of Autism Speaks. She has performed at benefits for Foundation for Educating Children with Autism (FECA).

On September 27, 2008, Conn performed with David Shire and Lynne Wintersteller at a benefit performance for Barack Obama in Nyack, New York.

Personal life

"Didi" was her childhood nickname. She attended Midwood High School. Her brother is opera singer Richard Bernstein. She married her first husband Frank Conn in 1975 and they divorced in 1978. She has been married to composer David Shire since 1982, with whom she has a son, Daniel Shire, who has been diagnosed with autism. Conn is the stepmother to Matthew Shire, a Los Angeles screenwriter.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	Genesis II	TV Actress	Television film
1975	Happy Days	Joyce	Episode: "Kiss Me Sickly"
1975	Keep on Truckin'	Herself	4 episodes
1975	The Rookies	Young Woman	Episode: "Measure of Mercy"
1976-77	The Practice	Helen	27 episodes
1977	Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure	Raggedy Ann
1977	You Light Up My Life	Laurie Robinson
1978	Three on a Date	Eve Harris	Television film
1978	Murder at the Mardi Gras	Julie Evans	Television film
1978	Grease	Frenchy
1978	Almost Summer	Donna DeVito
1980	Semi-Tough	Kiki	Episode: "One Bad Apple"
1980-81	The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang	Cupcake (voice)	24 episodes
1981	Violet	Violet	Short film
1981-85	Benson	Denise Stevens Downey	72 episodes
1982	American Playhouse	Receptionist	Episode: "Working"
1982	Grease 2	Frenchy
1983	The Magic Show	Cal
1983	The Love Boat	Jenny	Episode: "The Last Case/Looking for Mr. Wilson/Love on Strike"
1984	ABC Weekend Specials	Dimples (voice)	Episode: "Bad Cat"
1985	Hotel	Patty Maloney	Episode: "Sleeping Dogs"
1985	Star Fairies	Spice (voice)	Television film
1985	The Jetsons	Cousin Melissa	Episode: "Judy Takes Off"
1987	Cagney & Lacey	Roswell	Episode: "Waste Deep"
1987	Highway to Heaven	Wanda, Birdy Belker	Episodes: "All That Glitters", "Ghost Rider"
1989-95	Shining Time Station	Stacy Jones	65 episodes
1990	Shining Time Station: 'Tis a Gift	Stacy Jones	TV special
1992	Civil Wars	Hilary Schoenfeld	Episode: "Till Debt Do Us Part"
1993	A Flintstone Family Christmas	Stella (voice)	TV special
1994	L.A. Law	Penny Tressman	Episode: "He Ain't Guilty, He's My Brother"
1995	Shining Time Station: Once Upon a Time	Stacy Jones	TV special
1995	Shining Time Station: Second Chances	Stacy Jones	TV special
1995	Shining Time Station: One of the Family	Stacy Jones	TV special
1995	Shining Time Station: Queen for a Day	Stacy Jones	TV special
2000	Thomas and the Magic Railroad	Stacy Jones
2002	Frida	Waitress
2003	Stanley	Mrs. Goldberg (voice)	Episode: "Going-Away Goose/Time to Climb!"
2003	The Wild Thornberrys	Muskox #2 (voice)	Episode: "Clash and Learn"
2005	Shooting Vegetarians	Patrice
2006	Helen at Risk	Helen	Short film
2008	Oh Baby!	David's Mom
2008-10	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Nurse	Episodes: "Authority", "Persona", "Behave"
2011	Gigantic	Didi Conn	Episode: "Scramble"
2012	Didi Lightful	Didi Lightful (voice)	Short film
2015	Transparent	Joyce Feldman	Episode: "The Book of Life"
2016	The Call	Corrine	Short film
2016	Grease: Live	Vi	TV special
2016	Paper Dreams	Marianna	Post-production

[ Source: Wikipedia ]