Patricia Castle Richardson (born February 23, 1951) is an American television and film actress known for her role as Jill Taylor on Home Improvement.

Biography

Personal life

Richardson was born in Bethesda, Maryland, the daughter of Mary Elizabeth (née Howard) and Lawrence Baxter Richardson, who was a corporate executive and retired naval officer. Richardson attended the Holton-Arms School in Maryland and then the Hockaday School for Girls in Dallas, Texas. She is a 1973 graduate of Southern Methodist University, where she was friends with classmates Beth Henley and Stephen Tobolowsky.

She is divorced from actor Ray Baker, with whom she has children. Roxy & Joe


Career

Richardson began as an understudy in Angela Lansbury's Broadway production of Gypsy: A Musical Fable, eventually playing several parts. With early roles in programs such as Double Trouble, The Equalizer, and Quantum Leap, Richardson also appeared in the films C.H.U.D. and You Better Watch Out before finding her break-out part in 1991 as Jill Taylor in Home Improvement.

She received four Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations in this role. After Home Improvement she appeared in several made-for-TV movies and won an Independent Spirit nomination in 1997 for her first major theatrical film role in Ulee's Gold.

She played Annabel Hayes in the episode "Wanderlust" (Season 1, Episode 5) of the crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit which initially aired on October 18, 1999. In 2002 she replaced Janine Turner on the Lifetime medical drama Strong Medicine as Dr. Andy Campbell, a role she held until 2005.

The final two seasons of The West Wing featured Richardson in a recurring role as campaign director for Republican presidential candidate Arnold Vinick, played by Alan Alda, continuing until the end of the series in 2006.





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