The older daughter of a theater-loving mother (who would follow her two children to NYC and found the Thirteenth Street Repertory Company), Jenny O'Hara got her first big break in the touring company for "Brecht on Brecht", appearing with the legendary Lotte Lenya. She made her Broadway debut as one of Dylan Thomas' lovers in the biographical play "Dylan" and her Broadway singing debut in "The Fig Leaves Are Falling", directed by George Abbott, before succeeding younger sister Jill in the role of Fran Kubelik in "Promises, Promises". She also played Sylvie in the female version of Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple" and acted in a revival of Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh", among her other Broadway productions.
Primarily a supporting player in TV and movies, although she did star opposite Larry Hagman in NBC's "The Return of the World's Greatest Detective" (1976), O'Hara portrayed Emily Mahoney during the first season (1979-80) of "The Facts of Life" (NBC) and was a series regular as Pam Dawber's loyal assistant on "My Sister Sam" (CBS, 1986-87). Numerous guest spots on series like "Murphy Brown", "Law & Order", "ER" and "The Drew Carey Show" preceded her landing the regular role of Lottie, Sue Murphy's tough, unsentimental working class mother in the short-lived Fox sitcom "Costello" (1998). Among her feature film credits are "Heart Beat" (1979, her debut), "Angie" (1994, with Geena Davis) and "Wes Craven's Wishmaster" (1997). O'Hara also enjoyed a recurring role on CBS' daytime drama "As the World Turns", paired opposite her writer-actor husband Nick Ullett.
Family
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Brother: John Burton O'Hara Jr. born in December 1947; his band, Eggs Over Easy, credited with introducing trend to England of bands playing in pubs
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Daughter: Sophie Ullett. born c. 1988
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Daughter: Zoe Ullett. born c. 1990
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Father: John B O'Hara. died c. 1993
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Mother: Edith O'Hara. founded Thirteenth Street Repertory Company (home of the longest-running off-off-Broadway play, Israel Horowitz's "Line") in 1972
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Sister: Jill O'Hara. born c. 1945; earned Tony nomination for "Promises, Promises" and succeeded in role by Jenny; released self-titled album "Jill O'Hara" c. 1998
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Step-son: Luke Ullett. born in April 1971
Education
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Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Milestones
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1964 Broadway debut, "Dylan"
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1967 Broadway musical debut, "The Fig Leaves Are Falling", directed by George Abbott
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1971 Acted role of Fran Kubelik (originated by sister Jill) in "Promises, Promises" on Broadway
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1976 Starred opposite Larry Hagman in NBC movie, "The Return of the World's Greatest Detective"
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1979 Acted in CBS movie "Letters From Frank", in which her fellow family members included Art Carney, Maureen Stapleton, Mike Farrell, Lew Ayres and Margaret Hamilton
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1979 Feature debut, "Heart Beat"
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1979 Played Emily Mahoney during first season of "The Facts of Life" (NBC)
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1980 Regular on short-lived primetime soaper, "Secrets of Midland Heights" (CBS)
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1984 Portrayed Sylvie in Los Angeles stage production of the female version of Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple"
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1985 Reprised "Odd Couple" role on Broadway; also understudied leading roles
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1994 Acted in Martha Coolidge's feature "Angie"
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1996 Appeared in "An Unexpected Family" and its sequel "An Unexpected Life" (1998) on the USA Network
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1996 Portrayed Margaret Desmond in NBC movie, "Robin Cook's 'Terminal'"
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1998 Had regular role as Lottie, Sue Murphy's tough, unsentimental working class mother, in the Fox sitcom "Costello"
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First big break, touring company production of "Brecht on Brecht", appearing with Lotte Lenya
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Had recurring role as Thelma, a secretary who was romanced by a butler (played by real-life husband Nick Ullett) on the CBS daytime drama "As the World Turns"
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Made guest appearances on episodes of "Murphy Brown", "L.A. Law", "Empty Nest", "Law & Order" and "Beverly Hills, 90210"
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Played Pam Dawber's loyal assistant Dixie Randazzo in "My Sister Sam" (NBC)
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Raised in towns primarily in upstate New York and in Pennsylvania