Rhea Perlman

Rhea Perlman, born on March 31, 1948, in Brooklyn, New York, is an American actress best known for her role as the wisecracking barmaid Carla Tortelli on the award-winning television sitcom Cheers, which aired from 1982 to 1993. Over the course of 11 seasons, she was nominated for ten Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress, winning four, and was nominated for a record six Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series.

She has also appeared in films, including Canadian Bacon (1995), Matilda (1996), The Sessions (2012), Poms (2019), and Barbie (2023).

Rhea Perlman grew up in a Jewish family in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, with her parents Philip and Adele Perlman. Her father was a Polish-Jewish immigrant who worked as a manager at a doll parts factory, and her mother was a bookkeeper.

She has a sister, Heide Perlman, who is a television writer, story editor, and producer. Perlman studied drama at Hunter College in New York, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968.

Full Name	Rhea Perlman
Other Name	Rhea Jo Perlman
Gender	Female
Occupation	Actress/Author
Date of Birth	31-March-1948 (78 years)
Birth Year	1948
Birth Location	New York City, New York, U.S

She began her acting career with a small role as an attendant in the off-off-Broadway play Dracula Sabbat, which ran from September 1970 to June 1971. In 1972, she played a bit role in the film Hot Dogs for Gauguin and appeared in Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective's production of Up – An Uppity Revue, alongside her future husband, Danny DeVito.

One of her first notable parts was a recurring role on the television show Taxi as Zena, the sweet girlfriend of Louie De Palma (played by DeVito).

She met Danny DeVito in 1970 when she attended a friend's performance in the Off-Broadway play The Shrinking Bride. They moved in together two weeks later and eventually married in 1982.

The couple relocated to Los Angeles in 1976, and Perlman made her television debut that year, with minor roles in the TV movies Stalk the Wild Child and I Want to Keep My Baby! In 1979, she appeared in her first feature film, the little-seen comedy Swap Meet.

Her career took off when she landed the role of Carla Tortelli on Cheers in 1982. The series struggled with ratings in its first season but became one of the most popular and successful shows of all time by the time it ended in 1993, winning 20 Emmy awards out of 95 nominations.

She won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy four times: in 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1989. Over her 11 seasons on Cheers, she was nominated for an Emmy every year but 1992, becoming the Cheers star to have the most wins and nominations.

She has appeared in numerous films, including Canadian Bacon (1995), Matilda (1996), The Sessions (2012), Poms (2019), and Barbie (2023). She has also been involved in various television projects and continues to work in the entertainment industry.

Her personal life has been marked by her long-standing marriage to Danny DeVito, with whom she has three children: Lucy, Gracie, and Jake DeVito. Although the couple separated in 2012 and again in 2017, they reconciled in 2018 and renewed their wedding vows.