Thomas, Marlo (1943—)

Marlo Thomas will always be best remembered as the naively innocent and exhaustingly enthusiastic Ann Marie of the television show That Girl (1966-1971). One of the first series to present an unmarried female pursuing anything other than a husband, it was more traditional than it claimed. Although the show made a great deal of the fact that she was an aspiring actress living on her own in New York City, both Ann's father and her ever-present boyfriend were just a phone call away when she found herself in one of her never-ending predicaments. Moreover, she was seldom seen auditioning and worked at only low-paying temporary jobs suitable for women of the period. Despite her inability to find a reliable source of income, she somehow managed to live in a three-room apartment in a good neighborhood in New York City and dress in the height of fashion.

After the series ended Thomas became a producer and in that capacity won Emmy Awards for her work on Marlo and Friends in Free to Be … You and Me and The Body Human: Facts for Girls. She won a third Emmy for her role in Nobody's Child (1986). She has also been a strong advocate for a variety of women's causes. In 1980, Thomas married talk-show host Phil Donahue.

Further Reading:

Atholl, Desmond and Michael Cherkinian. That Girl and Phil. New York, St. Martin's Press, 1990.

O'Donnell, Monica M., editor. Contemporary Theatre, Film, & Television. New York, Gale Research, 1986.