Rhea Perlman

Rhea Perlman (born March 31, 1948, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.) is an American actress best known for her role as the wisecracking barmaid Carla Tortelli on the award-winning American television sitcom Cheers (1982–93).

Family and early career

Perlman is the eldest of two daughters born to Philip Perlman, a Polish immigrant who worked in the toy business, and Adele Perlman, a homemaker. The family lived in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. As a child, Perlman developed an interest in musicals, and she later majored in drama at New York City’s Hunter College. After graduating in 1968, she began auditioning for roles in plays while working as a waitress at the famed Rainbow Room restaurant in Rockefeller Center. One of her early credits was the Off-Off-Broadway play Dracula Sabbat (1970–71).

In 1970 Perlman attended a friend’s performance in the Off-Broadway play The Shrinking Bride and met an actor in the cast, Danny DeVito. Two weeks later they moved in together, and they eventually married (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. During this time DeVito was cast as the acerbic dispatcher Louie De Palma on the TV series Taxi (1978–83), which became hugely popular. Perlman was given a recurring role (1978–82) as Louie’s girlfriend Zena Sherman.

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Cheers

In 1982 Perlman began appearing in the role that would make her famous—the sarcastic, quick-witted barmaid Carla Tortelli in Cheers. Producer and cocreator James Burrows, who worked with Perlman on Taxi, chose her to play Carla, the source of many of the show’s best one-liners. The character works at a fictional Boston bar owned by a former MLB pitcher (played by Ted Danson), and the show follows the lives of the various employees and patrons. Cheers initially had low ratings, but it eventually caught on with viewers and is widely considered one of the best American sitcoms. During the show’s 11-year run, Perlman received 10 Emmy Award nominations for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series, and she won four times (1984–86 and 1989).

Perlman’s family was also involved in the show. Her younger sister, Heide Perlman, wrote and produced a number of episodes, and their father, Philip Perlman, appeared in 162 episodes of the series, playing various characters. While the show had numerous cast changes, Rhea Perlman remained on Cheers until it ended in 1993. She also played Carla in several other TV shows, including St. Elsewhere, The Simpsons, and Frasier, the last of which was a hugely popular Cheers spin-off series starring Kelsey Grammer. Perlman also appeared in an episode (1987) of the short-lived show The Tortellis, about Carla’s ex-husband.

Later credits

Perlman’s interest in child welfare was expressed in her involvement in such projects as the TV movie A Place to Be Loved (1993), about a child caught in the foster care system. In 1996–97 she starred in the sitcom Pearl, playing a widow who goes back to school. Perlman costarred with Cheers alum Kirstie Alley in Kirstie (2013–14), and she had a recurring role (2014–17) on The Mindy Project, a comedy starring Mindy Kaling as an ob-gyn. In addition, Perlman made guest appearances on numerous other TV shows, including Ally McBeal, Mom, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Accused, and Poker Face.

Perlman also continued to appear on the big screen. Her notable films include Michael Moore’s Canadian Bacon (1995), in which a U.S. president starts a cold war with Canada in order to boost his approval ratings, and the family-friendly Matilda (1996), an adaptation of the Roald Dahl book. The latter movie was directed by DeVito, and the couple played Matilda’s parents, the Wormwoods. Perlman later appeared with Diane Keaton in Poms (2019), about a cheerleading squad at a retirement community. In 2023 she had a supporting role in Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster Barbie, playing Ruth Handler, the real-life creator of the iconic toy doll. Perlman also lent her voice to the animated comedy Sing (2016).

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Personal life and other activities

In 2012, after 30 years of marriage and three children, Perlman and DeVito separated. They reconciled in 2013 but broke up again four years later. However, they remained close, and in 2023 she appeared with DeVito in an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a popular sitcom in which he starred.

In addition to acting, Perlman wrote the comedic children’s series Otto Undercover, about a young race car driver. The series includes Born to Drive (2006), Canyon Catastrophe (2006), Water Balloon Doom (2006), Toxic Taffy Takeover (2006), and The Brink of Ex-stink-tion (2007).