Harriet Sansom Harris

Harriet Sansom Harris (born January 8, 1955) is an American actress known for her theater performances and for her portrayals of Bebe Glazer on Frasier and Felicia Tilman on Desperate Housewives.

Harris won a Tony Award in 2002 as a Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in Thoroughly Modern Millie. In addition to television and theater, she has made various film appearances, including Memento, Addams Family Values, Nurse Betty, and Phantom Thread.

Early life Harris was born in Fort Worth, Texas, one of three children. On her mother's side, she is a descendant of one of the brothers of Marion Sansom, a 20th-century rancher and civic leader. Sansom Park is named after him. She began acting as a youngster, attending Arlington Heights High School. She attended Fort Worth Country Day School and graduated from there in 1973. At age 17, she was accepted at the Juilliard School's Drama Division (1973–77, Group 6) where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

After graduation from Juilliard, she joined John Houseman's touring repertory company The Acting Company, where she stayed for three years. During this time, she performed in productions of Shakespeare's King Lear and Romeo and Juliet, Antigone, and Mother Courage and Her Children.

Career

Theatre Harris worked extensively on and Off-Broadway, including a 1989 performance at Second Stage Theatre in What a Man Weighs. One of her breakthrough performances was in the original cast of Paul Rudnick's Jeffrey, in which she was the sole female cast member.

In 1992, Harris made her Broadway debut in Four Baboons Adoring the Sun. That same year, she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for her portrayal in the Off-Broadway play Bella, Belle of Byelorussia. In 1993, she received a second Drama Desk nomination for her performance in Jeffrey. She won both a Drama Desk and Tony Award in 2002 as a Featured Actress in a Musical for playing the role of Mrs. Meers in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Since 2005, Harris has appeared in various stage productions across the United States. In summer 2006, she appeared as Vera Charles in the Kennedy Center's production of Mame opposite Christine Baranski in the title role. In early 2007, Harris appeared as Amanda Wingfield in the production of The Glass Menagerie at the Guthrie Theater. In summer 2007, she appeared on Broadway in the revival of the John Van Druten comedy Old Acquaintance as Mildred Watson Drake with Margaret Colin at the American Airlines Theatre.

In 2007, Harris returned to Broadway and joined the cast of the musical Cry-Baby, based on the John Waters film of the same name. The show previewed on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre on March 15, 2008, and opened on April 24. The production was nominated for Best Musical at the 2008 Tony Awards, and closed on June 22, 2008. She returned to Broadway as the Evil Stepmother in Cinderella in 2013. In 2015, Harris took on the role as the mother of the groom-to-be (who secretly wishes that her son was gay) in the musical comedy It Shoulda Been You, sparring with Tyne Daly who played the mother of the bride-to-be. Harris played the role of Fanny, head of the Cavendish family, in the musical The Royal Family of Broadway at the Barrington Stage Company, Massachusetts, from June to July 2018.

Television Harris's work in Jeffrey led to numerous television guest appearances, including a recurring role on the sitcom Frasier as Frasier's conniving agent Bebe Glazer from 1993 to 2004. Harris co-starred in several short-lived series, including The 5 Mrs. Buchanans, Union Square, The Beast, and It's All Relative, but played notable guest roles on multiple hit series, including Ghost Whisperer, Murphy Brown, Ally McBeal, Six Feet Under, and Ellen. Among them was her performance on The X-Files in the 1993 episode "Eve" as Dr. Sally Kendrick and her "Eve" clones. Series creator Chris Carter and Entertainment Weekly praised her casting and performance.

Harris played Martha Huber's sister Felicia Tilman on the ABC drama series Desperate Housewives in 2004. The narrative saw Felicia arrive on Wisteria Lane to discover who was behind her sister's murder. She soon came to the conclusion that Paul Young was responsible, but before she could act out her revenge, she was attacked by his son Zach Young. To finish the story-line, she returned for the second season in 2005, which followed Felicia as she planned her final acts of revenge against Paul. She departed at the end of the second series by faking her own murder, framing Paul, and sending him to prison. She returned to Desperate Housewives for the series' seventh season. On playing the character Harris commented:

In 2006, Harris starred in the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries The Lost Room as Margaret Milne.

In 2018, Harris appeared as Madelyn in the American Horror Story: Apocalypse episode "Sojourn", and as Adriana in the Dynasty episode "Queen of Cups". She appeared as Ingrid Blix in the Netflix drama series Ratched in 2020.

In 2024, Harris reprised her role as Bebe in Paramount's Frasier reboot. Later, she starred as Dr. Rachel Blake in the drama series The Agency.

Filmography +Key Denotes titles that have not yet been released

Film Year Title Role Notes 1989 Batman Laughing News Anchor 1993 Addams Family Values Ellen Buckman 1994 Quiz ShowEnright's Secretary 1996 Romeo + Juliet Susan Santandiago 1998 The Jungle Book: Mowgli's StoryTurtle / Rhesus (voice) 2000 Nurse Betty Ellen Memento Mrs. Jankis 2001 The One Nurse Besson 2005 Monster-in-Law Therapist 2009 Moonlight Serenade Angelica Webster 2011 RampartStacy Cranston 2014 Love Is Strange Honey 2017 Phantom Thread Barbara Rose 2020 Baby Emakumea 2021 Licorice Pizza Mary Grady 2023 Magazine Dreams Patricia Waldron Americana Tish Jules Sandy

Television Year Title Role Notes 1983 Another World Cathy Harris Episode: "20 May 1983" 1989 Doctor Doctor Peggy Murtaugh Episode: "The Murtagh Conundrum" Highway to Heaven Ruth Ann Kifer Episode: "Merry Christmas from Granpa" 1991 Golden Years Francie Will 2 episodes Law & Order Sheila Episode: "The Troubles" 1992 Fool's Fire Lady Clairce Television movie Law & Order Mrs. Kenny Episode: "The Corporate Veil" 1993 Lifestories: Families in Crisis Cedall Episode: "Dead Drunk: The Kevin Tunell Story" The X-Files Sally Kendrick/Eves 6, 7, & 8 Episode: "Eve" 1993–2004 Frasier Bebe Glazer 11 episodes 1994 Murphy BrownYvonne BentleyEpisode: "The Deal of the Art" The George Carlin ShowAnyaEpisode: "George Helps Sydney" Good AdviceMarilynEpisode: "Brother, Can You Spare a Date?" 1994–1995 The 5 Mrs. Buchanans Vivian Buchanan 17 episodes 1995 The Crew Loretta Episode: "The Worst Noel" 1995–1996 Space: Above and Beyond Ambassador Diane Hayden 2 episodes 1996 Sisters Alam Klaus Episode: "A Sudden Change of Heart" Chicago Hope Mrs. Holgren Episode: "Women on the Verge" Ellen Claire Episode: "Looking Out for Number One" 1997 Friends 'Til the End Mrs. Boxer Television movie Millennium Maureen Murphy Episode: "Loin Like a Hunting Flame" Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest Millie Ogden Television movie Caroline in the City Miss McGowan Episode: "Caroline and the Desperate Cat" 1997–1998 Union Square Suzanne Barkley 14 episodes 1998 The Practice Ellen Blake Episode: "The Pursuit of Dignity" Ally McBeal Cheryl Bonner Episode: "Happy Birthday, Baby" Maggie Sister Anastasia Episode: "If You Could See What I Hear" The Gregory Hines Show Gloria Episode: "Mug the One You're With" 1999–2000 Stark Raving Mad Audrey Radford 4 episodes 2000 Diagnosis: Murder Marisa Parkhurst Episode: "Too Many Cooks" Family Law Lois Nelson Episode: "A Mother's Son" God, the Devil and Bob Martha Stewart (voice) Episode: "The Devil's Birthday" Love & Money Kiki Farrington 2 episodes 2001 The Lot Libby Wilson 3 episodes The Beast Mrs. Sweeney 6 episodes 2002 Six Feet Under Catherine Collins 2 episodes Bram & Alice Margaret O'Connor Episode: "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" 2003–2004 It's All Relative Audrey O'Neil 22 episodes 2004 Quintuplets Ms. Hentschel Episode: "Shakespeare in Lust" CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Eva Episode: "What's Eating Gilbert Grissom?" 2005 Strong Medicine Governor Barbara Curtis Episode: "It Takes a Clinic" Sex, Love & Secrets Dulah Episode: "Danger" 2005–2006,2010–2011 Desperate Housewives Felicia Tilman 28 episodes 2006 Help Me Help You Dave's Mom Episode: "Pink Freud" Ghost Whisperer Marilyn Mandeville Episode: "A Grave Matter" The Lost Room Margaret Milne 2 episodes 2010 American Dad! Mrs. Reagan (voice) Episode: "Return of the Bling" 2011 Shake It Up Dr. Pepper Episode: "Shrink It Up" 2012 Electric City (voice) 9 episodes Robot and Monster Bea Holder (voice) Episode: "Litterbug/Model Citizen" 2014 Submissions Only Theresa Amsworth 2 episodes Wilfred Lonnie Goldsmith 3 episodes 2016 Her Last Will Dina Cotton Television movie Supergirl Sinead Episode: "Worlds Finest" 2018 Dynasty Adriana Episode: "Queen of Cups" American Horror Story: Apocalypse Madelyn Lurch Episode: "Sojourn" 2020 Hollywood Eleanor Roosevelt Episode: "(Screen) Tests" Ratched Ingrid 2 episodes Atlantic Crossing Eleanor Roosevelt 8 episodes 2022 Hacks Susan Episode: "Retired" Werewolf by Night Verussa Bloodstone Television special The Mysterious Benedict Society Rowena Two Episode: "A Two-Way Street" 2023 Shining Vale Dr. Siferr 3 episodes 2024 Clipped Justine 5 episodes Frasier Bebe Glazer Episode: "The Squash Courtship of Freddy's Father" 2024, 2026 The Agency Dr. Rachel Blake Main role 2025 Long Bright River Mrs. Mahon 5 episodes

Stage

Awards and nominations