Joyce DeWitt

Joyce DeWitt (born April 23, 1949) is an American actress best known for playing Janet Wood on the ABC sitcom Three's Company from 1977 to 1984.

Early life Joyce DeWitt was born on April 23, 1949, in Wheeling, West Virginia, and grew up in Speedway, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis. She is the second of four children born to Norma (née Branch) DeWitt (1926–2013) and Paul DeWitt (1925–2016). She is of Italian descent from her mother, while her father was of Swedish and Dutch descent. DeWitt began appearing on stage at the age of 13. She competed in speech and debate through the Indiana High School Forensic Association. She graduated from Speedway Senior High School, and once worked at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ticket office.

She earned her bachelor's degree in theater from Ball State University. Subsequently, while she was performing in summer stock, the director convinced her to enroll in UCLA's Department of Theater MFA program, where she was awarded the Master of Fine Arts Fellowship as well as the Clifton Webb Scholarship. She graduated in 1974.

Career

While attending UCLA, she worked as a secretary until her television debut on an episode of Baretta.

DeWitt is best known for her role as Janet Wood during the 1977–1984 run of the sitcom Three's Company, a job she obtained after being cast in the show's second pilot.

In June 2011, DeWitt succeeded Eve Plumb in the title role of the play Miss Abigail's Guide to Dating, Mating & Marriage at the Downstairs Cabaret Theatre in New York City's Times Square.

In 2012, DeWitt appeared in two separate stage productions of Love Letters starring opposite Tab Hunter and Tony Dow, respectively. In August 2012, she starred with her niece, Katharine DeWitt, in a production of Remember Me at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida.

Also in 2012, DeWitt appeared on Suzanne Somers' talk show, Suzanne Somers: Breaking Through, during which she and Somers reminisced about their time on Three's Company together. Somers apologized for the conflict that arose between them, and they exchanged anecdotes about the last time they each spoke to their late co-star John Ritter. DeWitt's appearance on Somers' program marked the first time the two actresses had seen or spoken to each other since having a major falling out 31 years earlier, involving a salary dispute.

In 2014, DeWitt became a panelist on a local version of the classic game show Hollywood Squares (in turn she was also a panelist on the actual show itself back in the day) called The West Virginia Squares hosted by "The Master of The Hollywood Squares" himself Peter Marshall as part of an event called FestivALL at The Clay Center at the WV Music Hall of Fame. The other local celebrities were: Autumn Blair, Billy Edd Wheeler, Bil Lepp, Charlie McCoy, Charlisse Hailsop, Danny Jones, Donnie Davidson, Larry Groce, Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., Michael Cerveris and Steve Bishop. It aired on WVPB on April 11 and April 25 and on The West Virginia Channel on April 12 and April 15 for two episodes. Additionally, Marshall, like DeWitt, was also a native of West Virginia.

In 2018, DeWitt played Mother Superior in a stage production of Nunsense at the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse in New Jersey.

In 2023, DeWitt made her debut appearance in the country music video ballad called "Home" by the Davisson Brothers Band where it captures the nostalgia and comfort of returning to where it all began. The song can be heard from the album "Home is Where the Heart is".

Charitable work DeWitt participated at the Capitol Hill Forum on Hunger and Homelessness with members of the House and Senate, and she has hosted presentations for the Family Assistance Program of Hollywood. She hosted the International Awards Ceremony at the White House for the Presidential End Hunger Awards, and with Jeff Bridges, she co-hosted the World Food Day Gala at the Kennedy Center.

On July 4, 2009, DeWitt was arrested and cited for DUI in El Segundo, California. At the police station, she was booked, cited, and released on her own recognizance. On May 27, 2010, she pleaded no contest to one count misdemeanor, was placed on three years' probation and was ordered to undergo a nine-month long alcoholism prevention program. She was also ordered to pay a $510 fine, plus penalty assessments. In exchange for her plea, a second misdemeanor count was dismissed.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1975 Baretta Mother Earth Episode: "Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" 1976 Most Wanted Cindy TV movie 1977–1984 Three's Company Janet Wood Main cast (170 episodes) 1978 With This Ring Jilly Weston TV movie 1979 Supertrain Natalie Smithburne Episode: "Pirouette" 1979 The Ropers Janet Wood Episode: "The Party" 1979 The Love Boat Jackie Landers Episode: "The Audit Couple/The Scoop/My Boyfriend's Back" 1980 The B.B. Beegle Show Herself (guest star) TV pilot episode 1984 Finder of Lost Loves Lynn Powell Episode: "Portraits" 1995 Spring Fling! Linda Hayden TV movie 1995 Cybill Psychic Pals Host Episode: "The Odd Couples" 1998 Living Single Herself (guest star) Episode: "To Catch a Thief" 1998 Twitch City Herself (guest star) Episode: "I Look Like Joyce DeWitt" 2000 Hope Island Laetitia Barton Episode: "A Rising Tide Takes All Boats" 2003 The Nick at Nite Holiday Special Miss DeWitt, The Housekeeper TV special 2009 Call of the Wild Jolene Feature film 2010 Failing Better Now Irene Feature film 2011 The Great Fight Randi Toney Feature film 2014 Snapshot First Lady Feature film 2014 My Boyfriends' Dogs Nikki TV movie 2015 Rock Story Judge Carol Anne Connelly Feature film 2018 The Savant Detective Randi Toney Feature film 2022 Ask Me to Dance Nana Feature film