Katey Sagal

Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peg Bundy on Married... with Children (1987–1997) for which she was thrice nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy, Turanga Leela on Futurama (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023–present), Cate Hennessy on 8 Simple Rules (2002–2005), Gemma Teller Morrow on the FX series Sons of Anarchy (2008–2014), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama in 2011 and was nominated for the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama in 2010 and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series in 2011 and 2012, and Louise Goldufski-Conner on The Conners (2018–2025).

Early life Sagal was born on January 19, 1954, in Los Angeles to a show business family with five children. Her mother, Sara Zwilling, was a singer (stage name Sara Macon), producer, and television writer who died of heart disease in 1975, and Sagal's father, Boris Sagal, worked as a television director. Her father was a Russian-Jewish immigrant. Her mother had Amish ancestors. In 1977, Sagal's father married dancer/actress Marge Champion, a few years before his accidental death on the set of the miniseries World War III in 1981. Three of Sagal's four siblings are actors: her younger twin sisters, Jean and Liz Sagal and brother Joey Sagal; her other brother David Sagal is an attorney married to actress McNally Sagal. Sagal and her siblings grew up in Brentwood. In 2016, both Sagal and Lear acknowledged that she was not only his goddaughter, but that he also introduced her parents to each other. Sagal has described herself as "culturally Jewish" but with no "formal religious experience." After graduation, she attended the California Institute of the Arts until 1972.

Musical career Sagal began her career in show business as a singer and songwriter. In 1973, she worked as a backing vocalist for various singers, including Bob Dylan, Etta James, and Tanya Tucker. In 1976, while a member of The Group with No Name, she contributed to the album Moon over Brooklyn (on which she was credited as "Katie Sagal"). She performed backing vocals on the self-titled Gene Simmons solo album (1978), the Molly Hatchet album Take No Prisoners (1981), and on Olivia Newton-John's 1985 single "Soul Kiss."

She was a member of the music group the Harlettes, Bette Midler's backup singers, in 1978, and again from 1982 to 1983.

She performed the song "It's the Time for Love" that appears in the film Silent Rage (1982) featuring Chuck Norris. During the filming of 1983's Valley Girl, Sagal was scheduled to sing at The Central. Her name can be seen in the schedule of upcoming acts, posted inside the door. Sagal also provided the vocals for "Loose Cannons," the theme song for the 1990 film of the same name featuring Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd.

On April 19, 1994, Sagal released her first solo album, Well.... On June 1, 2004, she released her second album, Room.

She has also contributed to the Sons of Anarchy soundtrack in the early 2010s, working with its house band The Forest Rangers (Davey Faragher/bass, John Philipe Shenale (Phil Shenale)/keyboards, Billy Harvey/guitar-vocals, Michael Urbano/drums, Bob Thiele Jr./vocals-guitar) with songs that became part of its soundtrack albums (Songs of Anarchy: Music from Sons of Anarchy Seasons 1–4, Sons of Anarchy: Songs of Anarchy Vol. 2, Sons of Anarchy: Songs of Anarchy Vol. 3, and Sons of Anarchy: Songs of Anarchy Vol. 4) and singles.

She worked with the band for her album Covered (2013). For their live performances The Forest Rangers have occasionally used the name The Reluctant Apostles.

The 2019 single "Mayans MC: Black is Black" from Mayans M.C. was performed by Sagal and The Forest Rangers.

Acting career

Early roles and success with Married... with Children

One of Sagal's early roles was as a receptionist in the Columbo installment "Candidate for Crime" (1973), which was directed by her father Boris. She also briefly appeared in the 1986 music video for Debbie Harry's song "French Kissin (in the USA)". Sagal's first major role was as a newspaper columnist in the series Mary (1985–86) starring Mary Tyler Moore. This led to her being cast as Peggy Bundy on the sitcom Married... with Children (1987–1997); she portrayed the lower-class, sex-starved, lazy and free-spending wife of shoe salesman Al Bundy. The series ran for 11 years. Reportedly Sagal brought her own red bouffant wig to audition for the role, and, with the producers' approval, the look transitioned into the show. However, Sagal later explained that she had initially styled her own hair, then, once the show took off, the producers began to invest in a wig.

Continued career After the end of Married... with Children, several more television films followed. Sagal also guest-starred on the children's cartoon Recess as the voice of Spinelli's mother. In 1998, Matt Groening chose her to provide the character voice of the purple-haired mutant spaceship captain Leela in his science-fiction animated comedy Futurama. The show developed a cult following but was canceled after four seasons. However, syndication on Adult Swim and Comedy Central increased the show's popularity and led Comedy Central to commission a season of Futurama direct-to-DVD films, which the network later retransmitted as a 16-episode fifth season. She reprised her role as Leela in the films and in the sixth season that began airing June 24, 2010. The series ended its run on Comedy Central in 2013. Taking a break from animation, she went on to star in the critically acclaimed movie Smart House.

Sagal guest-starred as Edna Hyde, Steven Hyde's mother, in three episodes of That '70s Show. She starred in the short-lived NBC sitcom Tucker in 2000.

Sagal was cast as the wife of John Ritter in the sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter in 2002. Ritter had completed only three episodes of the second season before his death, and the show was canceled in 2005 after its third season.

In 2005 and 2006, Sagal made four appearances on Lost as Helen Norwood. In 2007, she had a role in the season finale of The Winner as Glen Abbot's former teacher, with whom Glen has his first sexual experience.

Sons of Anarchy and Hollywood Walk of Fame star

From 2008 to 2014, Sagal starred as Gemma Teller Morrow on the TV show Sons of Anarchy, whose creator, Kurt Sutter, she had married in 2004, four years before the series premiered. In January 2009, Sagal reunited with David Faustino (who had played her son Bud Bundy in Married... with Children) for an episode of Faustino's show Star-ving. In 2010, she appeared twice more on Lost. In 2009, she starred in the film House Broken with Danny DeVito. In 2010, she returned to the stage in Randy Newman's musical Harps & Angels.

In 2013, Sagal had a cameo on Glee as Nancy Abrams, Artie Abrams' mother. She co-starred in Pitch Perfect 2, released in 2015, as the mother of Hailee Steinfeld's character. Next she appeared in the biography drama film Bleed for This, as the mother of Vinny Pazienza.

On September 9, 2014, Sagal received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; the Married... with Children cast – Ed O'Neill, Christina Applegate, and David Faustino – were present to celebrate the actor's recognition.

Recent roles On September 20, 2016, Sagal appeared on The Big Bang Theory as Susan, the mother of Penny (Kaley Cuoco). Sagal and Cuoco had played mother and daughter before, on 8 Simple Rules. Sagal was also a series regular on the CBS sitcom Superior Donuts from 2017 to 2018. She also appeared on Shameless as Frank's latest, crazy lover. She appeared in a recurring role as Dan Conner's love interest, Louise Goldufski, in The Conners after Roseanne Barr was fired by ABC over controversial tweets on Twitter about Valerie Jarrett. She had a cameo appearance in the Netflix series Dead to Me in season 2, episodes 9 and 10, as Judy Hale's (Linda Cardellini) estranged, emotionally abusive mother Eleanor Hale who was incarcerated. Sagal's co-star on Married...with Children, Christina Applegate, also stars in Dead to Me. In 2018 she had a cameo appearance in the crime drama series Mayans M.C. as Gemma Teller Morrow reprising her role from the Sons of Anarchy series.

In 2021, Sagal played the lead role of Annie "Rebel" Bello in the ABC drama series Rebel, which was written by Krista Vernoff. Due to low ratings, ABC cancelled Rebel after airing five episodes.

On February 9, 2022, Hulu announced that they would be reviving Futurama for a 20-episode 11th season run set to premiere in 2023 with Sagal returning as the voice of Leela.

In 2023, Sagal appeared live off-broadway in The Gospel According to Heather, which was written by Paul Gordon, directed by Rachel Klein and produced by Amas Musical Theatre and Jim Kierstead.

In 2026 Sagal appeared in Netflix's One Piece live-action adaptation as Dr. Kureha in the second season. Her performance was critically acclaimed, especially by the fans of the 1997 Japanese manga series One Piece by Eiichiro Oda.

Personal life Sagal was married to musician Freddie Beckmeier from 1978 to 1981, and to drummer She married writer-producer Kurt Sutter in a private ceremony on October 2, 2004, at their home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Feliz. They have a daughter, Esmé Louise, born in 2007 through a surrogate.

In 1991, while working on Married... with Children, Sagal discovered that she was pregnant. This was unexpected and the pregnancy was written into the storyline of the show. In October 1991, however, she had to have an emergency caesarean section in her seventh month of pregnancy, ending in the stillbirth of a daughter. The showrunners did not want to subject a grieving Sagal to further stress by interacting with an infant during filming, so the pregnancy on the show (as well as the pregnancy of co-star Amanda Bearse's character) was then treated as a "dream sequence," which was mentioned only briefly at the end of the episode "Al Bundy, Shoe Dick." Sagal and White eventually had two children—a daughter, Sarah Grace, in 1994, and a son, Jackson James White, in 1996. The writers of Married... with Children purposely did not write Sagal's two later pregnancies into the show due to the stillbirth, opting instead to write off her absences in a subplot in which Peg is traveling the world to reunite her parents. In scenes where Peg was shown, Sagal had her midsection obscured, such as when she was sitting in a taxi or at a craps table in Las Vegas and was often seen or heard talking to family members over the phone.

The loss of her stillborn daughter Ruby was the inspiration to write the lyrics for "(You) Can't Hurry the Harvest". Sagal recorded this song on her debut album, Well..., which was released in April 1994.

In June 2016, the Human Rights Campaign released a video in tribute to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting; in the video, Sagal and others told the stories of the people killed there.

She was the subject of an episode of the television genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? in 2016.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1987 Maid to Order Louise 1988 The Good Mother Ursula 1999 Smart House PAT 2000 Dropping Out Wendy 2001 Recess: School's Out Mrs. Flo Spinelli Voice 2002 Following Tildy Connie St. John Short film 2006 I'm Reed Fish Maureen 2007 Futurama: Bender's Big Score Turanga Leela Voice; Direct to video 2008 Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs Futurama: Bender's Game Turanga Leela/Leegola 2009 Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder Turanga Leela House Broken Mary Cathkart Jack and the Beanstalk Mrs. Thatcher 2014 There's Always Woodstock Lee Ann 2015 Pitch Perfect 2 Katherine Junk 2016 Bleed for This Louise Pazienza 2022 Torn Hearts Harper Dutch 2025 Trust Loretta 2026 Carousel

Television Year Title Role Notes 1971 The Failing of Raymond Girl patient Credited as Catherine Louise Sagal 1972 The Bold Ones: The New Doctors Young nurse Credited as Katie Sagal 1973 Columbo Secretary Episode: "Candidate for Crime" (credited as Katie Sagal) 1974 Larry Cashier TV film 1975 The Dream Makers Unemployment manager 1985–1986 Mary Jo Tucker 13 episodes 1987–1997 Married... with Children Peggy Bundy Main role 1990 Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme Mary Quite Contrary TV movie Tales from the Crypt Ms. Kilbasser Episode: "For Cryin' Out Loud" The Earth Day Special Peggy Bundy 1991 She Says She's Innocent (Violation of Trust) Susan Essex TV movie 1995 Trail of Tears Annie Cook Nachtshow Episode: "February 10th, 1995" Duckman Ivana Duckman Voice, episode: "The Germ Turns" 1996 Space Cases Ma Voice, episode: "Mother Knows Best" 1997–2001 Recess Flo Spinelli Voice, 3 episodes 1998 Chance of a Lifetime Irene Dunbar TV movie Mr. Headmistress Harriet Magnum 1999 No Higher Love Ellen Young Smart House Pat That '70s Show Edna Hyde 3 episodes 1999–present Futurama Turanga Leela Voice, main role 2000 Tucker Claire Wennick 13 episodes 2001 The Geena Davis Show Ashley Episode: "Girls' Night Out" 2002 Imagine That Barb Thompson 2 episodes 2002–2005 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter Cate S. Hennessy 76 episodes 2004 When Angels Come to Town Jo TV movie 2004–2006 Higglytown Heroes Monica the Police Officer 3 episodes 2005 Three Wise Guys Shirley Crown TV movie Campus Confidential Naomi Jacobs Ghost Whisperer Francie Lewis Episode: "Undead Comic" 2005–2007 The Shield Nancy Gilroy 2 episodes 2005–2010 Lost Helen Norwood 4 episodes 2006 Boston Legal Barbara Little 5 episodes The Search for the Funniest Mom in America Host Reality show 2007 The Winner Lydia Berko Episode: "Hot for Teacher" 2008 Eli Stone Marci Klein 2 episodes CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Annabelle Bundt/Natasha Steele Episode: "Two and a Half Deaths" 2008–2014 Sons of Anarchy Gemma Teller Morrow 92 episodes 2010 Chadam Sandy Web series 2013 Glee Nancy Abrams Episode: "Wonder-ful" 2014 The Simpsons Turanga Leela Voice, episode: "Simpsorama" 2014–2015 Regular Show Mordecai's Mom, Aunt Maxine Voice, 2 episodes A to Z Narrator Voice, 13 episodes 2015 The Bastard Executioner Annora of the Alders 10 episodes 2016 The Big Bang Theory Susan Episode: "The Conjugal Conjecture" This Is Us Lanie Schultz Episode: "The Big Three" 2016–2017 Brooklyn Nine-Nine Karen Peralta 2 episodes 2017 Dirty Dancing Vivian Pressman TV movie 2017–2018 Superior Donuts Randy DeLuca Main role 2018 Spirit Riding Free Butch LePray Voice 2026 One Piece Dr. Kureha Season 2

Discography

Albums Released: 1976 Label: Casablanca Records—1978Gene Simmons - Gene Simmons Backing Vocals Released: September 18, 1978 Label: Casablanca RecordsBillboard 200 Albums – 221994Well... Released: April 19, 1994 Label: Virgin/EMI RecordsBillboard Top Heatseekers – 33 2004Room June 1, 2004 Label: Valley Entertainment—2009Sons of Anarchy: Shelter – EP November 24, 2009 Label: 20th Century FoxTop Independent Albums — 33 Top Soundtracks — 232013Covered November 11, 2013 Label: E1 Music—

Awards and nominations