Patricia Richardson

Patricia Castle Richardson is an American television and film actress best known for her portrayal of Jill Taylor on the sitcom Home Improvement, for which she was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and two times for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Comedy or Musical. Richardson also received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her performance in Ulees Gold .

Richardson was born in Bethesda, Maryland as the third daughter of Mary Elizabeth and Laurence Baxter Richardson. Her sisters names are Marianna Ann Bales , Lynn Richardson and Catherine Cathy Moseley . Her father was a corporate executive and retired naval officer. Richardson attended the HoltonArms School in Maryland and then The Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas. She is a 1973 graduate of Southern Methodist University, where she was friends with classmates Beth Henley and Stephen Tobolowsky, who was slated to be a cast member of Home Improvement but had other contractual commitments when the series began filming. Tobolowsky initially suggested to producers of Home Improvement that Richardson be considered for the role of Jill Taylor after Frances Fisher was deemed too serious for the role.

Source: Wikipedia