Kay Lenz


Kay Ann Lenz is an American actress. A former child performer, Lenz has worked primarily in television and has won two Emmy Awards.

Early years

Lenz was born in Los Angeles, California to Ted Lenz, an actor and producer, and Kay Miller Lenz, who worked as a radio engineer and professional model. Her television debut was as a baby, held by a guest on a program that her father produced.

Career

Lenz began working as a child actress, beginning with appearances in three episodes of This Is the Life when she was 14. She went on to appear in such television shows as The Andy Griffith Show as well as in stage productions. She made a brief appearance billed as Kay Ann Kemper in American Graffiti as Jane, a girl at a dance. She achieved recognition for her title-role performance as the free spirit who captivates William Holden in Breezy, directed by Clint Eastwood.
Lenz made guest appearances in The Streets of San Francisco, Gunsmoke, MacGyver, McCloud, Cannon, and Petrocelli, and played a lead role in the film White Line Fever before being cast in 1976 in the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award.
She reprised her role for the sequel, Rich Man, Poor Man Book II. Since the 1980s, she has played guest roles in numerous television series.
In 1984 she appeared in Rod Stewart's music video for the song "Infatuation". She won an Emmy in 1989 for Midnight Caller. She was also nominated for an Emmy for her role as flinty lawyer Maggie Zombro in the police/legal drama Reasonable Doubts.

Personal life

Lenz was the first wife of singer-actor David Cassidy. Of their marriage, Lenz says:
I wasn’t used to that state-of-stardom life-style... When we eloped it was on the national news. All of a sudden I was getting mail from women telling me that they had three of his children.

They married on April 3, 1977, and divorced on December 28, 1983. She has no children.

Filmography

Film

Television