Valerie Harper Biography

Valerie Harper is best known for playing sassy, funny upstairs neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern on the sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1970-74. She played the same character in the spinoff series Rhoda (1975-78). In all, she won four Emmys for the role: three as best supporting actress in a comedy for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and one as best actress in a comedy for Rhoda.

Harper also made many theater appearances both on- and off-Broadway. In 2001 she ran for president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), losing to fellow actress Melissa Gilbert. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2009, battling the disease until her death in 2019.