Who is Randee Heller?
Randee Heller (nee Antzis) was born in Brooklyn, New York City USA, on 10 June 1947 – her zodiac sign is Gemini, and she holds American nationality. She’s an actress with close to 100 credits to her name, while she’s perhaps still known best for her portrayal of Lucille in the critically acclaimed 1984 family action movie “The Karate Kid”. It was directed by John G. Avildsen, starred Ralph Macchio, Elisabeth Shue and Pat Morita, and follows a bullied teenager who has begun practicing martial arts; the movie won two of the six awards for which it was nominated, including an Oscar nomination. Randee reprised her role in the 1989 sequel “The Karate Kid Part III”.
Early life and education
Randee was raised in West Hempstead, New York by her parents of Russian descent, about whom nothing’s known as she respects their privacy.
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She hasn’t spoken of having any siblings, which is why most people believe her to be an only child.
Randee became interested in acting while attending a local high school, and appeared in various plays performed both at the school and at a local theatre. She wanted to pursue an acting career straight away, however, Randee was urged by her parents to instead gain a college degree.
Upon matriculating in 1965, she enrolled at Emerson College in Boston, but then moved to Adelphi University in Garden City, New York, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre in 1969. Before launching her career on TV, Randee appeared in various plays, both on and off-Broadway, including “Godspell” and “Grease”.
Roles in TV series
Randee made her debut TV series appearance in the 1971 episode “Parables from Godspell” of the musical “Camera Three”, but only gained recognition in 1978, when cast to play Rita DeLatorre, in the comedy “Husbands, Wives & Losers”, created by Hal Dresner and Joan Rivers, and which starred Cynthia Harris, Stephen Pearlman and Lynne Marie Stewart. It follows five couples living in the San Fernando Valley, Southern California; the series was nominated for two awards, including a Primetime Emmy.
Randee was then invited to make a guest appearance in an episode of various series, including the comedy drama “Supertrain” and the adventure “240-Robert”, and in 1979, she played the lesbian character Alice, in nine episodes of the romantic comedy drama “Soap”; the series was a hit, winning 11 awards, including four Primetime Emmys, while it was nominated for 18 other awards.
Randee’s performance wasn’t well-received by the critics, mostly because her character was stereotyped.
Her following lead role came in 1984, when she starred as Connie Malone Karamakopoulos, in all 13 episodes of the comedy drama “Mama Malone”. It also starred Lila Kaye and Evan Richards, and follows the life of the Italian-American housewife Renata Malone, and her friends and relatives. By the end of the ‘80s, Randee had made a guest appearance in an episode of various series, such as the action crime drama “Hunter”, the comedy “Night Court”, and the musical drama “Fame”.
The ‘90s saw her appear in an episode or two of numerous series, while her most notable performance was perhaps in the 1997 comedy “Fired Up”, portraying the supporting character Tina in three episodes. The series was created by Paul Slansky and Arleen Sorkin, starred Sharon Lawrence and Leah Remini, and follows the life of a woman who has just been fired.
A couple of the most popular series in which Randee appeared in the 2000s were the romantic drama “Felicity”, the drama “Judging Amy”, and the mystery crime drama “Crossing Jordan”.
Randee was also mostly focused on guest starring in the 2010s, and her most recent TV series role has been her portrayal of Lucille LaRusso in four episodes of the hit action comedy drama “Cobra Kai”. It’s been airing since 2018, stars Courtney Henggeler and Mary Mouser, and follows two middle-aged men, Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso, who have become martial arts rivals again, after over two decades; it’s been nominated for 28 awards, including six Primetime Emmys.
Roles in movies
Randee made her debut film appearance in 1977, with her portrayal of Rita Bell in the comedy “Husbands and Wives”, while a couple of her following roles were in 1979, in the drama “… and Your Name Is Jonah”, the sports comedy “Fast Break”, and the drama “Can You Hear the Laughter? The Story of Freddie Prinze”.
The ‘80s saw Randee appear in only a couple of movies – her most notable performance was perhaps in the 1987 romantic comedy “The Last Fling”, directed by Corey Allen, and in which she starred alongside John Ritter and Connie Sellecca. It follows the engaged couple Jason and Gloria, who have gone out to sleep with other people one last time before marrying. Randee continued being focused on appearing in series in the ‘90s, while a couple of her movie roles were in the 1992 action “Frame-Up II: The Cover-Up”, the 1993 thriller “The Baby Doll Murders”, and the 1998 mystery thriller drama “Matter of Trust”.
In 2005, she was cast to play Beverly Hills Dog Owner, in the popular romantic comedy “Monster-in-Law”, directed by Robert Luketic, and which starred Jennifer Lopez, Michael Vartan and Jane Fonda.
It follows Charlotte who has finally found ‘the perfect man’, after having gone on numerous blind dates, however, the man’s mother will do whatever it takes to destroy their relationship; the film won one of the 11 awards for which it was nominated.
Three of Randee’s most recent movie roles have been in the 2009 short comedy “Coma”, the 2011 short comedy “Haunted with a View”, and the 2017 crime thriller drama “A Crooked Somebody”.
Other credits
In 1971, Randee performed the songs “Learn Your Lessons Well” and “By My Side” in the episode “Parables from Godspell” of the series “Camera Three”.
She received special thanks for the 2017 documentary movie “John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs”.
Randee featured in the 2001 TV special “Timeless: Live in Concert”, and made a guest appearance in an episode of the talk-shows “Harmontown” and “Reunited Apart” in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
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Awards and nominations
In 2011, Randy was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, for her portrayal of Miss Blankenship in the drama series “Mad Men”.
Love life and husband
Randee’s highly secretive when it comes to her love life, and hasn’t shared many details concerning it, however, it’s still widely known that she has been in a relationship for more than three decades.
Sometime in the ‘80s, Randee started dating the American film writer and producer Robert Griffard, after having met him on the set of a TV series. They have two daughters together, Sloane and Cody. The latter was born in California on 13 May 1985, and has followed in her father’s footsteps, today being a popular film writer and producer, perhaps known best for having worked on the mystery comedy series “Wilfred”, which aired from 2011 to 2014, and the comedy series “Deadbeat”, which aired from 2014 to 2016.
Randee hasn’t spoken of any other men whom she has perhaps been with, and as of September 2021, she’s in a very long-term relationship with Robert Griffard but hasn’t married, and has two daughters.
Hobbies and other interests
Randee likes to wear costumes, whether if it’s for her movies and TV series, or for Halloween; some pictures of her costumes can be found uploaded onto her Instagram account.
She’s into travelling, and her acting career has taken her to nearly all the US states, while she’s also been to various European, Asian and African countries; Randee’s dream travel destination is Florence in Italy.
She’s a huge animal lover, with her favorites being llamas.
Randee’s a fan of pop and blues music, and some of her favorite singers are the late Frank Sinatra, Lady Gaga and Sam Smith.
She has her own favorite actors and actresses, some of whom are Richard Gere, Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, while a couple of her favorite movies are “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale”, “The Runaway Bride”, and “Kramer vs. Kramer”.
Breast cancer
Randee was diagnosed with cancer in 1999, and spent the next two years undergoing various treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and eventually a double mastectomy, before announcing that the cancer was gone.
Age, height and net worth
Randee’s age is 74. She has long gray hair and light blue eyes, her height is 5ft 8ins (1.73m) and she weighs around 135lbs (61kgs).
As of September 2021, her net worth has been estimated at over $850,000.
