Rhea Perlman
Biography
Rhea Perlman is an American actress and author, born in Brooklyn in 1948, who studied drama at Hunter College before starting on the New York stage in the early 1970s. Her early television work included a recurring role on Taxi, and in 1982 she took the part of barmaid Carla Tortelli on Cheers. During eleven seasons on that sitcom she received ten Emmy nominations and won four for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy, along with six Golden Globe nominations, a record for her category. On film, she starred in Matilda (1996) and later drew critical praise for playing Ruth Handler in Barbie (2023). She also headlined the sitcom Pearl, appeared in the West End comedy Boeing Boeing, and wrote the children's book series Otto Undercover. In 2025 she had a guest role on Poker Face.
78years old
Turns 79 on March 31in 170 days
- Born Brooklyn
- Star sign: AriesThe sign runs March 21 to April 19
- Rhea Jo Pearlman (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 23
- Career span
- 39 years1984 to 2023
Genres
First and latest
Photos
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First role
Perlman's acting career started with a small part as an attendant in Dracula Sabbat, an off-off-Broadway play that ran from September 1970 to June 1971.
A first
Perlman has earned six Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress, a total no one else has reached in that category.
A first
Perlman spent 11 seasons on Cheers and earned an Emmy nomination in each of them except 1992. Among the show's stars, she holds the most wins and nominations.
Behind the camera
Rhea Perlman is the author of Otto Undercover, an illustrated children's book series. As of the middle of May 2012, six books had appeared in the series.
Rhea Perlman movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Danny DeVito directed two of these films. Danny DeVito appears in four of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Danny DeVito's page
Tom Arnold's page
Jonah Hill's page
Nia Long's page
Martin Starr's page
Leonardo Nam's page
Box office
What Rhea Perlman's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$713 million
10 of the 23 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 23 films: 10 worldwide figure; 4 us gross only; 2 never in cinemas; 1 streaming, short cinema run; 6 figure not found.
- 10Worldwide figure
- 4US gross only
- 2Never in cinemas
- 1Streaming, short cinema run
- 6Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$634M89.0% of the total
- 2$34M4.7% of the total
- 3$10M1.4% of the total
- 4$9.3M1.3% of the total
- 5$9.1M1.3% of the total
- 6$8.6M1.2% of the total
- 7$7.4M1.0% of the total
- 8$178K0.0% of the total
$41,191from the other 2 films with a worldwide figure, 0% of the total
Awards
Four awards and honors from 1984 to 1989, four of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmy Awards | |||
| 1989 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Cheers | Won |
| 1986 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Cheers | Won |
| 1985 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Cheers | Won |
| 1984 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Cheers | Won |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.