“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother, and grandmother,” Anderson’s family said in a statement.
Born on August 5, 1945, in St. Paul, Minnesota, Anderson began performing musical theater at 10. She would later attend the University of Minnesota and finish runner-up in the 1964 Miss Minnesota pageant. Shortly after, she married her first husband, Bruce Hasselberg, and the couple had a daughter, Diedra. They were divorced by 1966.
Anderson moved to L.A., dyed her hair blonde, and broke onto television in 1975. She quickly found roles on S.W.A.T., Barnaby Jones, The Love Boat, and The Bob Newhart Show. Before losing the role to Suzanne Somers, Anderson auditioned for the role of Chrissie on Three’s Company. Picking up on Anderson’s innate savviness, John Ritter later said, “No one would believe she couldn’t live in her own apartment.”
In 1978, she landed the role of Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP In Cincinnati, where she quickly became the object of the beleaguered station’s affections. As the assertive and confident receptionist, Anderson challenged “dumb blonde” stereotypes by shrugging off her co-workers’ come-ons and casually putting them in their place. That’s not to say she couldn’t play into the stereotypes when the situation called for it. Still, Anderson always appeared in control, commanding and earning the respect of the “Big Guy,” Arthur Carlson (Gordon Jump), who relies on Jennifer to deflect calls. She may not take dictation or make coffee, but the station was in Jennifer’s capable hands for 89 episodes. Anderson received two Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe nominations for her performance.
Though her star rose on WKRP, the show never broke out of its cult appeal. Anderson began to diversify into made-for-TV movies, particularly in the 1980 Jayne Mansfield biopic, The Jayne Mansfield Story, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger as her bodybuilder husband Mickey Hartigay. She would later star as the similarly tragic Hollywood figure Thelma Todd in White Hot: The Mysterious Murder Of Thelma Todd.
After WKRP’s cancellation in 1982, Anderson starred in the NASCAR action-comedy Stroker Ace with Burt Reynolds. Afterwards, Anderson began a tumultuous relationship with Reynolds, and in 1988, they adopted a son, Quinton. Together, she and Reynolds starred in the Don Bluth animated hit All Dogs Go To Heaven, but by 1993, their imploding marriage and subsequent divorce became a tabloid fixture. During this time, Anderson struggled to establish a new foothold on TV, starring in shows doomed to quick cancellation, like Partners In Crime with Lynda Carter, Easy Street, and the Empty Nest spin-off, Nurses. She reprised the role of Jennifer Marlowe for two episodes of The New WKRP In Cincinnati and made guest appearances on Melrose Place and Sabrina The Teenage Witch. Her memoir, My Life In High Heels, came out in 1995, and she shared her final TV appearance with Morgan Fairchild, Donna Mills, and Nicollette Sheridan on Lifetime’s 2023 special Ladies Of The 80s: A Divas Christmas.
Anderson is survived by her fourth husband, Bob Flick, her son and daughter, two grandchildren, one step-son, and two step-grandchildren.
