I like the actress who plays the grandmother on the WB network show Charmed. Where is she from, and can you tell me a little about her. It's nice to see an older lady with real pizzazz on television.
—Marilyn H., Illinois
Jennifer Rhodes grew up in Rosiclare, Ill., a small town on the Ohio River. She got interested in theater while attending Southern Illinois University and moved to New York City as soon as she graduated. She studied acting and began getting parts in plays. When she moved to Los Angeles, she stopped acting altogether. "I was a stage actress," she says. "I just didn't know anything about movies or television." But she learned and started appearing in commercials, on television, and in movies. She played Winona Ryder's mother in Heathers. She's had guest roles in TV shows such as Ally McBeal, Friends, and L.A. Law. Her recurring role as "Grams" on Charmed is her second regular series (the first was Nightingales), and it's definitely making an impact. "I was in my dentist's office in the waiting room and somebody walked by and said, 'Hi, Grams.' Having never had children, that always sort of startles me."
