Katherine Marie Helmond was an American actress. Over an acting career spanning six decades, she was best known for her starring role as Jessica Tate on the sitcom Soap (1977–1981) and her co-starring role as Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss? (1984–1992). Helmond also played Doris Sherman on Coach (1995–1997) and Lois Whelan on Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2004). She also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety shows.
Helmond was born on July 5, 1929, in Galveston, Texas, to Thelma Louise (née Walker) and Patrick Joseph Helmond. Her name on her birth certificate was misspelled as "Catherine". She had a younger sister, Jo Ann, born three years later, who died in infancy. She was raised by her mother and grandmother, both devout Catholics. She attended a Catholic primary school and appeared in school plays. Her father left the family and her mother eventually remarried in 1937, to Marshall Phillips. After her stage debut in As You Like It, Helmond began working in New York City in 1955. She later ran a summer theatre in the Catskills for three seasons and taught acting in university theatre programs. She made her uncredited television debut in 1962 on Car 54, Where Are You?, but did not begin to appear on television regularly until 1973. She also acted on stage, earning a Tony award nomination for her performance on Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's The Great God Brown (1973). Her other appearances on Broadway included roles in Private Lives, Don Juan, and Mixed Emotions.
Helmond appeared in such feature films as Family Plot, Time Bandits, Brazil, in which she played the mother of Jonathan Pryce's character, and Overboard. In 1983, she studied at the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop. She picked up Emmy nominations for her role as Mona Robinson in Who's the Boss and as Lois Whelan in Everybody Loves Raymond. She also received acclaim for her stage performance in Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.
Helmond appeared in The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975) as Emma Borden, the title character's sister. She appeared in an episode of the short-lived 1976 CBS adventure series, Spencer's Pilots, starring Gene Evans. Helmond gained prominence as Jessica Tate, the ditzy matriarch of the Tate family in Soap (1977–1981) on ABC. From 1984 to 1992, she played the role of Mona Robinson on the ABC sitcom Who's the Boss?. She appeared in a 1993 episode of The Upper Hand, the British version of Who's the Boss? From 1995 to 1997, she starred in the ABC sitcom Coach as Doris Sherman, eccentric owner of the fictional Orlando Breakers professional football team. From 1996 to 2004, she had a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond as Lois Whelan (Ray Barone's mother-in-law). On July 25, 2010, she guest-starred on A&E Network's The Glades and as Caroline Bellefleur on HBO's True Blood. She was also the voice of Lizzie in the Cars film franchise.
