Rhoda Gemignani

Rhoda Gemignani, born Rhoda Barbara Cohan on October 21, 1939, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an American actress whose career has spanned stage, film, television, and voice work. The daughter of Leo and Lillian Cohan, she attended San Francisco State College. Her older brother, Martin Cohan, was a comedy writer who co-created the sitcom Who's the Boss?. In 1961 she married theater composer Paul Gemignani; the two later divorced.

Gemignani began her professional career on Broadway, appearing in productions between 1966 and 1974. Her stage credits include Mert & Phil, Cabaret, and Zorba. Beyond Broadway, she took on classical and musical theater roles, among them Cleopatra in Caesar and Cleopatra, Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Golde in a production of Fiddler on the Roof.

Beginning in the 1970s, Gemignani became a consistent presence on American television, working predominantly in comedy. She appeared in supporting capacities on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Diff'rent Strokes, and The Jeffersons, as well as later sitcoms including Friends and Seinfeld. On Full House, she originated the role of Irene Katsopolis, Jesse Katsopolis's mother, before being replaced by Yvonne Wilder. Her most sustained television work came through recurring roles: she appeared as a regular on The Bob Newhart Show, played beautician Ruby DeMattis in the short-lived sitcom Family Album, and portrayed Pearl Frischetti on the legal drama The Great Defender. Her longest-running television credit was the role of Mrs. Carmela Rossini on Who's the Boss?, in which she appeared across all eight seasons of the show's run from 1984 to 1992. Around the turn of the millennium, she played the mother of Elliot DiMauro on Just Shoot Me!, a role she held from 1999 to 2003. Her final acting credit of the 2010s was the role of Mrs. LeBlanc in the sitcom Episodes.

Outside of comedy, Gemignani made guest appearances in dramatic and genre television, including Police Woman, Kojak, Hill Street Blues, The Twilight Zone, and Walker, Texas Ranger. Her film work includes a role as a real estate agent in Ghostbusters (1984), an appearance in Three Fugitives (1989), and the role of Costanza in The Man Who Wasn't There (2001). In 2005, she contributed voice work to the video game SWAT 4, providing the voices of Gladys Fairfax and two additional characters.