Julia Campbell portrayed Penny Dawson, the mom of Ally, in the Disney Channel original series, Austin & Ally. She is an American actress, who is best known for her role 'Christie Masters' in the film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion along with Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, and others.
Early Life[]
Campbell was born March 12th, 1962, in Huntsville, Alabama, USA. She used to be married to Bernard White but is now currently married to actor Jay Kames. She had set off her acting career in 1984 on Ryan's Hope as Katie Thompson. She appeared there for five episodes, lasting until 1985.
Filmography[]
Films[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Eleventh Commandment | Felicia | |
| 1987 | Body Count | ||
| 1990 | Opportunity Knocks | Dr. Annie Malkin | |
| Johnny Ryan | Eve Manion | TV movie. | |
| 1991 | Livin' Large! | Missy Carnes | |
| 1992 | Ned Blessing: The True Story of My Life | Jilly Blue | TV movies. |
| The Witches of Eastwick | Jane Hollis | ||
| 1994 | Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics | Maureen | Segment "Where the Dead Are" |
| The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Hollywood Follies | Kitty | TV movie. | |
| 1997 | Romy and Michele's High School Reunion | Christy Masters | |
| 1998 | Rough Draft | Juliette | |
| Legion of Fire: Killer Ants! | Laura Sills | TV movies. | |
| Poodle Springs | Miriam 'Muffy' Blackstone-Nichols | ||
| 1999 | A Slight Case of Murder | Patricia Stapelli | |
| 2000 | Hey Neighbor | Barbara | |
| Bounce | Sue | ||
| 2001 | Thank Heaven | Victoria Brady | |
| 2002 | The Funkhousers | Mom | TV movie. |
| 2005 | Kicking & Screaming | Janet Davidson | |
| 2006 | The Tillamook Treasure | Kathryn Kimbell | |
| 2012 | Arcadia | Mrs. Acres |
TV Shows[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Ryan's Hope | Katie Thompson | 5 episodes 1984-1985 |
| 1986 | Santa Barbara | Courtney Capwell | 2 episodes |
| 1987 | Werewolf | Sally | Ep: Running with the Pack |
| Women in Prison | Vicki Springer | 13 episodes 1987-1988 | |
| 1989 | Knight & Daye | Janet Glickman | Ep: Pilot Ep: New York! New York? Ep: Goodbye, Mr. Scrimshaw |
| 1992 | Herman's Head | Elizabeth | 5 episodes |
| 1993 | Cutters | Lynn | |
| Murder, She Wrote | Sharon Baskin | Ep: A Virtual Murder | |
| 1994 | Blue Skies | Ellie | |
| 1995 | A Whole New Ballgame | Meg O'Donnell | 7 episodes |
| Party of Five | Monica | Ep: Best Laid Plans | |
| 1996 | Champs | Doris | 6 episodes |
| Men Behaving Badly | Cherie Miller | 2 Episodes (The Bed & Jamie's in Love). | |
| 1998 | Seinfeld | Lisi | Ep: The Frogger |
| The Practice | A.D.A. Fields | Ep: Reasons to Believe | |
| The Pretender | Kristi Kincaid | Ep: Someone to Trust | |
| 1999 | Martial Law | Melanie George | 5 Episodes (Extreme Measures, Captive Hearts, Nitro Man, Requiem & End Game). |
| Oh, Grow Up | Julie Sheffield | ||
| 2000 | Bull | Dr. Mary Parker | Ep: To Have and to Hold |
| Friends | Whitney | Ep: The One with the Engagement Picture | |
| 2001 | Judging Amy | Calla Hawkins | Ep: Hold on Tight |
| Reba | Caroline | Ep: You Make Me Sick | |
| 2002 | Rose Red | Ellen Rimbauer | TV mini-series |
| Ally McBeal | Ms. Bridgeman | Ep: The New Day | |
| 2003 | Crossing Jordan | Maddy Whitford | Ep: Fire and Ice |
| 2004 | Still Standing | Shelly | 3 Episodes (Still Neighbors, Still Fast & Still Using) |
| 2005 | |||
| Malcolm in the Middle | Donna | Ep: Mrs. Tri-County | |
| 2006 | Two and a Half Men | Francine | Ep: And the Plot Moistens |
| 3 lbs. | Roberta Mack | Ep: Lost for Words | |
| 2007 | Desperate Housewives | Muriel | Ep: Now You Know |
| Pushing Daisies | Emma Newsome | Ep: Corpsicle | |
| 2008 | In Treatment | Olivia | 2 Episodes (Sophie: Week Five & Sophie: Week Eight). |
| 2009 | Scrubs | Mrs. Fremont | Ep: My ABC's |
| Heroes | Mary Campbell | Ep: Trust and Blood | |
| Big Love | Vicky Nabors | Ep: Come, Ye Saints | |
| House M.D. | Melanie | Ep: The Softer Side | |
| Hawthorne | Beth Johnson | Ep: The Sense of Belonging | |
| The Cleaner | Marcia Fisher | Ep: Path of Least Resistance | |
| The Mentalist | Nina Hodge | Ep: Red Menace | |
| Dexter | Sally Mitchell | 5 episodes | |
| 2010 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Janet Marsh | Ep: Lost & Found |
| No Ordinary Family | Nina Claremont | Ep: No Ordinary Marriage | |
| Lie to Me | Carol Ashlen | Ep: Beyond Belief | |
| 2011 | CSI: Miami | Gretchen Cambridge | Ep: Stiff |
| Criminal Minds | Martha Slade | Ep: Painless | |
| 2012-2013 | Austin & Ally | Penny Dawson | 3 Episodes (Backups & Breakups, Chapters & Choices and Partners & Parachutes) |
| 2012 | Drop Dead Diva | Peg Surnow | Ep: Crushed |
| 2013 | Justified | Eve Munro | 2 episodes |
Austin & Ally[]
Julia as Penny Dawson, in Austin & Ally
In the show Julia Campbell portrays the role Penny Dawson, who is Ally's mom. She was first introduced in Backups & Breakups, as viewers see Ally and Penny talking through webcams on laptop computers. Penny is in Africa writing a book, which is rumored and to be called as "Gorilla love and how it is similar to teenage love" or something similar. She also told Ally that she named two baby gorillas after her and Trish. Ally had asked her for advice through Trent cheating on Trish and if she should tell Trish or not.
Penny was also in Chapters & Choices, and Partners & Parachutes.
Trivia[]
- In the 1980s, she did a Jack in the Box commercial that led to her being cast as an inmate in the sitcom Women in Prison since she had this victimized, haunted quality about her.
- She started to take theater classes in high school. She got enough experience to be accepted to Webster University, where she earned her BFA in drama.
- Her high school was Lake Braddock Secondary School, Burke, Virginia.
- She grew up wanting to be a ballerina.
- At age 11, she developed scoliosis.
- At age 15, she underwent corrective surgery.
- As a result, she is unable to participate in any activities that may put stress on her spine: skiing, horseback riding, roller-coaster riding, and especially dancing.
- Like Laura Marano, Julia had a guest appearance in an episode of Heroes. They were not in the same episode, however, nor did they play mother and daughter.
Gallery[]
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