Lauren Tewes

Early years

Tewes was born in Braddock, Pennsylvania to Joanne (née Woods) and Joseph Tewes, a wood pattern maker. She was raised in Whittier, California.

She attended Pioneer High School and Rio Hondo College and also studied at the University of California, Riverside, where she won the 1st Annual Chancellor's Award for Excellence in the Theatre.

Career

Tewes made her stage debut in Arsenic and Old Lace at the Pacific Conservatory Theatre in California.

In 1977, Tewes appeared in an episode of the TV series Family ("Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...") as Jill Redfield, a young woman feeling helpless about being expected to marry a man she doesn't love. A year earlier, she had been cast for the role of cruise director Julie McCoy on The Love Boat. She was selected from more than 100 actresses who auditioned for the role. She was in the third and final pilot of the show, and cast the day before production began.

Lauren made her film debut in the 1981 movie Eyes of a Stranger.

In 1984, after seven seasons, Tewes was replaced on The Love Boat after a highly public battle with cocaine abuse (which she eventually overcame). She did reprise her role as a guest in a 1985 episode. Following her recovery from drug addiction, Tewes was selected for a role in the 1985 CBS sitcom pilot "Anything for Love," alongside Vicki Lawrence and Rebeca Arthur. Although the pilot was broadcast as a special that summer, it did not progress to become a full series.

Tewes appeared in a 1998 episode of Love Boat: The Next Wave, a revival of the original series. In 2000–01, she had a recurring role as a police detective on The Fugitive.

Personal life

Tewes lives near Seattle, Washington, where she has appeared in regional theatre and done voice-over and self-promotion work. Her roles have included Mrs. Pearce in My Fair Lady at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle in 2003 and Karen Noone in Craig Lucas's Prayer for My Enemy at the Intiman Theatre in 2007. She has had roles in radio dramas performed by Imagination Theater.

She went to culinary school and works as a caterer and cheese steward at a Seattle grocery store. "It was hard ... but I learned a skill I have used as a backup." She gave up acting when her third husband died, but later returned to the stage for local productions.

Marriages

1. John Wassel (1977–1981; divorced)
2. Paolo Nonnis (1986–19??; divorced)
3. Bob Nadir (May 1, 1996 – April 25, 2002; his death)