Vicki Ann Lawrence, sometimes known as Vicki Lawrence Schultz, is an American actress, comedian, and pop music singer best remembered for her roles on CBS's The Carol Burnett Show, where she starred for the entire run from 1967 to 1978. She also starred in The Cool Kids, a Fox sitcom.
Vicki Ann Axelrad, the daughter of Anne Alene and Howard Axelrad, a certified public accountant for Max Factor, was born in Inglewood, California, on March 26, 1949. When Vicki was a child, the family surname was legally changed to "Lawrence." She attended Morningside High School in Inglewood and graduated in 1967. Lawrence had intended to work as a dental hygienist. While working on The Carol Burnett Show, she attended UCLA and switched to theater arts, but she dropped out after two years.
She auditioned for and was accepted into the musical group The Young Americans in high school. She remained with the group until almost the end of high school. She gained experience touring with the ensemble, performing at the Academy Awards, meeting notable performers such as Johnny Mathis and Louis Armstrong, and appearing on The Andy Williams Show.
She entered the Miss Fireball of Inglewood contest at the local firefighter's ball in her senior year. According to a local newspaper writer who covered the contest, Lawrence had a striking similarity to a young Carol Burnett. Lawrence's mother, an active fan letter writer, encouraged her to write a letter, which Lawrence did, including the newspaper item.
After receiving the letter, Burnett looked up Lawrence's father's phone number in the phone book and told him she would witness the Miss Fireball pageant. Lawrence took first place in the competition, and Burnett was summoned to the stage to crown her. Burnett was looking for an actress to play her younger sister on her new show at the same time. Lawrence was cast after a few months of auditions, primarily for the role of Chrissy in the "Carol and Sis" routines.
Burnett and Harvey Korman took Lawrence under their wings once she was hired on The Carol Burnett Show. Korman taught her many sketch comedy skills, such as listening for more than just a cue line and other abilities, such as speaking in various dialects. Lawrence has referred to her time on the show as the "Harvard school of comedy" and has recognized Korman and Burnett as her mentors. Lawrence has stated that Burnett taught her to show business and that she looks up to her, and that the two have a close bond.
Lawrence is most recognized as a comedian and actor on The Carol Burnett Show, which she was a part of from 1967 through 1978. Except for Burnett, she was the only cast member who remained for all 11 seasons. Lawrence and her husband Al Schultz went to Maui, Hawaii, with their children after The Carol Burnett Show ended in 1978, but after a few years, they returned to Los Angeles, where they have remained.
Her depiction of Mama on The Carol Burnett Show's "The Family" segments was so popular that NBC followed up with the comedy Mama's Family, which expanded on the Mama character. (From time to time, Burnett resumed her role as Eunice Higgins on the show.) The show aired on NBC from 1983 to 1985, and after that, it was renewed in the first-run syndication from 1986 until 1990. The restored version of the show was a bigger hit. Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show saw her repeat her Mama role on stage.
Lawrence has appeared on several other shows, including Laverne & Shirley, Major Dad, Roseanne, Hannah Montana, and Yes, Dear. Lawrence starred in the 1985 comedy pilot Anything for Love, which aired as a special on CBS that summer and co-starred Lauren Tewes and Rebeca Arthur, between Mama's Family's NBC and syndication runs. Lawrence also featured in three Burnett show retrospectives, in 1993, 2001, and 2004, alongside Burnett, Korman, and Tim Conway. Lawrence starred as Sister Mary Paul (Sister Amnesia) in the TNN TV program Nunsense Jamboree in 1998.
Lawrence starred alongside Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter Miley Cyrus in the hit Disney series Hannah Montana as Mamaw Stewart (the mother of Robby Ray Stewart and grandma of Jackson and Miley Stewart).
Lawrence portrayed Mama in an ad for an Ohio constitutional amendment that would allow casino gambling in the state. Lawrence portrayed Phyllis, Dan's old high-school flame, in a Roseanne episode, and she also starred in a celebrity-only episode of Anne Robinson's adaptation of The Weakest Link. She made it to the final two while playing for charity but lost to Ed Begley, Jr.
She has also appeared as a celebrity player on game shows such as Match Game, Password, Password Plus, Super Password, and many incarnations of the Pyramid game show. She was known for verbally sparring with her host Dick Mercer. She also fled after losing in one episode, only to return before the closing credits. In the 1986-89 season of Hollywood Squares, she also appeared as herself and as Thelma "Mama" Harper in character. For the eponymous Vicki! (1992–1994), Lawrence was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host several times, but the show was canceled after two seasons due to creative differences with her syndicator. She presented Fox After Breakfast, which was renamed The Vicki Lawrence Show in 1997. However, it was terminated after only five weeks due to low ratings. She was a regular panelist on the Match Game revival in 1998, but it only lasted one season.
She tours the country with her "two-woman" act, in which she performs as herself for the first half and Mama for the second. She has also appeared in an infomercial for the Big Boss Grill on television. She is well recognized for her role as Flo in the animated series Hermie and Friends, in which she provided voice-overs.
Lawrence was spotted on the MeTV television network in 2018 advertising The Carol Burnett Show and other classic television series.
Lawrence was married to Bobby Russell, a singer, and composer, from 1972 to 1974. Lawrence has been married to Al Schultz, a Hollywood make-up artist, since November 16, 1974, and they have two children, Courtney Allison Schultz (born May 3, 1975) and Garrett Lawrence Schultz (born July 3, 1977).
In July 2015, Lawrence and her family featured on Celebrity Family Feud. Around 2011, Lawrence was diagnosed with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU). She teamed up with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and became the face of the CIU & You campaign.
In 2015, she went on The Doctors to share her story, discuss CIU, and support the CIU & You campaign.
| Birth Date: | 26 Mar, 1949 |
| Age: | 71 yrs |
| Occupations: | Actor Singer Television actor Film actor |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | Inglewood |
| Education: | Morningside High School |
| Gender: | Female |
| Description: | Actress, comedian, singer, television personality |
| Spouse: | Bobby Russell[1972-1974] |
| Net Worth 2021: | 8 million |
