Photo: Angela George / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Rhea Perlman is, to my mind, one of the great proofs that a supporting role can carry a show. Carla Tortelli on Cheers was acid-tongued, fiercely loyal, and impossible to look away from; ten Emmy nominations and four wins across eleven seasons is a consistency few leads ever manage. I also love that she pivoted into writing children's books — there was always a warmth under the snark that read clearly on screen. Standing barely five feet tall, she dominated rooms full of bigger stars. That is craft, not luck, and I rank her among sitcom history's most reliable weapons.
Overview
Rhea Jo Perlman ( REE-ə; born March 31, 1948) is an American actress and author. She is well-known for playing head waitress Carla Tortelli in the popular sitcom Cheers (1982–1993). Over the course of 11 seasons, Perlman was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress, winning four, and was nominated for a record six Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Rhea Perlman
- Name (Japanese)
- リー・パールマン
- Reading
- りー・ぱーるまん
- Born
- March 31, 1948 (age 78)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aries / Rat
- Origin
- Brooklyn, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 152 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- television actor / actor / children's writer / film actor / voice actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Lafayette High School
- University
- Hunter College
Awards & achievements
- 1984 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
- 1985 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
- 1986 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
- 1989 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Television actor — see all → · Actor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.