Marla Pennington, an energetic blue-eyed blonde, is that rarity in the entertainment field -- one of a handful of actresses who has been working steadily at their craft since embarking on a performing career.
Familiar from a rich body of work that encompasses the stage, film and television media, Marla jumped into Small Wonder in the role of Joan Lawson.
A native of Burbank, California, Marla began appearing before the cameras at the age of 19, portraying, as she says, "mostly counter girls" in a slew of commercial spots. After acquiring a solid stage foundation with repertory work, she began landing guest spots and recurring roles on television series that included Lucas Tanner, How The West Was Won, Charlie's Angels, Magnum, P.I. (as "Carol Ann" in the episode "Billy Joe Bob") and Private Benjamin.
Marla was a regular on ABC-TV's ground-breaking Soap series, portraying Leslie Walker, the teacher and girlfriend to young Billy Tate, and played Fonzie's love interest in a recurring role on Happy Days. Marla appeared with Dick Van Dyke in the acclaimed telefilm The Morning After and was a regular on the top-rated daytime series General Hospital, portraying Samantha Livingstone Chandler.
Marla broke into feature films as a teen bimbo "Jan" in Universal's Jim, The World's Greatest (Story of a Teenager), and was a babe as "Mary Beth McFadden" in National Lampoon's Class Reunion (ABC Circle Films, 1982). She also appeared in Paramount's Day of the Locust. On the stage, the pretty blonde has been seen in A Taste of Honey, The Chalk Garden and Out of the Frying Pan, among dozens of other theater productions.
Portraying Joan Lawson, the mother to the Small Wonder family, is a natural progression for the talented actress: "I've graduated from counter girls to moms," she explains. Marla describes her character as "a modern woman, wife and mother. She certainly holds her own in the family unit — she's the stable one of the bunch that keeps them all in line."
Marla feels the show definitely holds a wide appeal: "Kids are just mesmerized when they see the little robot. I think it has more to do with being reared in an age of video and computers. Adults seem to like the rapport between the parents and the idea of having a cute little girl who doesn't have dental bills."
When Marla is not working, she spends her time jogging, reading and playing with her dogs. Marla is also an accomplished cook whose gourmet recipes have been published in the prestigious Bon Appetit cooking magazine. Each year she creates and publishes a collection of her favorite recipes as holiday gifts for friends.
As for the future, the consummate actress plans to keep on doing what she loves best: "I guess my goal is to do `Where's the Beef?' commercials, portraying little old ladies. I'd like to cover the spectrum, going from counter girl to mom to grandma."