Cute, perky, and engaging brunette actress Rebecca Balding was born on September 21, 1948, in Little Rock, Arkansas. The sweet, comely, and spirited Balding first began acting on television in the mid 1970s. She
played an eager-beaver cub reporter on three episodes of
Lou Grant (1977). She achieved
her greatest and most enduring popularity as Carol David, the young lady who becomes a surrogate mother for gay Jodie Dallas' (Billy Crystal child on comedy program Die Ausgeflippten (1977). She portrayed David Naughton's receptionist
girlfriend in the sitcom Makin' It (1979). Balding tackled two substantial starring roles in a couple of hugely enjoyable early 1980s horror pictures: She was the endearingly spunky college student heroine of the superior slasher winner Psychock (1979) and an equally likable damsel in distress in the immensely entertaining creature feature The Boogens (1981). Alas, her fright film scream queen phase proved to be sadly fleeting.
She racked up an impressively large volume
of guest spot credits on numerous TV shows: Among the television
programs she's appeared in are Emergency Room: Die Notaufnahme (1994),
Melrose Place (1992),
Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990),
Hör' mal, wer da hämmert (1991),
Macgyver (1985),
Unser Haus (1986),
Familienbande (1982),
Trapper John, M.D. (1979),
Hotel (1983),
Matt Houston (1982),
Gimme a Break! (1981),
Insiders (1985),
Cagney & Lacey (1981),
The Fisher Family (1952),
I'm a Big Girl Now (1980),
Angst im Superexpress (1979),
Barnaby Jones (1973),
Die Sieben-Millionen-Dollar Frau (1976), and
Starsky und Hutch (1975).
She gave a touching performance as
Edward Asner's estranged dejected daughter in the made-for-TV drama gem
Letzte Weihnacht (1977) and its lesser, more mawkish sequel, The Gathering, Part II (1979).
Late in her career, she popped up in a steady recurring part as Phoebe (Alyssa Milano)'s boss Elise Rothman on Charmed: Zauberhafte Hexen (1998). She was married to producer James L. Conway from 1981 until her death at 73 in 2022. She was also survived by two daughters.
