Late Night Videos: A celebration of the great Annie Potts of “Designing Women” on her 68th birthday

Annie Potts is currently co-starring in the hit CBS comedy Young Sheldon as the title character’s grandmother Connie ‘Meemaw’ Tucker.

Today, the Emmy-nominated actress turns 68 and I’m so glad to see her in another successful show in a good role.

Of course she’s best known for her seven season run as Mary Jo Shively (163 episodes!) but I loved her just as much as Mary Elizabeth ‘M.E.’ Sims in the fabulous Lifetime series Any Day Now which ran four wonderful seasons. My other favorite Annie Potts character was that of Gigi Stopper on ABC’s GCB which lasted less than one season and deserved more of a chance.

I’ve interviewed Miss Potts a few times about her various roles and she told me Gigi reminded her a bit of Julia Sugarbaker, the character on Designing Women played by Dixie Carter. She also told me one of her bigger heartbreaks was when her ABC drama Dangerous Minds (based on the movie starring Michelle Pfieffer) was cancelled after just a single season.

But it’s been a glorious career overall with movie roles in Ghostbusters, Pretty in Pink, Corvette Summer and Texasville, two seasons of the sitcom Love & War, and memorable recurring roles on Joan of Arcadia, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Men in Trees, Chicago Med, and The Fosters, among others.

Below are a few TV interviews and two of my favorite Mary Jo Designing Women scenes.