Biography
She has an incredible amount of energy, replenished constantly with good health and compatible habits. It is the key to managing the hectic pace of being Marilu Henner. She has starred on stage, in several hit TV series, film, commercials, television movies and variety specials. She has also co-starred with some of Hollywood's leading men and worked with some of the best directors in Hollywood and on Broadway. She believes that with good health one can do it all.
Now her secret is out. The knowledge and discipline which this actress, author and full-time mom has gathered to maintain her demanding schedule is available at bookstores, in the form of Marilu Henner's Total Health Makeover. The book addresses her years of being overweight and stifled by bad health, and takes the reader through a journey of discovery.
It is a story of trial and error, noting the connections made and compulsions untangled through knowledge, observation and understanding.
It is a discussion, which reevaluates our ideas of fitness and demystifies the instant quick-fix regime, replacing it with a more beautiful method.
Her philosophy is culled from years of experience, and it is all based on a personal quest to combat unnecessary health risks and adapt an overall "sense" of our body's needs.
Best of all, it works! You will hear other people's stories for which life has improved, energy multiplied, and their bodies and metabolism have changed.
Marilu's entire life is a testimony to the power of her approach to health. That energy and her extraordinary singing and dancing talents were most recently unleashed to rave reviews and Broadway's only SRO ticket sales in her starring role of Roxie Hart in Chicago.
It prompted reviews such as "The luscious Marilu Henner knocking them dead as Roxie Hart," (Liz Smith) "...a fine, Broadway-style singer and dancer . . . admirable polish," (New York Times) and "...the working Broadway definition of thoroughbred." (Newsday).
Marilu started her professional career staring in the first national touring company of Grease, later appearing with the Broadway company. This was followed by Over Here, Pal Joey, and later in Social Security directed by Mike Nichols.
During her early years on Broadway, Marilu performed in over 30 commercials, at one point playing Annie Sullivan and then transforming herself into the Samsonite Luggage Girl in top hat and tails.
Called out to California for the Taxi pilot she came of age in a hit series, keeping company with Danny DeVito, Judd Hirsch, and Tony Danza. For her work on Taxi, Marilu received five Golden Globe nominations.
After this, she worked on the TV show Evening Shade, side by side with some of the most talented actors around; Burt Reynolds, Charles Durning, Elizabeth Ashley, Michael Jeter, and Hal Holbrook. Finally she converted her ease as a talk-show guest into adeptness as a talk-show host with the Marilu show. Steering the project by relentless curiosity, she undertook issues to explore them, not to exploit them.
This show offered no fights, stripping, degrading epiphanies, or dangerous pranks. After hosting the talk show for a year she yearned for an acting project.
With her husband, Robert Lieberman, Marilu formed a production company. Its first project included Medicine Ball, an offbeat Fox series, and critically acclaimed ABC MOW, Abandoned & Deceived, which told the true story of Gerri Jenson, the founder of ACES, an organization which helps trace "deadbeat dads and moms."
Marilu and Jenson also testified in Washington DC. To support congressional legislation to combat the problem. After seeing the positive results of her support and presence, she starred in another film, Fight For Justice: the Nancy Conn Story." With this project she hoped to shed light on the stalking and battering of women.
Braiding together her skills, experiences, and resources; Marilu discovered a deep and satisfying role using her entertainment arena. Again using the image of the whole system, she set her eye on worldwide social problems.
This makes sense considering she would soon be a mother of two boys: Nicholas and, on the way, Joseph. With her second pregnancy she hosted a documentary called We're Having a Baby. The camera followed Marilu through out her pregnancy and more specifically from a guest spot on Comic Relief to her four a.m. delivery the following morning. And believe it or not, even in labor she keeps her comedic timing.
Throughout all of this Marilu has continually starred in feature films, including Blood Brothers (with Richard Gere), Between the Lines (with Jeff Goldbloom), Hammett (with Frederic Forrest),
LA Story (with Steve Martin), Johnny Dangerously (with Micheal Keaton), Perfect (with John Travolta), The Man Who Loved Women (with Burt Reynolds), Rustler's Rhapsody (with Tom Berenger) and Noises Off (with Christopher Reeve and Michael Caine), to name a few. She has worked with Joan Micklin Silver, Robert Mulligan, Wim Wenders, Blake Edwards, Amy Heckerling, Jim Bridges, Hugh Wilson, Mick Jackson, and Peter Bogdonavich (for more information on these films, check out Marilu's Filmography page).
Marilu grew up in a large, loving family in Chicago and knew at an early age that she wanted to be a performer. Her mother was a longtime dance teacher (their garage was converted into a studio), and Marilu's natural inclination took over. |
