Celebrity Nooz: Ann Jillian

Ann Jillian (Actress) as Cassie - It's a Living

Updated: 4/15/2007

Name: Ann Jillian

Birth Name: Ann Jura Nauseda

Born: January 29, 1950 in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Claim To Fame: She is best known for her early 1980s TV series, 'It's a Living', a sitcom that elevated Jillian to sex symbol status. She was last signed into this series and received last place billing.

Family Life: Andy Murcia (March 1977 - present) 1 child
Son, Andrew Joseph Nauseda H. Murcia, born on
February 3, 1992.

Info: Ann has been acting since 1961 when she played "Little Bo Peep" in the Disney film, Babes In Toyland. She appeared in the Rosalind Russell- Natalie Wood 1962 movie version of Gypsy. She later became a regular on the 1960s sitcom Hazel and did voices for Scooby Doo and Sealab 2020 in the 70's.

Ann Jillian's Chili Recipe Click Here

Trivia: Speaks Lithuanian fluently.

Her parents fled from Lithuania on bicycles in 1944 during the second Soviet occupation.

Ann obtained a scholarship to the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, which gave her chance to study acting and music with some of the finest teachers in the country.

In 1979, was a huge hit on Broadway in "Sugar Babies" with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller.

In 1985, at the age of 35, Ann was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. She battled the disease courageously and successfully.

Future husband (and then-policeman) Andy Murcia pretended to be gay when he and Ann first met, so she wouldn't think he was just another man trying to pick her up.

Where Are They Now: Her TV and film credits have been sporadic since the late 1990s, as she decided to devote herself to raising her son Andrew Joseph and to promoting breast cancer issues. Today, she mostly works as a motivational speaker and also performs as a singer in corporate and symphony pops circles. Ann, husband and son reside in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.

Write To Ann Jillian:
Ann Jillian
PO Box 57739
Sherman Oaks, CA 91413

Official Website: www.annjillian.com

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