Pamela Adlon

Early life

Adlon was born in New York City. She is the daughter of Marina Lucy () and Donald Maxwell "Don" Segall, who was a television comedy writer-producer and author of comic books and science fiction pulp novels. Her father produced The Dave Garroway Show, which became AM New York and then The Today Show. He was a page at NBC with Gilbert Cates and wrote erotic fiction under various pseudonyms, including Troy Conway. Her father was born to a Jewish family of Ukrainian-Jewish descent, and her mother, originally an Anglican, converted to Judaism. Adlon has said that her parents met at a USO event in Paris.

As a child, Adlon lived in the Carnegie House at 100 West 57th Street.

Career

Adlon made her acting debut as Dolores Rebchuck in the 1982 musical sequel film Grease 2. She had a recurring role as Kelly Affinado in the sitcom The Facts of Life (1983–1984). This was followed by appearances in Bad Manners (1984), Night Court (1984), Willy/Milly (1986), Star Trek: The Next Generation (1989), Say Anything... (1989), Sgt. Bilko (1996), and Plump Fiction (1997). Although Adlon was successful as a child actress, she struggled to find acting roles in her 20s. It led her to develop a substantial voice-over career which she cited as saving her career.

Adlon gained further acclaim and recognition for voicing the starring role of Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series King of the Hill (1997–2010), for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 2002. Adlon also gained recognition for voicing Margaret "Moose" Pearson in Pepper Ann (1997–2000), Ashley Spinelli in Recess (1997–2001), Brigette Murphy in Milo Murphy's Law (2016–2019), and the voice of newborn Halley Wolowitz in The Big Bang Theory.

Adlon is recognizable for her husky voice, which led to her voicing young boys in numerous animated series and films. She voiced Baloo in Jungle Cubs (1996–1998), the title role in the video game series Pajama Sam (1996–2001), Lucky in 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997–1998), Hector McBadger in Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks (2003–2007), and Andy in Squirrel Boy (2006–2007), among numerous others. She was nominated for an Annie Award for her role as Otto Osworth in the Cartoon Network animated comedy series Time Squad (2001–2003). She continued to voice characters in films, such as The Animatrix (2003) and as Vidia in the Tinker Bell film series (2008–2015).

Adlon had notable live-action roles as Emma Path in the ABC legal drama series Boston Legal (2007–2008), Marcy Runkle in the Showtime comedy-drama series Californication (2007–2014), and as Pamela in the FX comedy series Louie (2010–2015). She was also a writer and consulting producer for the lattermost series.

Adlon's professional relationship with Louis C.K. began in 2006 when she played his wife in the short-lived HBO sitcom Lucky Louie. She appeared as the friend of Louie (a fictional character based on C.K.) in his FX single-camera series Louie. She appeared in every season but the third. Adlon co-wrote seven episodes of the series and became a consulting producer. She earned a total of four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her work on Louie. She earned two nominations as a producer for Outstanding Comedy Series, one nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for co-writing the episode "Daddy's Girlfriend Part 1", and one nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

In 2015, FX gave a pilot order to Better Things, a comedy created by and starring Adlon. She plays an actress raising three daughters. The pilot was written by Adlon and Louis C.K., who also directed it. It was picked up for a 10-episode series on August 7, 2015. The show, which premiered on September 8, 2016, is semi-autobiographical. C.K. served as a co-writer and occasional director for the first two seasons, while Adlon has served as director and writer throughout the series' run.

The series received widespread critical acclaim and was honored with a Peabody Award. Adlon received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the first two seasons of Better Things. She also received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy, and four nominations for the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy. Adlon was represented by manager Dave Becky until November 2017, when she fired him following his involvement in the Louis C.K. sexual harassment scandal.

Adlon had recent live-action roles in the romantic drama film First Girl I Loved (2016), the science fiction action film Bumblebee (2018), and the comedy-drama film The King of Staten Island (2020). She had a guest role as Mrs. Wolowitz in the CBS sitcom Young Sheldon (2017) and a recurring role as Dr. Leigh in the acclaimed NBC drama series This Is Us (2020). She guest starred on the ABC sitcom Shifting Gears (2025) in the Season 2 episode "Nutcracker".

Adlon made her feature directorial debut with Babes.

Personal life

In 1996, Adlon married , the son of German director Percy Adlon. They divorced in 2010, and he then moved to Germany. They have three daughters who are actresses: Gideon, Odessa, and Valentine "Rocky" Adlon.

Adlon splits her time between the Upper West Side of Manhattan and Los Angeles.

In January 2020, Adlon became a citizen of the United Kingdom.

Filmography

Main article: Pamela Adlon filmography

Adlon is known for her collaborations with Louis C.K and her performances in Lucky Louie (2006), Louie (2010–2015), and Better Things (2016–2022). She has had major performances in The Facts of Life (1983–1984) and Californication (2007–2014) as well as making guest appearances in The Jeffersons (1984), Boston Legal (2007–2008), Parenthood (2012), and This Is Us (2020). In 2025 she began a recurring role as Nathan Lane's sister on Hulu's Mid-Century Modern. She is also a well known voice artist. Her voice credits include the animated programs Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), Bobby's World (1992–1998), Rugrats (1992–2004), Recess (1997–2001), King of the Hill (1997–2010, 2025–present), The Oblongs (2001), Bob's Burgers (2012–2020), and Babes (2024).

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Stated on ''[[Finding Your Roots]]'', January 25, 2022
2. "Finding your roots".
3. Tube, Stage. "VIDEO: Pamela Adlon Revisits Her Bobby Hill Voice on THE TONIGHT SHOW".
4. "Pamela Adlon wants you to know she has your back".
5. (January 4, 2012). "Pamela Adlon: From 'Hill' Kid To 'Californication'". [[NPR]].
6. (April 1, 2014). "Pamela Adlon on snorting fake coke, Louie, and the fate of her Vulcan ears". [[Onion Inc.]].
7. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (June 16, 2016). "Louis C.K.-Pamela Adlon FX Comedy Series 'Better Things' Sets Fall Premiere Date".
8. "Pamela Adlon Biography". [[TV Guide]].
9. Southern, Nathan. "Pamela Adlon Biography". [[AllMovie]].
10. "Donald M Segall, "United States Public Records"". [[FamilySearch]].
11. (May 20, 2013). "Episode 390 - Pamela Adlon".
12. (March 3, 2020). "Pamela Adlon Revisits Her Bobby Hill Voice from King of the Hill". YouTube.
13. Adlon, Pamela. (November 7, 2017). "Pamela Adlon: The First Time I Ever Tried a Tampon". The New York Times.
14. (February 27, 2020). "Pamela Adlon Wants You to Know 'Better Things' is Scripted".
15. (September 6, 2016). "Actress Pamela Adlon Says ''Better Things'' Is Dedicated to Her Daughters". [[NPR]].
16. (November 21, 2008). "Her Life as a Mom, an Actress and a Boy". [[New York Times]].
17. (August 25, 2009). "A Chat with Pamela Adlon".
18. Boardman, Madeline. (2016-04-20). "10 Voices Behind Your Favorite 'Recess' Characters".
19. (February 2, 2012). "Character Studies: Pamela from Louie".
20. Goldman, Andrew. (June 17, 2011). "Grumpus Maximus". [[New York Times]].
21. "Pamela Adlon".
22. (January 18, 2015). "FX Orders Comedy Pilot Starring Pamela Adlon From Louis CK".
23. (August 7, 2015). "Louis C.K., Pamela Adlon's ''Better Things'' Comedy Lands Series Order at FX".
24. (August 7, 2015). "Louis C.K.-Pamela Adlon Comedy ''Better Things'' Gets FX Series Order".
25. (September 8, 2016). "Pamela Adlon Can't Believe She Has Her Own Show". [[Vulture (blog).
26. "69th Primetime Emmy Award Nominations". Emmys.com.
27. (November 13, 2017). "Pamela Adlon Fires 3 Arts' Dave Becky Following Louis C.K. Harassment Claims". Variety.
28. Gardner, Chris. (June 14, 2022). "Pamela Adlon Sets Feature Directorial Debut With Ilana Glazer Pregnancy Comedy (Exclusive)".
29. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (July 13, 2022). "Pamela Adlon-Directed Pregnancy Comedy From FilmNation And Range Media Partners Rounds Out Its Cast".
30. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (October 5, 2023). "Neon Lands U.S. Deal For 'Babes', Pamela Adlon's Directing Debut Starring Ilana Glazer, Michelle Buteau & Hasan Minhaj".
31. (March 7, 2014). "21 Questions: Louie's Pamela Adlon Thinks Louis C.K. Is the Mickey Mouse of New York".
32. "Pamela Adlon on Instagram: "Oi! I am now a Citizen of the UK. Or a British Citizen. I can now work and play and live across the pond. (Also, I may have done it just to..."".
33. (2024-08-20). "How Are We Not Talking About This All the Time?".
34. (November 18, 2025). "Children's & Family Emmy Nominations Revealed – Full List".
35. "Pamela Adlon". [[Hollywood Foreign Press Association]].
36. "Better Things". The Peabody Awards.
37. "Pamela Adlon". [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
38. Hailu, Selome. (August 6, 2022). "'Abbott Elementary' Tops 2022 TCA Awards".