Biography
Annie Potts was an American film and TV actress who was best known for her roles in "Ghostbusters" (1984), "Designing Women" (1986-1993), "Young Sheldon" (CBS, 2017- ), and three of the four "Toy Story" movies, in which she voiced the role of Bo Peep. Born in Nashville and raised in Kentucky, Potts always dreamt of becoming an actress. She attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri where she first began taking drama courses. After graduating, Potts continued her acting studies with post-graduate work in California. However, Potts's burgeoning acting career was nearly derailed in her early 20s when she and her then husband were involved in a major car accident in New Mexico. Potts survived, thankfully, but broke several bones as a result from the wreck and was laid up for weeks in the hospital. After recovering from the accident, Potts pushed forward with her fledgling acting career. She made her feature film debut in 1978's "Corvette Summer" which also starred Mark Hamill, who was fresh off his starring role in the blockbuster "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" (1977). Potts continued nabbing roles throughout the early 1980s but it was her supporting role as a wise-cracking secretary in 1984's "Ghostbusters" that really put her on the map. The huge success of "Ghostbusters" put Potts into the purview of casting agents seemingly overnight and before long she was appearing in popular 80s films like "Crimes of Passion" (1984), "Pretty in Pink" (1986), and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1986). Then in 1986 Potts joined the cast of the CBS sitcom "Designing Women." She played the role of Mary Jo Shively on the series, which also starred Delta Burke and Dixie Carter. Potts appeared in all 163 episodes of the series, which ended its 7 season run in 1993. Potts' next big role came in 1995 when she was cast as the voice of Bo Peep in the Pixar animated film "Toy Story" (1995). Potts reprised her role as Bo Peep in two subsequent "Toy Story" sequels, including 2019's "Toy Story 4." Potts continued acting regularly in both films and on TV shows well into the 2010s. In 2013 she landed a recurring role on "The Fosters" (Freeform, 2013-18). In 2017 she joined the cast of the highly anticipated spin-off series "Young Sheldon." The sitcom, which was told from the point-of-view of Sheldon Cooper from "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS, 2007-2019) at 9-years-old, was an immediate success, and premiered its third season in the fall of 2019.
