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Nicholle Tom
The American actress Nicholle Tom was born on 23rd March 1978 in Hinsdale, Illinois. The blue-eyed blonde has two siblings: older sister Heather, an actress and TV director known for her works in soap operas, and twin brother David, who famously played Billy Abbott in “The Young and the Restless”.
Heather and Tom made history in 2000 upon becoming the first brother and sister nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards in the same year. Nicholle’s three-decade career has been just as impressive. The Illinois native has proven herself to be a versatile actress, from voicing Supergirl in the DC Animated Universe, to starring in gritty independent films.
Notable Roles: Film
By the time Nicholle was cast as Ryce Newton in the early 1990s “Beethoven” movies, she had already been acting for years. The feel-good family comedy movies were hugely popular amongst young audiences, with both of them bringing in over $118 million at the box office. The storyline of the first movie in the franchise was centered around the Newton family’s loveable St. Bernard dog, Beethoven, and how he helped his owners overcome their problems.
Nicholle’s storyline in the first “Beethoven” movie was focused on her character, Ryce, becoming confident enough to ask her crush out. In the sequel, she was exposed to sexual harassment and underage drinking after being invited to a party; even so, her character remained a pretty one-dimensional being who was only concerned with boys. Whatever the case, the actress was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture following the success of “Beethoven”.
The rest of the 1990s saw Nicholle appear in differing made-for-TV movies or independent productions such as “For My Daughter’s Honor” and “What Kind of Mother Are You?”. From 2000 to 2001, the blonde appeared in six movies; however, most of them were commercial flops and lambasted by critics, apart from “The Princess Diaries”, in which she played a bubbly teen reporter.
Throughout the 2000s, Nicholle began dabbling in Spanish movies, with appearances in “A mi amor mi dulce” and “Mi corazón”. In 2006, she worked alongside Paris Hilton and Jason Mewes in the hilarious romcom “Bottom’s Up”; eight years later, she drastically stepped out of her comfort zone by starring in the psychological thriller “Private Number”, which was inspired by “The Ring” and “The Shining”, written by Dianne Johnson and directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Nicholle’s latest movie role was playing Sandy in the 2019 short “The Scrap County Murders”. A year earlier, she earned her first executive producer credit with the short “Blink”.
Notable Roles: TV
Viewers first saw Nicholle on the small screen in 1990, when she had a minor role in “Jim Henson Presents Mother Goose Stories”. Over the next couple of years, she guest-starred in well-known sitcoms such as “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Beverly Hills, 90210”, before coming into her own with a leading role in the CBS sitcom “The Nanny”.
As the title implies, “The Nanny” followed the adventures of a young nanny who began caring for three upper-class children in New York City. The show was created and produced by Fran Drescher and her husband at the time, Peter Marc Jacobson, and inspired by Fran’s memories of growing up in Queens, New York, with many of the characters being loosely inspired by her friends and relatives. The show ran for six seasons and 146 episodes, winning an Emmy Award and a Rose d’Or and spawning various foreign adaptations which are based on the original scripts.
Nicholle’s character, Margaret Sheffield, was Maxwell Sheffield’s firstborn and had two siblings named Brighton and Grace. At the beginning of the series, Margaret was an awkward and reserved character, who slowly came out of her shell and became somewhat popular thanks to her nanny, Fran. Margaret and Fran bonded almost immediately after their first meeting, behaving like friends or sisters towards each other; when Fran and Maxwell married in later episodes, Nicholle was thrilled that the nanny become her stepmother.
Despite “The Nanny” being a huge hit, it would take Nicholle years to land another recurring role. From 2006 to 2007, she played Tara Wentzel in the comedy series “The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman”. Since then, the actress has guest-starred in over a dozen shows, such as “The Mentalist” and “Criminal Minds”, and had roles in many TV films.
In 2022, Nicholle tried reality TV by competing in season 24 of “Worst Cooks in America”, but was the second contestant to be eliminated, with the $25,000 prize going to “Growing Pains” star Tracey Gold.
Personal Life
At the height of her career, Nicholle was linked to fellow actors Bryan Kirkwood and Chris Jaymes. From 2002 to 2006, she was also in a relationship with Justin Willman. Some media outlets claim that the gorgeous blonde is currently dating E! News correspondent Robbie Laughlin due to their close bond; however, Robbie is gay.
For now, Nicholle has shown no signs of wanting to settle down and start a family. As for her net worth, figures vary wildly from $400,000 to $13 million. The actress is of average height (5ft 7in, or 171cm) and weighs just 55kgs (121lbs), maintaining her toned physique with a regular workout and diet regime.
A little-known fact for fans of the “The Nanny” star is that she previously worked with her twin brother David when they guest-starred together in a 2008 episode of “Criminal Minds”. The Tom siblings are undeniably close and have appeared together at various high-profile events such as premieres and award ceremonies over the years, supporting each other and celebrating their successes.
For a time, Heather and David were both series regulars in “The Young and the Restless”: however, they almost never appeared together in the same scene. Despite both sisters being in the acting industry for decades, Heather and Nicholle have also never worked on the same show or film together.
During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Nicholle kept herself busy by creating a YouTube channel, “Corona Construction with Nicholle Tom”, in which she worked on various DIY projects such as renovating her backyard. There have also been talks of the blonde reprising her role in “The Nanny”, as plans for a reboot are currently in development.
