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Who is Mindy Cohn?
She’s an actress with nearly 90 credits to her name, however, Mindy Cohn is probably still known best for her role as Natalie Green in the family comedy “The Facts of Life”, in which she starred opposite Kim Fields and Lisa Whelchel. Besides recognition, this role brought Mindy three Young Artist Award nominations. Mindy is also a well-known voice behind Velma Dinkley in the “Scooby-Doo” series and movies, which also brought her numerous award nominations, including the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program.
Let us tell you more about this versatile actress, her career, her future plans, and how she won the most important battle in her life.
Early life, family, and education
Born Melinda Heather Cohn under the zodiac sign of Taurus on 20 May 1966, Mindy is today aged 57. She is a native of Los Angeles, California USA, holds American nationality, and comes from a Jewish family, raised by her parents Ina and Nat as their only child.
Mindy hadn’t dreamed of becoming an actress, but was still a high-school girl when she was discovered by the producers of the series “The Facts of Life” while they were visiting her school for research. Mindy was cast thanks to Charlotte Rae, who played Edna Garrett in the series. As Mindy said, Charlotte had fallen in love with her because Mindy reminded her of her best childhood friend.
When it comes to Mindy’s educational background, upon matriculating from high school in 1984, she enrolled at Loyola Marymount University, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology in 1989.
Roles in series
Mindy made her acting debut playing her most notable role as Natalie Green in “The Facts of Life”. From 1979 through 1988, she made an appearance in 201 episodes of this comedy, which followed the story of Mrs Edna, a dietitian, and housemother at the Eastland School, who taught a group of girls how to deal with teenage problems. The show had 17 award nominations, including three for Primetime Emmys, and six wins – Mindy’s performance, earned her a nomination for the Young Artist Award for Best Young Comedienne- Motion Picture or Television in 1982,, and then in 1983 and ‘84, Mindy was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series.
She followed with her role as Maureen Tucker in the series “The Second Half”, and during 1993 and 1994, was seen in 13 episodes of this comedy about the life of a divorced sports columnist, starring John Mendoza.
Five years later, Mindy guest starred as Cindy in an episode of the series “Suddenly Susan”, followed by her voice role as Nancy Francis in the animated series “The Kids from Room 402”, heard in 35 episodes from 2000 through 2001.
Mindy was next heard as Velma Dinkley in 41 episodes of the series “What’s New, Scooby-Doo?” (2002-2006), which earned her the aforementioned Daytime Emmy Award nomination. She reprised her voice role as Velma in “Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue” (2006-2008), and again in “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated” (2010-2013).
Concurrently, she made an appearance in series such as “Hot in Cleveland” (2011) and “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” (2012). Mindy followed with her guest roles in the popular series “The Middle” and “Bones” in 2014, while most recently, she was seen as Molly in less than five episodes of the podcast series “Around the Sun” (2022-2023).
Mindy’s admirers will be happy to hear that she landed the role of Ann in the announced drama series “Palm Royale”, set to premiere by the end of 2023.
Roles in movies
Mindy made her first movie appearance in the 1982 TV drama “Table Settings”., followed later that year with her role as Natalie Green in “The Facts of Life Goes to Paris”. Mindy was next cast to play Geneva in the 1986 romantic fantasy “The Boy Who Could Fly”, making her big screen debut in this drama about an autistic boy who dreams of flying, which was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Exceptional Feature Film – Family Entertainment – Fantasy or Comedy.
Mindy’s next movie role came in 2000, when she landed the role of Toni in the thriller drama “Alone with a Stranger”, and in the early 2000s, Mindy was yet again heard as Velma, in the TV movies “A Scooby-Doo! Christmas” (2002), “Scooby-Doo and the Loch Ness Monster” (2004), “An Evening with the Scooby-Doo Gang” (2005), and “Scooby-Doo: Who’s Watching Who” (2006).
Mindy Cohn on Scooby-Doo! 12 Faded Celebrities With Secret Lives In Cartoons – https://t.co/NuJaVkP0s7 pic.twitter.com/q4xpQOt7W1
— Cracked.com (@cracked) November 5, 2017
In the following years through until 2015, when she was succeeded by Kate Micuccci, Mindy voiced Vilma in numerous “Scooby-Doo” movies, such as “Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword” (2008), “Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare” (2010), “Scooby-Doo” Music of the Vampire” (2012), and “Scooby-Doo” And Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery” (2015), among many others.
Mindy followed with her role as Zelda in the 2016 TV movie “A Cinderella Christmas”, a romantic comedy starring Peter Porte and Emma Catherine Rigby. Mindy was next cast to play Thelma in the 2017 romantic movie “Hollywood Dirt”, which followed the love story between a Southern girl and a Hollywood star.
In the following years, Mindy co-starred in “You Light Up My Christmas” (2019), “A Nice Girl Like You” (2020), and “Kill Cat Oakland” (2021).
We are pleased to announce that Mindy finally landed lead movie roles – actually, she’ll be seen starring in two upcoming comedies, entitled “Mother Father Sister Brother Frank” and “Consequences”, both currently in development.
Love life and wife
Mindy has been the subject of various speculations, however, she stated that she is a proud ‘fag hag’ (a woman who associates either mostly or exclusively with gay and bisexual men). She’s a strong supporter of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.
Although some rumors were saying that Mindy is married, they’re false; she hasn’t been married or engaged, but as of July 2023, she’s in a relationship with her long-term girlfriend, Elizabeth Rooney.
How is she doing today? Health update
For a few years, Mindy kept her cancer diagnosis secret. She was diagnosed in 2012, but only decided to speak publicly about her health in 2017, when she was sure that the cancer wouldn’t come back, again! Mindy had breast cancer that kept returning, despite the treatments she had, including undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, and a double mastectomy. Her recovery process was gruelling, since the cancer metastasized, returning and spreading.
After five years of battle, Mindy is now cancer-free, and is one of the founding members of the weSpark, cancer support center.
Net worth
Mindy is one of those actresses who, despite not reaching the heights of Hollywood, had a significant impact on young viewers. Like the voice of Velma from “Scooby-Doo”, and Natalie Green from “The Facts of Life”, Mindy continued to be one of the most beloved actors, thanks to the roles she played.
Besides recognition, Mindy has earned decent wealth thanks to her talent; according to sources, as of July 2023, her net worth has been estimated at $4 million.
