Claudia Wells - wikipedia Claudia Wells Claudia Wells Wells in 2015 Claudia Grace Wells ( 1966 - 07 - 05 ) July 5, 1966 ( age 52 ) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Occupation Actress Years active 1979 -- 1987, 1996 -- present Children Website claudiawells.com Claudia Grace Wells ( born July 5, 1966 ) is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Parker in the film Back to the Future ( 1985 ). Contents 1 Life and career 1.1 Return to acting 2 Filmography 2.1 Film 2.2 Television 2.3 Video games 3 References 4 External links Life and career Born in Kuala Lumpur, Claudia Wells grew up in San Francisco, California, and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 14. She later graduated from Beverly Hills High School. She started acting with appearances in TV shows. Wells played Jennifer Parker, Marty McFly 's girlfriend, in the 1985 film Back to the Future. She almost did not end up in the first film of the successful franchise. According to Wells, she had been cast, but a pilot she had done for ABC had been picked up, and she was contractually forced to drop out of Back to the Future. During that time, Eric Stoltz had been shooting for five weeks in the role of Marty McFly. Melora Hardin was slated for the role of Jennifer, though she never actually filmed any scenes. The producers halted filming and replaced Stoltz with Michael J. Fox. By then, Wells ' pilot had been finished and she was recast as Jennifer, now shooting alongside Fox, never having filmed a frame with Stoltz. After her mother was diagnosed with cancer, Wells said family took precedence and told the studio she would not be available to reprise the role for the two sequels ; actress Elisabeth Shue replaced her. That same year ( 1985 ), Wells co-starred in Stop the Madness, an anti-drug music video sponsored by the Reagan administration, featuring several famous musicians, actors and athletes. The following year, she appeared in the TV movie Babies Having Babies, and the short - lived series Fast Times, a TV adaptation of the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High ( Wells played Linda Barrett, portrayed by Phoebe Cates in the film ). Following Fast Times, she did not again appear on - screen until the 1996 independent film Still Waters Burn ( released on DVD February 12, 2008 ). Return to acting After a lengthy absence, Wells returned to acting in 2011 with a small role in the independent science - fiction film Alien Armageddon. The same year Wells had the opportunity to reprise her role from Back to the Future, 26 years after her last appearance in the series. She provided the voice of Jennifer Parker for Back to the Future : The Game. Wells announced that her next project would be a horror film titled Room & Board. Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1985 Back to the Future Jennifer Parker 2008 Still Waters Burn Laura Harper 2011 Alien Armageddon Eileen Daly 2013 You Are Not Alone Cristina 's Mom Short film 2013 Max Mom Short film 2014 Starship : Rising Captain Savage 2015 EP / Executive Protection Pam Travis 2015 Back in Time Herself Back to the Future documentary 2015 Back to the 2015 Future Jennifer Parker Short film 2017 Vitals Margaret Parks Television Year Title Role Notes 1979 Family Denise / Barbara Collins 2 episodes 1981 Rise and Shine Patsy D'Allisandro 1981 Strike Force Patty Episode : `` Magic Man '' 1982 Herbie, the Love Bug Julie MacLane 5 episodes 1982 Lovers and Other Strangers Mary Claire Delvecchio 1984 Fame Marya Episode : `` Appearances '' 1984 Anatomy of an Illness Sarakit Television film 1984 -- 1986 CBS Schoolbreak Special Lisa / Wendy 2 episodes 1984 -- 1985 Off the Rack Shannon Halloran 7 episodes 1985 Trapper John, M.D. Candy Episode : `` Long Ago and Far Away '' 1985 Simon & Simon Phoebe Glass Episode : `` Slither '' 1985 Able to Do 1986 Fast Times Linda Barrett 7 episodes 1986 Brothers Sarah Episode : `` Joe Leaves This Old World Behind '' 2011 The Mentalist Chief Marnie Green Episode : `` Where in the World is Carmine O'Brien ? '' 2014 Zero Impact Home Future Petal Short series 2015 The Comeback Kids Claudia Wells Episode : `` Re-United and It Feels So Good '' Video games Year Title Role Notes 2011 Back to the Future : The Game Jennifer Parker Episode 3 : `` Citizen Brown '' Episode 4 : `` Double Visions '' References Jump up ^ `` What Marty McFly 's Girlfriend Is Up To In The Future ''. Yahoo. May 2, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Claudia Wells ''. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Back to the Future 's Claudia Wells : Shining Brighter Than Ever Before ''. HuffingtonPost. Retrieved 2 July 2017. Jump up ^ Clint, Caffeinated. `` Claudia Wells in Alien Armageddon ''. Moviehole. Retrieved February 23, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Back To The Future Episode 1 : It 's About Time Video Game, Exclusive Behind The Scenes Part IV : How We Got Jennifer HD ''. GameTrailers.com. Retrieved 2011 - 03 - 24. Jump up ^ Wells, Claudia. `` Announcing My Next Project... '' Twitter. Retrieved February 23, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Back in Time Film ''. backintimefilm.com. Retrieved March 19, 2018. External links Official website Claudia Wells on IMDb Back to the Future website ISNI : 0000 0004 6417 187X Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Claudia_Wells&oldid=855794466 '' Categories : 1966 births 20th - century American actresses 21st - century American actresses Actresses from San Francisco American businesspeople in retailing American film actresses American television actresses Living people People from Kuala Lumpur Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu تۆرکجه Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano Magyar 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Suomi Türkçe Українська 7 more Edit links This page was last edited on 20 August 2018, at 21 : 48 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: who played jennifer in the first back to the future
Answer: Claudia Grace Wells