Soleil Moon Frye

Soleil Moon Frye (/soʊˈleɪ/; born August 6, 1976)[1] is an American actress, director and screenwriter. She began her career as a child actor at the age of two. When she was seven years old, Frye won the role of Penelope "Punky" Brewster in the sitcom Punky Brewster. The series, which debuted on NBC in September 1984, earned consistently low ratings but the Punky character was a hit with young children. After NBC canceled the series, it was picked up for the syndication market where it aired for an additional two seasons ending in 1988.
After the series ended, Frye continued her career in guest spots on television and supporting roles in films. She attended The New School during the late 1990s, and directed her first film, Wild Horses in 1998. In 2000, she joined the cast of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as Roxie King, Sabrina Spellman's (Melissa Joan Hart) roommate and close friend. Frye remained with the series until its end in April 2003. She has since continued her acting career working mainly as a voice actor.
In 1998, Frye married producer Jason Goldberg, with whom she has four children. She has since opened an organic specialty clothing shop for children, The Little Seed, in Los Angeles. She also hosts a blog and web series which focus on child rearing and women's issues. In 2011, Frye released her first book Happy Chaos: From Punky to Parenting and My Perfectly Imperfect Adventures in Between. Frye is currently the host of Home Made Simple on the Oprah Winfrey Network.[2]
== Early life ==
Frye was born in Glendora, California. Her father was actor Virgil Frye, and her mother is talent agent and caterer Sondra Peluce (née Londy). She has two half-brothers, Sean Frye and Meeno Peluce, both former child actors. Frye's parents divorced when she was two.[3]
Frye was educated at a private school in Los Feliz and attended San Fernando Valley Professional School in Burbank.[3]
== Career ==
=== Acting ===
Frye made her acting debut in the 1982 television movie Missing Children: A Mother's Story. In 1983, she had a supporting role in Who Will Love My Children?, another television movie starring Ann-Margret. The following year, she portrayed Elizabeth (Bette) Kovacs in the biographical television movie Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter, and appeared in another television movie, Invitation to Hell, directed by Wes Craven.
At the age of seven, Frye beat out over 3,000 girls to win the title role on the NBCsitcom Punky Brewster. The series, which was conceived by NBC's then-head of programming Brandon Tartikoff, premiered in September 1984. Scheduled opposite CBS's highly rated 60 Minutes, the series struggled in the ratings but the character of Punky was popular among children. Frye routinely appeared at parades, participated in an anti-drug walks with then-First Lady Nancy Reagan, and was the honorary chairperson for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Frye also voiced the lead role in the animated series It's Punky Brewster, which began airing during Punky Brewsters first season. Despite the series' low ratings, Brandon Tartikoff decided to renew the show for a second season because it was the highest rated show watched by children 2 to 11 years old.[4][5] Punky Brewster's second season, which dealt with more serious subject matters such as CPR and first-aid training, drug use and the Just Say No campaign, and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster,[6] did not improve ratings and NBC canceled the series in April 1986.[citation needed] The series was quickly picked up by Columbia Pictures Television and began airing in first-run syndication. Punky Brewster aired for an additional two seasons, ending on May 27, 1988.[7]
Immediately upon Punky Brewster's end, Frye landed the lead role in the ABC sitcom pilot Cadets, which aired as a summer special on September 25, 1988. The pilot, however, was not picked up.[8] In 1989, Frye hosted the syndicated weekly talk/variety show Girl Talk. Based on the board game of the same name, Frye shared hosting duties with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Rod Brogan.[9][10] The series was canceled after one season. In 1990, she appeared in the Rodney Dangerfield sitcom pilot ...Where's Rodney?, but this was not picked up as a series, either.
During the 1990s, Frye guest starred on several television series including The Wonder Years, Saved by the Bell, and Friends, and voiced characters for the animated series Tiny Toon Adventures and The Cartoon Cartoon Show. In addition to her television work, Frye has appeared in the films The Liars' Club (1993) and Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings (1995) and in stage productions of Orestes, I Murdered My Mother and The Housekeeper.
From 2000 to 2003, Frye portrayed the character of Roxie King in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, with her longtime friend and series producer Melissa Joan Hart.[11] During the run of Sabrina, she voiced the character of Zoey in the Disney Channel series The Proud Family and the series' 2005 television movie.
In 2004, she voiced Jade, a Bratz character in the direct-to-video release Bratz: Starrin' & Stylin'. She also voiced the character for the television series, and the video games Bratz Rock Angelz (2005) and Bratz: Forever Diamondz (2006). From 2010 to February 2013, Frye voiced Aseefa in the animated series Planet Sheen.
=== Directing ===
In 1996, Frye moved to New York to attend The New School and later directed her first film, Wild Horses (1998).[12]
Frye directed her second film, Sonny Boy, in 2004. The documentary chronicles a two-week trip Frye took with her father, Virgil, who had Alzheimer's disease. Sonny Boy was an official selection at the 27th Starz Denver International Film Festival[13] and won Best Documentary at the San Diego Film Festival.
=== Other ventures ===
In 2007, Frye, along with two friends, opened The Little Seed, an environmentally-conscious children's specialty boutique in Los Angeles.[14] The boutique closed in August 2013, and is now an Internet-based business.
In March 2010, Frye and her friend and former Sabrina castmate Melissa Joan Hart launched the "Better Together" campaign for Gain.[15]
In September 2011, Frye released her first book, Happy Chaos: From Punky to Parenting and My Perfectly Imperfect Adventures in Between.[16] In October 2013, she released a party-planning book, Let's Get This Party Started. She also hosted a web series, Her Say, from 2011 to 2012, and currently hosts a blog on her official website, moonfrye.com, both of which deal with women's issues and parenting.[17]
In 2014, Frye co-founded P.S. XO, a company that sells party decoration kits.[18]The name was then changed to MoonFrye, and expanded to include DIY kits for families and an app of the same name. They later merged with the company Seedling, who specialize in "activity kits".
== Personal life ==
As a teen, Frye suffered from gigantomastia. She underwent a breast reductionthree months before her 16th birthday.[3]
On October 25, 1998, Frye married television producer Jason Goldberg in a Jewish ceremony (Frye's mother is Jewish, as is Goldberg).[19] Frye and Goldberg have four children: daughters Poet Sienna Rose, born August 24, 2005[20] and Jagger Joseph Blue, born March 17, 2008[21] and sons Lyric Sonny Roads, born February 12, 2014[22] and Story, born May 16, 2016.[23]
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1987	You Ruined My Life 	Minerva 	
1993	The Liars' Club 	Gigi 	
1994	The St. Tammany Miracle 	Julia 	Alternative title: Heavenly Hoops
1994	Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings 	Marcie 	
1995	Twisted Love 	Sharon Stewart 	
1996	Mind Games 	Becky Hanson 	
1998	Wild Horses 	– 	Writer, director
1999	Motel Blue 	Agent Kyle Rivers	
2000	The Girls' Room 	Casey 	Alternative title: Best of Enemies
2001	Alex in Wonder 	Alissa 	Alternative title: Sex and a Girl
2004	Sonny Boy 	– 	Director
2004	Bratz: Starrin' & Stylin' 	Jade (voice) 	Direct-to-DVD release
2006	Bratz: Passion 4 Fashion - Diamondz	Jade (voice) 	Direct-to-DVD release
=== Television ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1982	Missing Children: A Mother's Story	Mary Elizabeth 	Movie
1983	Who Will Love My Children? 	Linda Fray 	Movie
1983	Little Shots 	Samantha 	Movie
1984	Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter	Elizabeth Kovacs #2 	TV Movie
1984	Invitation to Hell 	Chrissy Winslow 	TV Movie
1984	Punky Brewster 	Penelope "Punky" Brewster 	88 episodes
1985	Diff'rent Strokes 	Terry Harris 	Episode: "Sam's New Pal"
1985	MacGruder and Loud 	Kathy 	Episode: "The Very Scary Man"
1985	Back to Next Saturday 	Punky Brewster 	Special
1985	It's Punky Brewster 	Penelope "Punky" Brewster (Voice)	26 episodes
1986	Alvin Goes Back to School 	Punky Brewster 	Special
1987	The Law & Harry McGraw 	Charlene 	Episode: "She's Not Wild About Harry"
1988	Cadets 	Tyler McKay 	Unsold pilot
1990	Where's Rodney? 	Sonya 	Movie
1990	The Wonder Years 	Mimi Detweiler 	Episode: "Growing Up"
1992	Saved by the Bell 	Robin 	Episode: "Screech's Spaghetti Sauce"
1992	Tiny Toon Adventures 	Amanda Duff (Voice) 	2 episodes
1992	ABC Weekend Special 	Tina 	Episode: "Choose Your Own Adventure: The Case of the Silk King"
1993	The Ren & Stimpy Show 	Voice role 	Episode: "Stimpy's Fan Club"
1994	Summertime Switch 	Peggy, the head cheerleader 	Movie
1994	Heaven Help Us 	 	Episode: "First Comes Love"
1995	Piranha 	Laura 	Movie
1996	The Cartoon Cartoon Show 	Mary (Voice) 	Episode: "Johnny Bravo and the Amazon Women"
1997	The Killing Secret 	Emily DeCapprio 	Movie
1998	I've Been Waiting for You 	Kyra Thompson 	Movie
1999	Working 	Jen Miller 	Episode: "The Prodigy"
1999	Friends 	Katie 	Episode: "The One with the Girl Who Hits Joey"
1999	Grown Ups 	Robin 	Episode: Pilot
2000	Sabrina, the Teenage Witch 	Roxie King 	66 episodes
2001	The Proud Family 	Zoey (Voice) 	47 episodes
2005	The Proud Family Movie 	Zoey (Voice) 	Movie
2005	The X's 	Annasthesia (Voice) 	Episode: "License to Slumber/Three Days of the Coin Op"
2009	Robot Chicken 	Voice roles 	3 episodes
2010	Planet Sheen 	Aseefa (voice) 	13 episodes
2013	Home Made Simple 	Herself 	Host
== Awards and nominations ==
Year	Award 	Category 	Title of work 	Result
1985	Young Artist Award 	Best Young Actress in a Television Comedy Series 	Punky Brewster 	Nominated
1986	Young Artist Award 	Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series 	Punky Brewster 	Won
1988	Young Artist Award 	Best Young Female Superstar in Television 	Punky Brewster 	Nominated
1988	Young Artist Award 	Best Animation Voice Over Group 	It's Punky Brewster(Shared with Casey Ellison, Ami Foster, Teddy Field III, and Cherie Johnson)	Nominated
1989	Young Artist Award 	Best Young Actress Guest Starring in a Syndicated Family Comedy, Drama or Special	Mickey's 60th Birthday 	Nominated
1989	Young Artist Award 	Best Young Actress - Voice Over Role 	It's Punky Brewster 	Won
2004	San Diego Film Festival	Best Documentary 	Sonny Boy 	Won