Joyce DeWitt

**Joyce DeWitt** (born **Joyce Anne DeWitt** on April 23, 1949 in Wheeling, WV) is an American Actress and Producer. She is best known to TV audiences as soft spoken roommate Janet Wood on the ABC sitcom *Three's Company*. She once appeared as a celebrity guest on The $25,000 Pyramid in the mid-to-late 1970s.

Native of Wheeling, West Virginia. DeWitt grew up in Speedway, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis. She is of Italian descent on her mother's side and Dutch on her father's side. She once competed in speech and debate through the Indiana High School Forensic Association. After she received a bachelor's degree in theater from Ball State University, Joyce moved to California to earn her master's degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and graduated in 1974.

DeWitt began appearing on stage at the age of 13. While attending the University of California, she worked as a secretary until her debut in *Baretta*. Contrary to reports, she has never painted actor Abe Vigoda's garage. While performing in summer stock in the year following her graduation, a director and UCLA Theater professor convinced her to go to California for the school's MFA program.

In March 1977, she landed the role that would become her most notable work to TV audiences, Janet Wood on the sitcom *Three's Company* (debuting March 15 on ABC). She obtained the job after being cast in the show's second pilot. DeWitt co-starred on the series alongside John Ritter and Suzanne Somers (Somers was dismissed from the series in 1980 and replaced by Jenilee Harrison and later Priscilla Barnes). The character of Janet Wood hails from Speedway, Indiana, a college graduate. She works in and later become manager of a local flower shop, she has a fondness for plants. DeWitt's character is described as intelligent, responsible, and reliable. *Three's Company* ran for eight seasons, ending it's run on September 18, 1984 with the series finale episode titled "Friends and Lovers" where TV viewers saw Janet marrying a man named Phillip Dawson, an art collector whom she met at a reading of a will (episode titled "The Heiress") and the roommates going their separate ways with Janet moving in with her new husband, Jack moving into an apartment with his girlfriend Vicky (leading to the short-lived spinoff series *Three's A Crowd*) and Terri moving to Hawaii.

After *Three's Company* drew to a close, DeWitt took a break from acting, keeping a low profile. In June 1991, she returned to the acting scene with a part in a production of *Noises Off* at Michigan's Cherry County Playhouse. She later appeared in the 1995 TV comedy film *Spring Fling!*, followed by appearances on shows including *Cybill*, *Living Single*, and *Call of the Wild*.

In 2003, Joyce co-produced and narrated the NBC-TV television film *Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company* with actress Melanie Paxson portraying DeWitt in the film. In 2011, she starred in the play *Miss Abigail's Guide to Dating, Mating & Marriage* in New York.

In 2012, after nearly 30 years of not having any kind of communication with one another, DeWitt finally buried the hatchet and made up with her former *Three's Company* co-star Suzanne Somers as the two ladies shared an emotional reunion on Suzanne's web series *Suzanne Somers: Breaking Through*. Somers openly apologized to DeWitt for the conflict that arose between them behind the scenes and they exchanged anecdotes about the last time they each spoke to their late *Three's Company* front man John Ritter.

Joyce made occasional appearances on the Game Show circuit. In the late 1970s, she appeared as a celebrity guest on The $25,000 Pyramid. In 1978, she appeared with her *Three's Company* co-stars (Ritter, Norman Fell, Audra Lindley, and Richard Kline) on a special celebrity edition of *Family Feud* (hosted by Richard Dawson) where they competed against the cast of the TV shows *Soap* and *The Love Boat*. In 2004, she appeared as a celebrity panelist on one of the last episodes of the syndicated version of *Hollywood Squares* (hosted by Tom Bergeron).

DeWitt also has a background in charity causes. She participated with members of the House and Senate at the Capitol Hill Forum on Hunger and Homelessness, and has hosted presentations for the Family Assistance Program of Hollywood. She hosted the International Awards Ceremony at the White House for the Presidential End Hunger Awards, and co-hosted with actor Jeff Bridges, the World Food Day Gala at the Kennedy Center.

On July 4, 2009, she was arrested in El Segundo, California and cited for drunken driving. According to press reports, she was pulled her over after she drove past a barricade near a park. DeWitt was later arrested after the Police Officer observed signs that she had been drinking and administered a field sobriety test. She was booked at the police station, cited, and later released on her own recognizance. In May 2010, she pleaded no contest to one count misdemeanor and was placed on three years' probation and ordered to undergo a nine-month alcohol program. She was also ordered to pay a $510 fine, plus penalty assessments. In exchange for her plea, a second misdemeanor count was dismissed.

DeWitt has never married and has no children. She has never spoken publicly about her personal life and for years, rumors have circulated that she is a lesbian.