Gina Hecht

American actress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gina Hecht (/ˈɡiːnə ˈhɛkt/; born December 6, 1953) is an American actress.

BornDecember 6, 1953 (age 72)

AlmamaterNorth Carolina School of the Arts

OccupationActress

Yearsactive1978–present

Quick facts Born, Alma mater ...

Gina Hecht
Born	(1953-12-06) December 6, 1953 (age 72) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	North Carolina School of the Arts
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1978–present
Known for	Mork & Mindy Night Shift Dave A Matter of Perspective General Hospital
Spouse	Brian Herskowitz (1988–present)

Early life

Born in Houston, Texas on December 6, 1953,^[1] Hecht is the daughter of stage actress Pauline Meyer Hecht and stockbroker Harold Hecht.^[2]^[3]^[4] An alumnus of North Carolina School of the Arts, Hecht had already made up her mind to become an actress at age 10, the moment she first saw her mother onstage.^[4] She attended Oran M. Roberts Elementary School, Pershing Junior High, Bellaire High, and Monticello College,^[5]^[6] before obtaining her degree from North Carolina.^[4]^[7]

Career

Hecht's big break came in the fall of 1978 with a recurring role in the NBC sitcom Hizzoner;^[8]^[2] the following season she was hired for the role of Jeanie DaVinci on the successful TV series Mork & Mindy.^[4] Her first film role was in the 1982 Ron Howard movie Night Shift, alongside Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton.^[9]

In addition to a career on TV and in films, she has also worked the stage. In 2011, she appeared in Neil Simon's The Prisoner of Second Avenue alongside Jason Alexander.^[10] Hecht had a recurring role on General Hospital as Judge Rachel Lasser from 2015 to 2019.^[11]

Personal life

In 1988, she married writer and actor Brian Herskowitz.^[12] She has a sister, Esther, and a brother, Harold.^[3]

Filmography

Television

1979–1981: Mork & Mindy as Jeanie DaVinci
1979: Hizzonner as Melanie
1987: Everything's Relative as Emily Cabot
1988: HeartBeat as Patty
1989: Baywatch: "Panic at Malibu Pier" as Gina Pomeroy
1990: Star Trek: The Next Generation: "A Matter of Perspective" as Manua Apgar
1992: Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story as Deanne
1992–1993: Seinfeld: "The Pick", "The Shoes", "The Pilot" as Dana Foley, George's therapist
1994: Without Warning as Barbara Shiller
1995: Blossom: "You Say Tomato" as teacher
1995: Diagnosis: Murder: "Murder in the Courthouse" as Justine Brady
1997: Friends as Richard's Date
2000: Diagnosis: Murder: "Swan Song" as Rhonda
2001: Jag Past Tense as Jane Maples madwoman
2005: Pizza My Heart as Gloria Montebello
2006: Dexter as Mrs. Tucci
2009: Desperate Housewives: "The Coffee Cup" as Judge Mary Gallagher
2009–2012: Glee: "Mash-Up", "Goodbye", "Glee, Actually" as Puck's mom
2013: The Middle: "Life Skills" as Ms. Schaefer
2015–2019: General Hospital as Judge Rachel Lasser
2020–2023: Dave as Carol
2023: Tacoma FD: "Gone Dutch" as Laura the Widow
2024: Grey's Anatomy: "We've Only Just Begun" as Mrs. Sutton

Film

1982: Night Shift as Charlotte Koogle
1985: St. Elmo's Fire as Judith
1986: Hyper Sapien: People from Another Star as Newscaster
1987: Unfinished Business as Vickie
1993: Family Prayers as Arlene
1995: One Night Stand as Cy Watson
1998: Can I Play? as Nancy
1999: EDtv as Party Girl
2001: Odessa or Bust as God
2002: Clockstoppers as Meter Maid
2008: Seven Pounds as Dr. Briar
2008: The Last Word as Hilde Morris
2017: Fight Your Way Out as Jane Stone

References

[1]
Ragan, David (1992). Who's Who in Hollywood : The Largest Cast of International Film Personalities Ever Assembled. New York : Facts on File. p. 727. ISBN 0-8160-2009-4. "HECHT, GINA (S. Cal.) Support. Onscreen from the '80s. IN: Night Shift, Unfinished Business, more. BORN: Gina Hecht; December 6, 1953; Houston, Tex."
[2]
Crumbaker, Madge (December 15, 1978). "Actress Gina Hecht—Daughter of Houston's Pauline—making it in H'wood with TV Role". The Houston Post. p. 1C. Retrieved December 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Holly Harwood has just returned from a visit with H'wood's Gina Hecht. Gina is an actress, following in the footsteps of her mother, our town's Pauline Hecht. Really top-notch career things are happening for Gina: She has a role in a new television series called His Honor.
[3]
"Obituaries – Hecht: Hecht, Meyer Pauline". The Houston Chronicle. June 14, 2009. p. B8. Retrieved December 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Predeceased by husband Harold Hecht, sister Regina Meyer Stern, and nephew Marcus Ashley Stern. Survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Harold and Mary Hecht of Houston, two daughters and sons-in-law, Esther and Roger Cohn of Nashville, Tennessee and Gina Hecht and Brian Herskowitz of Los Angeles, California.
[4]
"Meet Gina Hecht of the TV hit, 'Mork and Mindy'". Centre Daily Times. December 8, 1979. p. 12. Retrieved December 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Hecht plays Jean DaVinci in the smash hit, 'Mork and Mindy.' She was born in Houston, Texas, where her mother was an actress and her father a stockbroker. At the age of 10, Gina decided to become an actress. She saw her mother in a play and fell in love with the theater. After graduating from high school, she went to several colleges. She got her degree from the North Carolina School for the Arts in Winston Salem. [...] Vital information: "Birthplace: Houston, Texas. Height: 5 feet, 3 inches. Hair: brown. Birthdate: December 6. Weight: 115 pounds. Eyes: brown.
[5]
Skipper, C.W. (May 10, 1979). "Houstonian, famous daughter, in cast of 'Hizzoner'". The Houston Post. p. 16B. Retrieved December 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. GINA HECHT IS AN out-and-out Houstonian. She attended Roberts Elementary, Pershing Junior High, Bellaire High for a year, a boarding school in Florida, a year of college at Monticello College, and got her degree at North Carolina School of the Arts. 'When I was a kid, I came back from camp and my mother (actress Pauline Hecht) was doing Bye Bye Birdie at Theater Inc., and that was it.'
[6]
"To Perform Tonight at Hatheway; To Perform at Hatheway". Alton Evening Telegraph. December 29, 1970. p. 8. Retrieved December 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Rehearsing for their parts in the play, "All The Way Home" at Hatheway Hall, Monticello College, tonight and Friday are, from left, Miss Gina Hecht, Miss Patti Lynne Simerrell and Scott Gardner, son of Mrs. William Gardner of Godfrey.
[7]
"Modern Play Troupe Started; Arts School Involved in Effort". Winston-Salem Journal. June 14, 1975. p. 22. Retrieved December 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. N. C. School of the Arts faculty members, graduates and students and other performers have put together a theater troupe which will produce three contemporary plays this summer at the arts school. [...] The acting company will include Mark Pirolo of the design and production faculty: arts school graduates Rod Franklin, Wren Goodrum, Gina Hecht, Gordon McKinna, and Linda Strang; and students Lorri Lindberg, R. Vincent Park and Kent Shelton.
[8]
Hodges, Ann (April 28, 1978). "Natalie Cole proves to be a chip off old block". The Houston Chronicle. p. 2B. Retrieved December 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Well-known Houston actress Pauline Hecht was playing the role of proud mother when she called to add another name to NBC's long list of 'daughters of famous people' currently involved in network pilots for fall. Pauline's daughter Gina Hecht has a role in 'Hizzoner,' and if that show starring David Huddieston as a big city mayor makes it to the fall schedule, she'll be a regular. It's a break for Gina, who hasn't been in Hollywood long. But she's already familiar to Houston audiences through such roles shows as 'A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum' and 'The Impossible Years' at the Dean Goss and 'Fiddler On the Roof' at Dunfey's Dinner Theaters.
[9]
"Gina Hecht Filmography". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 26, 2025.
[10]
Favre, Jeff (May 12, 2011). "THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE". Back Stage. p. 16. ProQuest 879413391. After a decade of portraying George Costanza on 'Seinfeld,' Jason Alexander is so right for the role of MeI Edison - complaining, neurotic New Yorker in 'The Prisoner of Second Avenue' - that it feels as though Neil Simon created the role for him. Of course, the actor was only 12 in 1971, when Simon's urban comedy debuted on Broadway, Alexander's signature fits of exasperated sarcasm and irritation inject about as much humor as possible into this uneven Simon play, and Alexander's work is greatly enhanced by co-star Gina Hecht as Mel's wife, Edna.
[11]
Cushman, Dustin (October 24, 2019). "Gina Hecht Returns to General Hospital as Judge Rachel Lasser". Soaps.com. United States: SheKnows Media. Archived from the original on October 31, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
[12]
Mesinger, Maxine (July 5, 1988). "Hecht weds Herskowitz". Houston Chronicle. p. 1. ProQuest 295266097. Gina Hecht and Brian Herskowitz came home from LA to be married in a small wedding Monday night in Cohen House on the Rice University campus. There was a dinner afterward, also at Cohen House. Gina and Brian have been living in LA for some time, pursuing careers in show biz. [...] Gina's big start was as a regular on 'Mork and Mindy' with Robin Williams. Since then she's appeared as a guest on many TVers, and as a regular on the defunct CBS sitcom 'Everything's Relative.' [...] The groom is the son of writer Mickey Herskowitz [...] Brian acts occasionally, but mostly he's a writer for TV and feature films.