Penny Marshall was born Carole Penny Marsciarelli in New York in 1942. (You thought maybe she was from Arkansas with that accent?) Her mom was a dance instructor whose talent rubbed off on young Penny, who danced as a teenager on "The Ted Mack Amateur Hour" and "The Jackie Gleason Show."

Penny broke into acting in 1967 on "The Danny Thomas Hour," a show written by her older brother, Garry. As a producer, Garry was also instrumental in casting Penny as Myrna Turner, Oscar Madison's Bronx-born secretary in "The Odd Couple" television series.

A guest shot on yet another Garry Marshall show led Penny into her most celebrated role. Laverne DeFazio and her best friend Shirley Feeney made their debut on "Happy Days" double-dating Richie Cunningham and The Fonz. Although the girls didn't hit it off with their dates, the public loved them, and they were given their own spin-off, "Laverne & Shirley," which began airing January 1976. Each week, Laverne's big mouth or Shirley's naivete would land the colorful couple in a pickle. The resolution usually involved wacky physical comedy, at which both actresses excelled.

Penny Marshall was given the opportunity to direct on "Laverne & Shirley," and she continued on other sitcoms after the show went off the air in 1983. Three years later, she graduated to movies, directing Whoopi Goldberg in "Jumpin' Jack Flash."

Penny Marshall's performing background gave her invaluable insight into how to structure and play scenes with precise comic timing, and she utilized this skill in her next film. "Big," a sweet comedy starring Tom Hanks about a teenager who goes to sleep a boy and wakes up an adult, was the first movie directed by a woman to earn more than $100 million at the box office.

In 1990, "Awakenings" proved that Penny Marshall is as adept at sober drama as she is at light comedy, and the film earned three Oscar nominations.

She directed Tom Hanks again in their 1992 hit "A League of Their Own." That film also marked the first time Penny worked with Rosie O'Donnell, and the pair later became a familiar sight to TV viewers in their popular K-Mart commercials, with Rosie constantly poking fun at Penny's droll, whiny persona.

While Penny's more recent movies haven't fared too well critically or commercially, her upcoming "Riding In Cars With Boys," starring Drew Barrymore and Australian heartthrob Adam Garcia, may put that right.

Although she proved in a hilarious cameo appearance with Rosie O'Donnell on the 1996 Christmas episode of "Saturday Night Live" that she's still an inspired comedienne, Penny Marshall seems to have forsaken performing for directing. She once explained why: "The good thing about directing is you can get as old and funny-looking as you want, and not worry about it."

-- Jane Garcia