It seems that Debra Jo Rupp is more popular than ever these days and for good reason. The year 2024 saw her reprise two of her most iconic roles: Kitty Forman in That ‘90s Show Season 2 on Netflix (one of the best streaming services to subscribe to) and Sharon Davis (whom she first appeared as in WandaVision) in Agatha All Along.
However, a true fan of the actor should know that she has been turning in wonderful performances on the big and small screen for decades. Let’s celebrate her recent resurgence by taking a look back at some of the best Debra Jo Rupp movie and TV roles of the years, starting with some of the more recent and well-known examples.
Kitty Forman (That '70s Show/That '90s Show)
While she did have some notable TV roles (some of which we will get to soon), Debra Jo Rupp became a sitcom star when she landed her defining role in the That ‘70s Show cast as Katherine “Kitty” Forman. After playing Eric’s mom and Red’s wife from 1998 to 2006, fans got to see more of the character when Netflix premiered That ‘90s Show, which was unfortunately canceled after two seasons, but it was worth it to hear the Wisconsin woman’s infectious laugh again.
Sharon Davis/Mrs. Hart (WandaVision/Agatha All Along)
Debra Jo Rupp used her sitcom queen status to great use when she became part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe when she was cast in one of the best Disney+ original TV shows, WandaVision, as Sharon Davis, who unwittingly took on the identity “Mrs. Hart” after Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) placed her hex over the small town of Westview. She would return in the Kathryn Hahn-led spin-off, Agatha All Along, in which she joins the titular witch’s coven.
Mrs. Hall (Sgt. Bilko)
Years before she was Mrs. Hart (or even Mrs. Forman) Debra Jo Rupp was Mrs. Hall – the wife of Dan Aykroyd’s Col. John T. Hall in 1996’s Sgt. Bilko. While the role is a brief one, her presence brings a sense of warmth to director Jonathan Lynn’s adaptation of the 1950s-era military sitcom and one of Steve Martin’s best movies from the ‘90s.
Alice Knight Buffay (Friends)
Perhaps Debra Jo Rupp’s most notable and iconic sitcom role was her recurring stint in the Friends cast as Alice Knight Buffay, who becomes the sister-in-law of Phoebe. At first, Lisa Kudrow’s character had reservations about her half-brother, Frank (Giovanni Ribisi), dating his significantly older former teacher, but came to accept her into the family and even helped the couple start one of their own by acting as the surrogate to their triplets.
Barbara (Clockwatchers)
Debra Jo Rupp would work with Lisa Kudrow again in co-writer and director Jill Sprecher’s Clockwatchers, which is a biting workplace satire that predates Office Space by only a couple of years. In the 1997 comedy, which also stars Toni Collette, Parker Posey, and Alana Ubach, she gives a hilarious performance as Barbara Mitchell, who is one of the overbearing superiors of the four main protagonists, who bond over their unsatisfied lives as temps for a credit company.
Katie (Seinfeld)
Debra Jo Rupp stars in two great episodes of Seinfeld in one of her most notable and funniest recurring sitcom roles as Jerry’s hopelessly incompetent manager, Katie. She first appears in Season 6’s “The Diplomat’s Club,” in which she causes Jerry to “freak out” after mentioning their airplane pilot was in the audience for his act, among many other mishaps. In “The Abstinence” from Season 8, Katie tries to make up for Jerry losing his appearance at his middle school to a fire drill by getting him a two-hour set, which he also bombs, causing him to lose a spot on Late Show with David Letterman.
Mary Lou Helperman (Teacher's Pet)
While she was still playing Kitty on That ‘70s Show, you could also hear Debra Jo Rupp lend her voice to ABC’s Saturday morning cartoon, Teacher’s Pet, as Mary Lou Helperman – an elementary school teacher unaware that one of her students, Scott, is really her talking dog, Spot (Nathan Lane). The series lasted from 2000 to 2002 but she would also reprise the role in the musical feature-length spin-off of the same name, which was released in theaters in 2004.
Mrs. Kettner (She's Out Of My League)
After That ‘70s Show ended, Debra Jo Rupp went on to play another mother to a gawky young man with a girlfriend most people would agree is too good for him in She’s Out of My League. Just like everyone else in the movie, Mrs. Kettner is surprised to meet the gorgeous, smart, and sweet party planner, Molly (Alice Eve), dating her son, a TSA agent named Kirk (Jay Baruchel), in the feel-good romantic-comedy movie from 2010.
Janice Phillips (The Ranch)
Even before she reprised Kitty on That ‘90s Show, Debra Jo Rupp showed that she had not left her days on That ‘70s Show completely yet when she appeared on The Ranch, which also starred her former co-stars Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson. As one of many That ‘70s Show alums to appear on the Netflix original sitcom, Rupp recurred in a total of 12 episodes as Janice, who eventually becomes the mother-in-law to Kutcher’s character, Colt Bennett, when he marries her daughter, Abby (Elisha Cuthbert).
Linda (This Is Us)
Debra Jo Rupp would show her more dramatic side when she appeared alongside the This Is Us cast for a four-episode stint on the hit NBC drama’s second season. She stars as Linda, who is a devoted social worker who helps Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown) and his wife, Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) adopt a young, abused girl named Deja (Lyric Ross).
Now that That ‘90s Show is canceled and Mrs. Hart’s tenure on Agatha All Along appears to be complete, it looks like Debra Jo Rupp’s schedule is clear for the time being. Hopefully, we see more of her talent on the screen very soon.
