Mindy Cohn
Mindy Cohn is an American actress who played Natalie Greene on the television series ‘The Facts of Life.’ Between 2002 to 2015, she’s worked as a cartoon voiceover actress.
Who Is Mindy Cohn?
Mindy Cohn was born on May 20, 1966 in Los Angeles, California. She was discovered when producers of the show The Facts of Life visited Westlake School in North Hollywood, California and Cohn was cast as the sweet and sarcastic Natalie Greene. More recently, Cohn has made her mark as a voiceover actress for such animated shows as What's New, Scooby Doo?, which earned her an Emmy nomination.
'The Facts of Life'
Mindy Cohn was born on May 20, 1966, in Los Angeles, California. Actress Charlotte Rae discovered Cohn at the age of 13, when she and several producers of the show The Facts of Life visited Westlake School in Holmby Hills, California. The show focused on the lives of four boarding school girls who, each week, faced new life lessons. Cohn was subsequently cast as the sweet and sarcastic Natalie Greene.
Cohn portrayed Greene from 1979 to the series' end in 1988. During that time, Cohn was nominated for three Young Artist Awards. She also appeared with several big-name co-stars including Molly Ringwald, Cloris Leachman, and even George Clooney, who was cast as a handyman for one season.
After the show ended, Cohn went to college at Loyola Marymount University, where she graduated with a degree in Anthropology. She also took acting classes, and did some theater in New York. She made a few guest appearances on shows such as Dream On and Suddenly Susan. Her success after Facts of Life was limited, with Cohn struggling to gain larger roles.
Food Network Appearance
While appearing in small roles on TV shows such as Hot in Cleveland, The Secret Life of the American Teenager and The Middle, in 2016 Cohn decided to jump into the reality competition circuit in the most self-deprecating way possible: as a contestant in Food Network's Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition. Cohn was one of nine celebrities who underwent a cooking boot camp, supervised and guided by celebrity cook Rachael Ray and chef Anne Burrell.
So what made her sign up for the show?
"I really used to cook a lot for my gang of friends. My house used to be the house that everyone would come and eat at, and that just stopped," she told Food Network in an interview. "Life happens. People got married, had children, moved, all that kind of stuff. So, I stopped doing it because I find cooking not to be a solitary sport. I like to do it with people. So, when that stopped happening, I stopped cooking. So, I really wanted to relearn. You know, unlike a bicycle, where you can kind of get back on, if you don’t cook, you do kind of lose the skill set, and so I am lost. So, I would like to be found."
Voiceover Actress
In more recent years, Cohn has made her mark as a voiceover actress for such animated shows as Dexter's Laboratory and Kim Possible. In 2003, her voice work on the show What's New, Scooby Doo? earned her a nomination for a Daytime Emmy. She did voice work for the successful Scooby Doo series as the voice of Velma Dinkley, until the show ended in 2015.
Personal Life
Cohn is a strong LGBTQ advocate. She is not married and doesn't have any children.
Battle With Breast Cancer
In 2017 she revealed that she had secretly endured a five-year ordeal with breast cancer, undergoing a double mastectomy, along with radiation treatments and chemotherapy. Fortunately, her cancer is in remission.
“I’m feeling great,” she told People. “And I’m so ready to get back to working. I think I’m a good actress, and I have a lot to offer. I’m excited to see what I get to do next!”
