Cast & creator
Fran Bennett
Best known for NCIS, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Chicago Hope
Fran Bennett (August 14, 1937 – September 12, 2021) was an American actress, best known for her work in theater and television. She appeared in series such as Beauty and the Beast, Little House on the Prairie, Dallas, Falcon Crest, L.A. Law, ER, Boston Legal, and Scandal. Bennett had recurring roles in General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful and appeared in films like Promises in the Dark (1979), How I Got into College (1989), New Nightmare (1994), Foxfire (1996), and Jessabelle (2014). In addition to her acting career, she was the head of the acting program at the California Institute of the Arts from 1996 to 2003 and was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 2005. She passed away at the age of 84.
27
film credits
50
television credits
77
1972–2021 · acting roles
6.7
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (77)
Showing 77 of 77 credits
NCIS
Mary Elaine Smith
2003
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Fleet Admiral Shanthi
1987
Chicago Hope
Andrea Porter
1994Chicago Hope
Odelia Wilkes
1994
Scandal
Louis
2012
ER
Phyllis
1994ER
Michelle
1994
Knots Landing
Bev Tolner
1979Knots Landing
Kimya Haman
1979Knots Landing
Dr. Faulkner
1979
Murder, She Wrote
Detective MacKenzie
1984
Melrose Place
Dr. Miller
1992
Numb3rs
Estelle Brown
2005
Crossing Jordan
Judge
2001
Falcon Crest
Nurse
1981
Quantum Leap
Ada Simpson
1989Quantum Leap
Marie Billings
1989
L.A. Law
Judge Hillary Miller Johnson
1986
American Playhouse
Sookey
1982
Boston Legal
Judge Diane Avent
2004
Sunset Beach
1997
Community
Nana
2009
St. Elsewhere
Nurse Julie Attucks
1982
Matlock
Betty Harding
1986
The Fosters
Iris
2013
Simon & Simon
Wanda Tale
1981
The Twilight Zone
UN Chairman (segment "A Small Talent for War")
1985
Highway to Heaven
Flora
1984
Jake and the Fatman
Thornton
1987Jake and the Fatman
Judge (uncredited)
1987
Cagney & Lacey
1982
Early Edition
Judge A. Harding Joseph
1996
Arli$$
Amelia Halimon
1996
Remington Steele
Coroner
1982
Lou Grant
Sarah
1977Lou Grant
Chaney
1977
ALF
Mrs. Watson
1986
Providence
Chairwoman
1999
ABC Afterschool Special
Nurse Etting
1972
Matt Houston
Lucille
1982
Tour of Duty
Mrs. Johnson
1987
Boomtown
Beatrice Rahming
2002
Mancuso, F.B.I.
1989
A Year in the Life
Mrs. Caldwell
1987
Capital News
1990
Wes Craven's New Nightmare
Dr. Christine Heffner
1994
Nasty Boys
1990
Shadow Chasers
Dr. Frolov
1985
8MM
Nun
1999
The Book of Daniel
Lorraine
2006
The Next Best Thing
Judge Tracey Bennett
2000
Nightingales
Head Nurse Lenore Ritt
1989
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy
Self
2010
Jessabelle
Mrs. Davis
2014
The Manor
Ruth
2021
The Doctor
Admissions Secretary
1991
Diff'rent Strokes
1978
Foxfire
Judge Holifield
1996
How I Got Into College
Mrs. Cook
1989
The Morning After
Airline Clerk
1986
The Sky is Falling
Mrs. Quinn
2001
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons"
Mother Jefferson
2019
Romantic Comedy
Doctor #1
1983
Once in a Lifetime
Dr. Liz Wells
1994
Perry Mason: The Case of the Grimacing Governor
Judge Donna Andrews
1994
Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter
Miss Deal
1984
The Violation of Sarah McDavid
Ms. Merriam
1981
Majority Rule
Jane
1992
Roots: The Gift
May
1988
Nightingales
Nurse Ritt
1988The Knife and Gun Club
Nurse Mary Falk
1990
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Sookey
1984
Grave Misconduct
Mrs. Crutch
2008
Between Two Women
Night Nurse
1986
Friendships, Secrets and Lies
Clarissa
1979
My Dad Can't Be Crazy... Can He?
Nurse Etting
1989
Breaking the Silence
Judge Virginia Richards
1992