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Who is Andrea Elson?
American former actress Andrea Hope Elson was born under the zodiac sign Pisces on 6 March 1969, in New York City USA. She appeared in 18 movies and TV series prior to retiring in 1998, and is perhaps known best for playing Lynn Tanner in 101 episodes of the family science fiction comedy series “ALF”, which starred Max Wright, Paul Fusco and Mihaly ‘Michu’ Meszaros, and was created by Tom Patchett. It follows a furry alien who’s crashed into the Tanner family’s garage and begun living with them; the series aired from 1986 through 1990, and won seven of its 21 award nominations.
Education and early life
Andrea was raised alongside her older sister Samantha, born in 1966, by their father Stephen and mother Elinor Elson; Andrea respects her family’s privacy and rarely speaks about them in public, but it’s believed that her father was a college professor and her mother a homemaker.
Andrea spent the first four years of her life in San Diego, California, and the family then settled in Westchester County, New York State. She was around 10 when she launched her modelling career, and was 14 when she made her debut TV series appearance, portraying Alice Tyler in the 1983 episode “Fly the Alibi Skies” of the popular crime action “Simon & Simon”.
Andrea studied at a local high school in Los Angeles, California as she and her family moved there in 1983 so that she could work on her way up in the film industry; upon matriculating in 1987, she continued acting rather than enrolling at college.
Roles in TV series
Andrea played one of the main characters Alice Tyler in all 18 episodes of the 1984 adventure series “Whiz Kids”, which also starred Todd Porter and Matthew Labyorteaux, and was created by Philip DeGuere Jr. It follows a group of youngsters who are detectives and computer experts, and the series was nominated for five awards.
In 1985, she played Kimberley in the episode “Promises, Promises” of the family comedy “Silver Spoons”, and the year 1990 saw her appear in an episode of three TV series: the romantic family comedy “Who’s the Boss?”, the fantasy comedy “Parker Lewis Can’t Lose” and the science fiction comedy “They Came from Outer Space”.
In 1991, Andrea played Madeline in the episode “Dance Ten, Friends Zero” of the comedy “Married People”, which starred Bess Armstrong and Ray Aranha, and was created by Robert Sternin and Prudence Fraser. It follows the lives of three married couples, and the series won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Technical Direction/Camera/Video for a Series. Andrea could then have been seen appearing in an episode of the adventure comedy “ABC Afterschool Specials”, the comedy “Married… with Children”, and the romantic comedy “Mad About You”.
In 1996, she played Bonnie in the episode “Forever Young” of the critically acclaimed romantic family comedy “Step by Step”, which starred Suzanne Somers and Patrick Duffy, and was created by Robert L. Boyett and William Bickley. It follows the lives of members of two families, the series aired from 1991 through 1998 and won one of its 15 award nominations.
Andrea’s only three other TV series roles were playing supporting characters in the 1996 episode “Baby, You Can Drive My Car” of the comedy “Kirk”, the 1997 episode “It’s Good to be Dead” of the comedy “Men Behaving Badly”, and a 1998 episode of the soap opera “The Young and the Restless”.
Roles in movies
Andrea appeared in only two movies. Her debut was portraying Staci Poston in the comedy “Class Cruise”, which starred Michael DeLuise and Billy Warlock, and was directed by Oz Scott; it follows a group of teenagers who’ve been invited to go on a study cruise.
In 1991, Andrea portrayed Andi Richmond in the science fiction comedy “Frankenstein: The College Years”, which starred Christopher Daniel Barnes and William Ragsdale, and was directed by Tom Shadyac. It follows Frankenstein who’s been revived by college students after hundreds of years and has now become a college student himself.
Frankenstein: The College Years (1991) pic.twitter.com/A8REXk6mE1
— 90's Nation (@90s_nation) October 20, 2022
Other work
Andrea voiced Co-Pilot in the 1994 video game “Surgical Strike”.
Some of her talk-show appearances have been in “The New Hollywood Squares”, “E! True Hollywood Story” and “Forgotten TV”.
Since her retirement from acting, Andrea’s been working as a yoga instructor, owning her yoga studio in Los Angeles.
Awards and nominations
Andrea was nominated for three awards: a 1989 Bravo Otto Germany Award for Best Female TV Star and two Young Artist Awards in 1987 and 1989, both for her performance in “ALF”.
Love life and husband
Andrea avoids speaking about her love life in public but we know that she’s been a married woman for more than 30 years now. She and American stage manager Scott Hopper exchanged vows in a private ceremony on 31 May 1993, and Andrea gave birth to their daughter Claire in 1997; Scott’s probably known best for his work on the 1988 episode “My Favorite Person” of the series “The Van Dyke Show” and 94 episodes of the series “ALF”, which was also how he and Andrea met.
There are no other men whom Andrea’s perhaps been with, that we know about; she’s married to Scott Hopper as of September 2023, and they have a daughter together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Andrea developed bulimia while shooting for the series “ALF”; it’s an eating disorder characterized by eating lots of food followed by fasting or purging, and it took her several years to overcome it.
More than 860,000 people are following Andrea on Instagram today; she’s posted over 1,000 pictures and videos onto the network, mostly watercolor pictures which she’s painted.
She’s a huge lover of animals, and her favorites are elephants.
Andrea’s a philanthropist and has volunteered with multiple charities which aim to help underprivileged youth, especially teenagers struggling with eating disorders.
One of her favorite actors is the late John Wayne, and some of her favorite movies include “Rooster Cogburn”, “The Shootist” and “The Train Robbers”.
Appearance and net worth
Andrea’s age is 54. She has green eyes and brown hair, weighs around 120lbs (55kgs) and is 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall.
Andrea’s net worth’s been estimated at over $1 million, as of September 2023.
