Leah Remini

Leah Remini built a career in sitcoms and, even when controversy threatened to derail her career, kept making audiences laugh. A native of Brooklyn, New York, she moved to Los Angeles in her early teens and began pursuing acting soon after. She landed guest appearances on "Head of the Class" (ABC, 1986-91) and "Who's the Boss?" (ABC, 1984-92). The actress was cast as one of the leads, alongside Halle Berry, in the short-lived modeling comedy "Living Dolls" (ABC, 1989). Despite the show's cancellation, she continued making regular appearances, including a memorable guest arc on the teen comedy "Saved by the Bell" (NBC, 1989-93) as the summer love interest of Mark-Paul Gosselaar's Zack. Similarly, she had a showy guest turn on the hit sitcom "Cheers" (NBC, 1982-93) playing the daughter of Rhea Perlman's Carla. She tried again, unsuccessfully, at leading a sitcom in "First Time Out" (The WB, 1995), but had a slightly longer run with "Fired Up" (NBC, 1997-98) opposite Sharon Lawrence. Remini finally found the right formula when she joined Kevin James and Jerry Stiller on "King of Queens" (CBS, 1998-2007). Playing the long-suffering wife of James' delivery driver, she saw her profile jump considerably. After the sitcom ended, she became one of the original hosts of the daytime talk show "The Talk" (CBS, 2010-). Remini was let go after the first year, however, and ended up in a very public feud with fellow host Sharon Osborne over her dismissal. In 2013, the actress went public with her split from the Church of Scientology, which she had been a member of since childhood. She eventually wrote a memoir on the experience, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology. She quickly became the face of any anti-Scientology stories. The actress returned to working in sitcoms, starring in "Family Tools" (ABC, 2013) and joining the cast of "The Exes" (TV Land, 2011-15). In 2017, she reteamed with James in the sitcom "Kevin Can Wait" (CBS, 2016-18), but the duo couldn't replicate the success of "King of Queens." On the big screen, Remini joined Jennifer Lopez for the comedy "Second Act" (2018). The actress also produced and hosted the series "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath" (A&E, 2016-19) showcasing other former church members.