American actress and former model Wendie Malick was born on December 13, 1950 in Buffalo, New York. After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio in 1972, she began working as a fashion model. However, she left shortly and worked as a staffer for Congressman Jack Kemp. Realizing that her real passion is performing, she quit the job and began taking on roles in stage productions. She also started appearing, albeit occasionally, on screen, making her television debut in the 1978 television movie How to Pick Up Girls!

Most of Malick early career was centered on television. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, she appeared as a guest in numerous television series, including Paper Dolls, Kate and Allie, Viper, NYPD Blue, The Commish and Seinfeld. Her first regular television role came in 1990, when she joined the cast of the acclaimed comedy Dream On she stayed until its cancellation in 1996. Her performance in the series earned her four CableACE Awards for best actress.

Malick's work in films started in the 1982 independent release A Little Sex. Since then, she has played roles in films such as Funny About Love, Manna from Heaven, Racing Stripes and Stuck. She is also an accomplished voice actress, having voiced regular roles in the animated programs Fillmore! and The X, and the films The Emperor's New Groove and Brother Bear 2.