Joyce DeWitt, 74, rose to fame after making an appearance on the beloved television show Three’s Company. After about ten years in the business, the actress decided to take a significant break after the show was canceled. DeWitt is currently working in the industry again after making appearances in numerous television shows and films. The 74-year-old looks just as stunning today as she did then.
She was the second oldest of her parents, Paul and Norma DeWitt, four children, and grew up in both West Virginia and Indiana.
Early in her life, Joyce DeWitt constantly considered performing. In fact, before she started school, she had already made up her mind that she wanted to perform. “When I was younger, I was a complete movie nut, but I always wanted to play a role opposite Spencer Tracy or Clark Gable. She fessed up to Playbill that she had never been particularly interested in the roles that women were playing. “I found the roles the guys were playing to be significantly more intriguing. “I never thought of acting as a hobby. I already had a plan in place even though school hadn’t started yet.
Naturally, everyone just laughed at me.
I knew from the start. Joyce DeWitt made her stage debut at the age of thirteen. She had at that point grown deeply passionate and in love with performing, and it had become her second home. After taking acting classes while attending Speedway Senior High School, Joyce enrolled at Ball State University, where she earned her degree in 1972. However, the aspiring actress was determined to settle in New York and pursue a career in theater.
She discovered “The Big Apple” to be extremely competitive and challenging at times, much like many actors and actresses before her. After landing in New York, that was obvious to Joyce DeWitt as she struggled. Even though she had always wanted a job on Broadway, she knew it would have to wait. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty ImagesInstead, she worked a summer stock season in Chicago after finishing her undergraduate degree before moving to the west coast to start graduate school at UCLA. DeWitt, who played Janet Woods in “Three’s Company,” maintained her focus on returning to New York City so she could pursue her dream of working on Broadway. But life had different plans for her. She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from UCLA and was cast in Stop the World, I Want To Get Off. DeWitt finally took off, and then her great achievement was there in front of her.
In no time at all, Joyce DeWitt was in the casting room for the Three’s Company pilot, a brand-new television comedy series. She had no idea that it would become a cult classic and the beginning of DeWitt’s new life at the time. DeWitt gained notoriety in the role of Janet Wood, which she shared with Suzanne Somers and John Ritter. She appeared in 171 episodes of the show between 1976 and 1984. Such a gift, it was. It had been legendary after all. The Spec was asked by Joyce DeWitt, “Who would have guessed it, though? “The audience’s laughter was the only response we were looking for. Actually, now that I think about it, the show was an attempt to recreate a 16th-century farce in the contemporary era. It was about absurdity gone wrong. That was always there, even when we occasionally talked about serious issues. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images “We don’t just want people to laugh; we want them to fall over their couch laughing,” she continued.
It was once said by John Ritter.
The main issues always stemmed from how much they loved and cared for one another. That made them attractive to people”.
Following “Three’s Company,” Joyce DeWitt took a 12-year hiatus from the entertainment business. In 1984, Three’s Company was discontinued. The actors gained notoriety, and the show received one Primetime Emmy. However, Joyce DeWitt wasn’t upset when it was shut down. After eight years on the show, she actually thought it was time to move on. Finally, she said, it was time. “I was ready for some time of reflection and solitude. Even though I had fun playing Janet, she was never the only reason I got out of bed in the morning. I wasn’t defined by her or that show, and neither was my worth. Naturally, there is a time when you feel alone. I missed the characters just as much as the actors who played them, she continued. However, I essentially live alone. Instead of howling outside, I have a tendency to go into the cave and think. Oh, I’m social, but I guess there’s also the inner Joyce”.
With Three’s Company serving as her main undertaking for many years at the time, Joyce DeWitt had only produced a small number of plays at the time. Given that she was just starting her acting career, it stands to reason that she would be open to taking on more work. Joyce, however, went the totally opposite way. The actress was initially only supposed to take some time off, but she had no interest in fame. But she doesn’t regret her ten years away from society. According to Bart Sherkow in Shutterstock, regrets can be fatal. I am very fortunate that I have only regretted two things in my life, and both times it was 10 or 15 years later, she said in 2009, according to GayCalgary. I wasn’t certain I wanted to perform it. If I had to do it over, I couldn’t change it. ”. I was going to take a six-month break to relax. My moral standards were not met by Hollywood’s behavior, as I observed it. If this was the proper way to play the game, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. I took some time off and started talking to and studying from different spiritual teachers all over the world. I anticipated it would last six months instead of twelve“.
In 1995, Joyce DeWitt made a comeback, appearing in a few minor roles in movies and on the television programs Cybill and Hope Island. Joyce DeWitt in 1978.
Despite the fact that it had been ten years since she first appeared in Three’s Company, fans still praised her for the part and remembered her. In actuality, she changed people’s lives in the capacity of Janet Woods. She continued, “Women in their 30s have come to me and said that DeWitt inspired them to become lawyers. “I knew that women could be intelligent and successful in the world. In addition, I fought valiantly to portray [Janet] in the manner I desired. She really enjoyed working with John Ritter and Suzanne Somers. But Somers left the program in 1980 because John Ritter, her male co-star, received equal pay.
DeWitt and Somers lost touch, and it was more than 30 years before they ever spoke again. The reunion in 2012 was particularly memorable because Joyce appeared on Suzanne’s talk show. Following the show, DeWitt described her and Somers’ relationship as having “very different approaches to our careers”.
Our needs were incredibly different. I didn’t support myself solely by way of a child. I didn’t understand someone with a business head because I didn’t have one. Joyce DeWitt and co-star John Ritter, on the other hand, continued to have a fantastic relationship. Ritter continued to perform up until his passing in September 2003.
DeWitt reminisced about her last encounter with her former co-star while appearing on Somers’ talk show. Ritter stayed in a hotel close by to hers in New York City, and DeWitt convinced herself that this was fate. He quickly returned her call after she left him a message in his hotel room. She recalled, “I pick up the phone as I walk out the door and it’s Jonathan. ”. And he says, “Baby, we’ve got three parties and a dinner to do tonight. It was so delicious… and a month later, he passed away.
I’ll pick you up at seven!”.
“Shutterstock/Kathy Hutchins Despite the fact that she had been absent from television for ten years, Joyce still pursued one big dream.
made her stage debut in 2011 DeWitt had always wanted to work in theater, and in 2011 she fulfilled her dream by making her stage debut in New York City. Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating, and Marriage was an off-Broadway production, but that didn’t matter in the slightest to DeWitt. I’m just a late bloomer,” she told the San Diego Tribune, “but I also felt that it was very similar to my role in Three’s Company, and the shot was a 90-minute comedy. ”. I didn’t have confidence in my work for a very long time. According to DeWitt, “[the show] allows us to play, be silly, funny, and laugh about human interactions. My favorite kind of play to perform is one where the audience is meant to laugh, enjoy themselves, and occasionally have their hearts touched. ”.
The Savant (2018), Rock Story (2015), and Snapshot (2014) are just a few of the projects that DeWitt has since continued to work on. Bobby Bank/Getty Images In 2018, she was given a role in the stage production of Scattered, Smothered and Covered Christmas, which was set in a Waffle House. The pandemic forced YouTube to broadcast it in December 2020. Joyce DeWitt’s current family, kids, and net worth were revealed in her biography. “We are offering this play for free this Christmas because it has a message that needs to be shared in this very difficult situation we are in,” Joyce DeWitt said. “It’s a fantastical journey of love and truth that should be enjoyed by people all over the world. There are no known details of Joyce DeWitt having ever been married or having any children. The most crucial factor, however, is that she appears to be doing well and continues to enjoy her work, both on stage and in films.
Joyce DeWitt’s net worth is estimated at $4 million by Celebrity Net Worth. So, it’s not a huge surprise to learn what she is most proud of in her professional life. If pressed, Joyce DeWitt said, “I don’t know that there is a proudest, but if asked to come up with one, it would have to be to have been a part of Three’s Company, and that’s an easy one to say because if as an actor you are given the opportunity to create joy and laughter in the world — that’s a great gift,” she added. “Any actor would express their gratitude to the casting director repeatedly for the role. Essentially, you can’t even make up a fantasy if it’s still doing that after 30 or so years. That one is completely out of the question. It just appears in your life. ”.
It appears that DeWitt will continue to work as an actress into her 74th year. We wish her luck in the future, but she still looks fantastic to this day. If you also watched Three’s Company, please spread the word about it to your loved ones. His sudden demise, which was caused by an aortic dissection, was reported to be the result of an undetected heart defect.
