Nancy Elizabeth Stafford is an American actress, speaker and author, known for her roles on television. She came to prominence in the 1980s as Ben Matlock's law partner and friend, Michelle Thomas, on Matlock. She hosted a syndicated TV series called Main Floor, a show about...
Fort Lauderdale High School, University of Florida
Nationality
United States of America
Spouse
Larry Myers (m. 1989)
Parents
Marcia Stafford, Leslie Stafford
Siblings
Tracy Stafford
Nicknames
Nancy Elizabeth Stafford
Movies
Christmas for a Dollar, Season of Miracles, Christmas with a Capital C, The Wager, Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare
TV Shows
Matlock, Sidekicks, The Doctors
Star Sign
Gemini
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Quote
1
[on the death of Andy Griffith]: I'm heartsick... I am forever grateful for the 5 wonderful years I worked with Andy. They were a highlight of my life. I've never laughed so hard or learned so much! He has left an indelible mark on my life - and the lives of countless millions. He was a consummate professional, an American treasure, and a dear man.
2
[on her on- and off-screen chemistry with Andy Griffith]: I was terrified and charged at the same time, of course, he was an icon, and is an icon. It has just been [and I can't imagine] a greater joy I've had of working those 5 years with him. He's the most genuinely, hysterically, funny human being on the planet. He is sharp as a tact, he is totally ... I was so impressed because he is completely involved in every aspect of that show. He read every single script, he had notes to write, he rewrote scenes that made them better, he's a craftsman with dialogue [of course] coming from his stand-up days, too, you can imagine, and he just knows his stuff.
3
[on Andy Griffith] It was awesome working with Andy. He's absolutely the best. It was a party every day. He's a sheer delight and we got along famously. I adored him. He also loved my husband Larry who plays fiddle and mandolin, and so often Andy would elbow me and say, 'get Larry to come over and bring his instruments.'
4
[on her mentor's, Andy Griffith's 85th Birthday]: Andy is indeed an amazing man! I love him!
5
[When she played Michelle Thomas]: They keep telling me, 'Your wardrobe is nice, Nancy, but where's the teddy?'
6
[As a character actress]: I love being the bad guy, I love dealing with those intense emotions.
7
I was a gangly, klutzy, studious girl, who was respected by the teachers and not at all popular with the other kids.
8
[When she was faced of having her cancer surgery]: I was scared of the surgery, but what really scared me was that the very source of my income and affirmation, my face, had become my life, I felt ashamed. After the surgery I began to search for God.
9
[on writing "Beauty by the Book"]: In college I began to blossom, I grew into my 5-foot-9-inch frame. When I did, boys began to notice, and their attention made me feel good about myself for the first time... My insecurities and low self-image were still there; they were just hidden behind the facade of 'pretty' and 'popular'.
10
[on who has been the most influential person in her life]: My mother. She's the funniest human being I know as well as the most capable, strongest, most optimistic and incredibly talented. She's given me a lot to aspire to.
11
[on the ranch she lives in]: We had a vision to create a place where believers could come to rest, rejuvenate and heal and where the artistic community could come to work on creative projects. It's a place of conception of dreams and vision. As time passed, the ache I had for children began to lift from me.
12
I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for the painful things that I've gone through in life. God has used them to develop what could never have been formed in me in any other way.
13
I struggled as a young girl, feeling very rejected, very ridiculed because of my appearance. Then, irony of ironies, after blossoming but still never feeling good enough, I got into the most rejection-prone occupations: model and actress.
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Fact
1
Credits Andy Griffith as her favorite acting mentor/best friend.
2
Since the early '80s Nancy Stafford has been appearing consistently and frequently on South Florida television as the spokewoman for "Waterbed City, " now known as "City Furniture." It's a job she has held and maintained all during her TV series work, and she continues to make new commercials for them. Consistent work over 1.5 decades is notable. :>
Missed several episodes of Matlock (1986), beginning in 1988, because of her busy scheduling.
5
Has endorsed "City Furniture" in Southern Florida for more than 20 years. She continued to make commercials for them, even while appearing on her various series.
6
As a little girl, she followed only one soap opera The Doctors (1963), ironically, she grew up to later play a dual role on it.
7
As a six-year-old girl, she was a huge fan of The Andy Griffith Show (1960), that starred Andy Griffith. Nancy had said on an interview that when she was just a child, she bore a resemblance of Don Knotts in The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964) movie, wearing glasses. Several years after that show went off the air, she auditioned and won the role of a lawyer's assistant on Matlock (1986), for the series second season, when she replaced Linda Purl.
8
A skin cancer survivor at 24.
9
Graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in journalism.
10
Husband Larry Myers is a pastor. They have a daughter and grandson.
11
1995-2005 Hosted a syndicated TV series called Main Floor (1995), which dealt with such topics as fashion and beauty.
12
Best known as Ben Matlock's law partner, Michelle, on TV's Matlock (1986), Nancy spends much of her time as an author of spiritual books and a public speaker.
13
Miss Florida 1976
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Nazareth
2017
TV Movie post-production
Olivia Taylor
A Mermaid's Tale
2016
TV Movie post-production
Thaleia
Common Threads
2016
Short completed
Maybelle Bleu
Running
2016
TV Series pre-production
Maggie Price
King of the Cannibals
announced
Mrs. Paton
The Line
TV Movie post-production
Ambrose
Heaven Bound
2017
Josie
I'm Not Ashamed
2016
Mrs. Talbot
Heritage Falls
2016/I
Laura Fitzpatrick
Heaven Help Us
2014
Short
Kat Banks
Christmas for a Dollar
2013
Mrs. Rathbone
Assumed Killer
2013
Dr. Weston
Season of Miracles
2013
Nurse Barbara
Superheroes Don't Need Capes
2013
Jenny
Foreclosed
2013
Short
Terri Boyd
Christmas Oranges
2012
Mrs. Hartley
Race to the Finish
2012
Julie
Christmas with a Capital C
2011
Kristen Reed
The Mentalist
2008
TV Series
Rosemary Tennant
The Wager
2007
Annie Steele
The Proverb
2004
Short
Lady in Park
Judging Amy
2003
TV Series
Judge Bell
ER
2002
TV Series
Alan's Mom
Destiny
2002/II
Counselor
Baywatch
1997
TV Series
Cassie Rose
Babylon 5
1996
TV Series
Dr. Mary Kirkish
Frasier
1996
TV Series
Claire Barnes
Main Floor
1995
TV Series
Hostess
Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare
1995
TV Movie
Karen Ingram
Saved by the Bell: The College Years
1993
TV Series
Judith Trudell
Moment of Truth: A Child Too Many
1993
TV Movie
Sharon Davis
Matlock
1986-1992
TV Series
Michelle Thomas / Caryn Nelson / Caroline Nathan
Quantum Leap
1990
TV Series
Pageant Coordinator Peg Myers
Sidekicks
1986-1987
TV Series
Patricia Blake
U.S. Marshals: Waco & Rhinehart
1987
TV Movie
Joyce
D.C. Cops
1986
TV Movie
Molly St. Clair
You Are the Jury
1986
TV Series
Diane Blake
St. Elsewhere
1983-1986
TV Series
Joan Halloran
Scarecrow and Mrs. King
1985
TV Series
Colleen Donnelly
Magnum, P.I.
1985
TV Series
Amy Griswald
Hunter
1985
TV Series
Nell Armstrong
Remington Steele
1985
TV Series
Jennifer Davenport
Riptide
1985
TV Series
Lt. Peggy Burke
Who's the Boss?
1984
TV Series
Trish Baldwin
Lone Star
1983
TV Movie
Amanda Talbot
The Doctors
1982
TV Series
Adrienne Hunt Manning / Adrienne / Felicia Hunt
Q
1982
Eyewitness
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Heaven Help Us
2014
Short written by
Superheroes Don't Need Capes
2013
writer
Race to the Finish
2012
co-writer
Producer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Heaven Help Us
2014
Short executive producer
Superheroes Don't Need Capes
2013
associate producer
Race to the Finish
2012
associate producer
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Filmed in Utah
2012
TV Series
Herself
Praise the Lord
2002
TV Series
Herself
The Chuck Woolery Show
1991
TV Series
Herself
25th Annual Country Music Association Awards
1991
TV Special
Herself
The New Hollywood Squares
1989
TV Series
Guest Appearance
The Pat Sajak Show
1989
TV Series
Herself
Super Password
1984-1989
TV Series
Herself - Celebrity Contestant / Herself
Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour
1984
TV Series
Herself - Panelist
The 41st Annual Golden Globe Awards
1984
TV Special
Herself
The Miss Teen USA Pageant
1983
TV Special
Herself - Judge
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
Matlock
1993-1994
TV Series
Michelle Thomas
Nominated Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
2011
Grace Award
MovieGuide Awards
Most Inspiring Television Acting
Christmas with a Capital C (2011)
Known for movies
Matlock (1986-1994) as Michelle Thomas / Caroline Nathan / Caryn Nelson
$5 Million
