Penny Marshall

Penny Marshall (born October 15, 1942) is an American actress, director, and producer. Although she has directed several successful Hollywood films since the mid-1980s (among them Big, Awakenings and A League of Their Own), Marshall is perhaps still best known for her role as the wise-cracking brewery worker Laverne DeFazio in the popular late 1970s television sitcom Laverne and Shirley.

Marshall was born in The Bronx borough of New York City. She was married to actor and director Rob Reiner from 1971 until 1979 - a period that coincided with the heyday of both of their television sitcom careers (Reiner played Mike Stivic on the most-watched American sitcom during the first half of the 1970s, All in the Family).

Penny Marshall is the brother of producer, director, and writer Garry Marshall.