Mel Harris  Mary Ellen "Mel" Harris (born July 12, 1956) is an American actress best known for her role as Hope Murdoch Steadman in the ABC drama series "Thirtysomething" (1987–1991), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination in 1990. Harris was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the daughter to Mary Michael "Mike", a high school science teacher, and Warren Harris, football coach at Bethlehem High School and Princeton University. Harris grew up in North Brunswick, New Jersey and graduated from New Brunswick High School in 1974. Before finding success as an actress, Harris had appeared as a contestant on the game show "Pyramid" on two separate occasions: in 1979 on the ABC-TV daytime version known as "The $20,000 Pyramid", and in 1985 on the syndicated version known as "The $100,000 Pyramid", both versions hosted by Dick Clark. She later appeared as a celebrity on the third week of "The $100,000 Pyramid" hosted by John Davidson in 1991, with a clip of her big win in 1985 as shown in a flashback clip. Harris made her film debut playing a female leading role in the 1987 action film "" starring Rutger Hauer. She later went to star alongside Ken Olin, Patricia Wettig, Melanie Mayron, Timothy Busfield, Peter Horton and Polly Draper in the ABC drama series "Thirtysomething" playing the role of Hope Murdoch Steadman. The series received critical acclaim during its run, while Harris was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama in 1990. She directed one episode during the final season. The series ended in 1991. During that time, she also starred in the horror film "Cameron's Closet" (1988) and action comedy "K-9" alongside Jim Belushi. In 1989, she played a real-life victim Madge Oberholtzer in the TV miniseries "Cross of Fire". In 1989, "Harper's Bazaar" named her one of "America's 10 Most Beautiful Women". In 1990s, Harris had many leading roles in the made-for-television films and miniseries, include "The Burden of Proof" (1992), "Ultimate Betrayal" (1994) and "The Women of Spring Break" (1995). She co-starred in the 1992 psychological horror-thriller film "Raising Cain", and the following year played the leading role in the thriller film "Suture". Her other notable film credits include "The Pagemaster" (1994), "Hangman's Curse" (2003), and "The Lodger" (2009).