Thelma Harper played by Vicki Lawrence Hometown: Appleton, Wisconsin Age: 60's Occupation: House Wife Hobbies: Yelling, Cleaning, Cooking MAMA HARPER QUOTE: Good Lord!

BIOGRAPHY: ACTRESS VICKI LAWRENCE (from www.tvland.com)
Singer, Actress, Comedianne Vicki Lawrence hails from Inglewood, California. She was born on March 26th, 1949. The Gold Record winning (1972) singer had a number one hit on the Billboard hot 100 for two consecutive weeks with "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia."

Her early singing career saw her as a member of the youth singing group, "The Young Americans." When a review mentioned Lawrence's resemblance to Carol Burnett, Vicki sent the clipping to the star, and was granted an audition for Carol's new show, and she became a cast member. She quickly proved herself more than a look alike for Burnett, and her work on that show garnered 3 Golden Globe nominations, 4 EMMY Award® Nominations, and an EMMY® win in 1976.

A versital actress, and talented talker, Vicki has hosted two talk shows Vicki (1992), (Daytime EMMY® nominated in 1993) as well as Fox After Breakfast (1996). While fans remember her best as Thelma 'Mama' Harper from "The Family" sketches on The Carol Burnett Show, as well as the spin-off series Mama's Family(1983) the theme song for which she wrote, Vicki has made dozens of guest appearances on other shows including Laverne & Shirley, Roseanne, 6 appearances on The Love Boat, and a recurring role as Natalie Warner on the hit CBS series Yes Dear.