Annette O'Toole

Annette O'Toole (born April 1, 1952) is an American actress, dancer, and singer-songwriter. She is most recently best known for portraying Martha Kent, the mother of Clark Kent on the television series Smallville.

Early life and career

O'Toole was born Annette Toole in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Dorothy Geraldine (née Niland) and William West Toole, Jr. Her mother taught dance, something O'Toole learned at the age of 3. She started taking acting lessons after family moved to Los Angeles when she was 13. Her first television appearance was in 1967 on The Danny Kaye Show, followed over the next few years with guest appearances in shows such as My Three Sons, The Virginian, Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O, and The Partridge Family.

1970s–1980s

O'Toole's first major film role was as a jaded beauty pageant contestant in the 1975 satire Smile; she got the role after doing an impression of a "dead cockroach" at the audition. She also appeared as Robby Benson's character's tutor/girlfriend in the college basketball story One on One in 1977. She co-starred opposite Gary Busey in the 1980 film Foolin' Around. In 1981, she starred in the HBO onstage production of Vanities, as well as in the TV movie Stand By Your Man, which detailed the life of country music legend Tammy Wynette. Later on in 1982, she appeared briefly as Nick Nolte's girlfriend in 48 Hours. That same year, she played Alice Perrin in Cat People, and then in 1983 she played Lana Lang (love interest to Clark Kent/Superman), and single mother of Ricky in Superman III. In 1985, she co-starred with Barry Manilow in the CBS television movie Copacabana playing Lola La Mar to Manilow's Tony Starr. Also in 1985, she had a starring role as Ms. Edmunds in the original Bridge to Terabithia. In 1987's Cross My Heart, a romantic comedy, O'Toole had a leading role opposite Martin Short.

O'Toole

O'Toole is an Irish surname. It may refer to:

People

Other uses

See also

O'Toole (surname)

People

O'Toole family

The O'Tooles of Leinster, one of the leading families of that province, are descended from Tuathal Mac Augaire, King of Leinster (died 958), who belonged to the Uí Dúnlainge dynasty. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish Ó Tuathail.

Their original territory comprised the southern part of the present County Kildare but they were driven from it during the Anglo Norman invasion and settled in the mountains of what is now County Wicklow around Glendalough.

Here, with their kinsmen the O'Byrne family, they were noted for their tough resistance to English domination for four centuries; including exercising great influence over the foundation of the Confederation of Kilkenny in 1642 in what had become Confederate Ireland.

At the start of the 16th century, there were five great houses, all, owing allegiance to "The O'Toole of Powerscourt" as the recognized chief: