Yasbeck was born in Blue Ash, Ohio, the daughter of Dorothy Louise Mary (née Murphy), a homemaker, and John Anthony Yasbeck (Arabic: جون أنتوني يَزبك),[1] a butcher and grocery store owner.[2][3][4] Her father was of Lebanese descent, while her mother was of Irish ancestry.[5] As a child, Yasbeck was featured on the package art for the Betty CrockerEasy-Bake Oven. Years later, in 2000, she was presented with a new Easy-Bake Oven on the show I've Got a Secret, for which she was a regular panel member.
She spent her primary and secondary years at two different Catholic schools: Summit Country Day School and Ursuline Academy. She then enrolled in the theater program at the University of Detroit but didn't graduate.[6] In 1983, after the deaths of both of her parents, her father from a heart attack and her mother from emphysema, Yasbeck moved to New York City.
Yasbeck also appeared once on the hit DCOSThat's So Raven as the mother of the character Chelsea. The episode originally aired on September 22, 2006.
In late 2007, plans surfaced of a potential That's So Raven spin-off featuring Yasbeck and Anneliese van der Pol, who portrayed her daughter, with occasional appearances by Raven-Symoné. The show was scrapped due to van der Pol signing onto a Broadway play, and Yasbeck wanting to take a break from acting to focus on her family.
Yasbeck is the widow of actor John Ritter, with whom she had worked in several projects. She first met him at director Dennis Dugan's house during a read-through of their film Problem Child.
Yasbeck and Ritter also starred together in Problem Child 2 (1991) and guest-starred together in an episode of The Cosby Show that aired in 1991. Ritter also guest-starred on Wings as Yasbeck's estranged husband in the season-seven episode "Love Overboard". The couple had a child together in 1998, and they married the following year on September 18, 1999, at the Murphy Theatre in Wilmington, Ohio.[8]
On September 11, 2003, Ritter experienced chest pain and extreme nausea while rehearsing for 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. He was taken to the hospital by paramedics. Initially, Ritter was thought to be suffering a heart attack. At 10:48 that night, Ritter died. The cause of death was later determined to be an aortic dissection stemming from a previously undiagnosed congenital heart defect.[9]
Yasbeck gave her blessing to the continuation of the sitcom, as 8 Simple Rules, where it was ultimately decided that Katey Sagal's character would assume the lead role as a widow.[9]
Yasbeck appeared on Larry King Live on June 16, 2008, to discuss heart disease.[10]
After John Ritter's death, Yasbeck filed a $67 million wrongful death lawsuit against Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center and several doctors who treated him, alleging they misdiagnosed his condition and contributed to his death.[11] Several of the defendants settled out of court for a total of $14 million, including Providence St. Joseph, which settled for $9.4 million. On March 14, 2008, a jury split 9–3 in favor of the doctors, clearing the physicians of any wrongdoing.[12]
^Rochester, Mark (1985-07-09). "Blue Ash Actress Gets TV Career Break". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2022-09-24. …she went to the University of Detroit and enrolled in its theater program. She never graduated. Instead she headed northeast to pursue her acting career in New York in 1983.
