# Anne Haney
**Anne Haney** (Anne [Ryan Thomas](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-thomas); March 4, 1934 – May 26, 2001) was an American character actress of stage and screen who began her professional acting career in her mid-40s and became a familiar supporting player in film and television for two decades, best known for the family court supervisor Mrs. Sellner in *Mrs. Doubtfire* (1993) and the secretary Greta in *Liar Liar* (1997)[1](https://letterboxd.com/actor/anne-haney/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anne_haney).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | March 4, 1934, Memphis, Tennessee, USA[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anne_haney) |
| Birth name | Anne Ryan Thomas (some listings give Anne Ryan Haney)[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0359774/bio/) • [4](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/anne-haney/bio/3000297817/) |
| Died | May 26, 2001, Studio City, California, of congestive heart failure, aged 67[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html) |
| Career start | Began acting professionally in her mid-40s in the 1970s, after raising a family[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anne_haney) |
| Film debut | Support role opposite Walter Matthau in the spy comedy *Hopscotch* (1980)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anne_haney) |
| Best-known roles | Mrs. Sellner in *Mrs. Doubtfire* (1993); Greta in *Liar Liar* (1997); Judge Marilyn Travelini on *L.A. Law*[1](https://letterboxd.com/actor/anne-haney/) • [6](https://thetvdb.com/people/256276-anne-haney) |
| Career output | About 50 motion pictures and television programs over two decades by the Los Angeles Times count; over 100 credits by TheTVDB's listing[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html) • [6](https://thetvdb.com/people/256276-anne-haney) |
## Early life
A [Memphis, Tennessee](https://www.edgepedia.org/memphis-tennessee), native, Haney took courses in drama and later in radio and television at the [University of North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-north-carolina), and it was there that she came to know her future husband, John Haney.[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html) She applied her schooling briefly at a Memphis television station, then settled with her husband in Atlanta, where he worked for campus TV, and devoted herself to raising their daughter, Melissa[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html) • [7](https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Anne-Haney-67-character-actress-in-films-TV-2912764.php).
She later described that phase of her life in terms that became her standard account of how her career began: "My husband died, my daughter went to college, the dog got fleas, and the maid quit. So I had to come to Hollywood"[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html). In the 1970s she returned to her acting training, performing in local theater and commercials in Atlanta and spending two years playing the maid in a touring company of Noel Coward's *Fallen Angels*[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html). While still in Atlanta she joined both the [Screen Actors Guild](https://www.edgepedia.org/screen-actors-guild) and the American Federation of TV and Radio Artists[7](https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Anne-Haney-67-character-actress-in-films-TV-2912764.php).
## Move to Hollywood and film work
The couple had planned to move to Hollywood after John Haney retired so she could attempt big-time acting; he died of kidney disease in 1980, and she came alone[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html). In less than two months she had an agent, and she soon appeared in the spy comedy *Hopscotch* (1980) opposite [Walter Matthau](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-matthau)[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anne_haney).
**Character type.** Her screen career ran through mothers, secretaries, teachers, judges, patients, nurses, nuns, and bag ladies[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html). Her two signature parts are both authority figures who cannot be talked around. In *Mrs. Doubtfire* (1993) she played Mrs. Sellner, the social worker whose court-ordered visits [Robin Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-williams)'s disguised character must survive, a role that remains one of her most notable[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anne_haney). In *Liar Liar* (1997) she was Greta, secretary to [Jim Carrey](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-carrey)'s Fletcher Reede, receiving each of his excuses with what one retrospective describes as flat, unblinking patience[8](https://film.one/person/anne-haney).
Other film credits include the hairdresser in *Frances* (1982), a role as Rebekah Baines Johnson in *LBJ: The Early Years* (1987), Margaret Williams in *Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil* (1997), Sister Humiliata in *Changing Habits* (1997), Mrs. Eliza Chambers in [Gus Van Sant](https://www.edgepedia.org/gus-van-sant)'s *Psycho* (1998), and the woman in the bathroom in *The Out-of-Towners* (1999)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anne_haney) • [5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html). She also played [Michael Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-douglas)'s secretary in *The American President* (1995) and appeared in [Albert Brooks](https://www.edgepedia.org/albert-brooks)'s *Mother*[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html). On Rotten Tomatoes her highest-rated film is *Liar Liar* at 83 percent and her lowest is *Psycho* at 40 percent[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anne_haney).
## Television
Haney worked steadily as a television guest player from the early 1980s through 2001. She appeared in *The Dukes of Hazzard* and the sitcom *Bosom Buddies* early on, and later in *Cheers*, *The Golden Girls*, *Designing Women*, *ER*, *Boy Meets World*, *NYPD Blue*, *Murder One*, *Charmed*, and *Curb Your Enthusiasm*, where she played the mother of [Mary Steenburgen](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-steenburgen)'s character[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anne_haney) • [1](https://letterboxd.com/actor/anne-haney/) • [5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html).
**Star Trek and recurring parts.** She appeared in the *Star Trek: The Next Generation* episode "The Survivors" as Rishon Uxbridge, and later as a Bajoran arbitrator in the *Star Trek: Deep Space Nine* episode "Dax"[1](https://letterboxd.com/actor/anne-haney/). She was a regular guest star during the syndicated run of *Mama's Family*, playing Alberta Meechum, the nemesis of Thelma Harper, and played the fussy neighbor Virginia Taft on *Our House*[1](https://letterboxd.com/actor/anne-haney/). On *L.A. Law* she was a recurring guest star as Judge Marilyn Travelini, a role TheTVDB names alongside Mrs. Sellner among her best-known parts[1](https://letterboxd.com/actor/anne-haney/) • [6](https://thetvdb.com/people/256276-anne-haney). She also had regular roles as a housekeeper on [Robert Wagner](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-wagner)'s 1985 series *Lime Street* and on boxing champion [George Foreman](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-foreman)'s 1993 series *George*, and played a leukemia patient determined to attend her grandchild's christening on *ER*[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html).
One of her last appearances was in the *Ally McBeal* season 4 episode "Reasons to Believe," which aired on January 8, 2001[1](https://letterboxd.com/actor/anne-haney/).
## Stage work
Alongside her screen work, Haney appeared in plays at Theatre West in Los Angeles. In *Verdigris* in 1985 she starred as the salty-tongued, wheelchair-bound Margaret Fielding; Los Angeles Times reviewer [Don Shirley](https://www.edgepedia.org/don-shirley) wrote that "Anchoring the show is Anne Haney's powerful portrayal of Margaret . . . [S]he projects a country-style hauteur that demands attention"[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html). A public memorial service for her was later held at Theatre West[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-15-ca-10621-story.html).
## Death
Haney died on May 26, 2001, of congestive heart failure at her home in Studio City, California, at age 67[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html). She had no illusions about stardom, telling an interviewer in 1996, "This is gravy to me. It's a wonderful way to spend the last third of my life"[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html). She was survived by her daughter, Melissa Hacker of Philadelphia; a sister, Liza Minesinger of Atlanta; and one granddaughter[5](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html).
## References
1. [Films starring Anne Haney, Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/actor/anne-haney/)
2. [Anne Haney Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anne_haney)
3. [Anne Haney Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0359774/bio/)
4. [Anne Haney Biography, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/anne-haney/bio/3000297817/)
5. [Anne Haney; Actress, Los Angeles Times (June 7, 2001)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-07-me-7593-story.html)
6. [Anne Haney, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/people/256276-anne-haney)
7. [Anne Haney, 67, character actress in films, TV shows, SFGate/Los Angeles Times (June 8, 2001)](https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Anne-Haney-67-character-actress-in-films-TV-2912764.php)
8. [Anne Haney, films, reviews and where to watch, Fi1m](https://film.one/person/anne-haney)
9. [Memorial for Anne Haney to Be Held at Theatre West, Los Angeles Times (June 15, 2001)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-15-ca-10621-story.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames H to Ha*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license