# Jessica Lundy
**Jessica Lundy** (full name Jessica Ruth Lundy) is an American actress and writer, born in 1966 in San Diego, California, known for the NBC sitcom *Hope & Gloria*, the film *The Stupids* (1996), and her Daytime Emmy-winning role as Postal Inspector Amanda Wainwright on the CBS series *The Inspectors* (2015–2019).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526649/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lundy/) • [3](https://www.eonline.com/news/761316/2016-daytime-emmy-award-winners-the-complete-list) She should not be confused with the motivational speaker and television host of the same name, a former Detroit TV host and author.[4](https://jessicalundy.com/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1966, San Diego, California; birth name Jessica Ruth Lundy[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lundy/) • [5](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jessica-lundy/credits/3030037517/) |
| Film debut | *Bright Lights, Big City* (1988), followed the same year by *Vampire's Kiss* and *Caddyshack II*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526649/) |
| Signature sitcom role | Gloria Utz on NBC's *Hope & Gloria* (1995–1996), 35 episodes[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526649/) • [6](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/13354/jessica-lundy) |
| Longest role | Amanda Wainwright on *The Inspectors*, 106 episodes, 2015–2019[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526649/) |
| Award | Daytime Emmy, 2016, Outstanding Performer in a Children's or Pre-School Children's Series, for *The Inspectors*[3](https://www.eonline.com/news/761316/2016-daytime-emmy-award-winners-the-complete-list) |
| Writing | 25 episodes of *The Inspectors* written, 2017–2019[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526649/) |
## Early life and training
Lundy was born in San Diego, California, and raised in [Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/connecticut).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lundy/) • [7](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2027494/) She entertained classmates from the age of eight and entered New York University intending a performing career; she studied drama at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lundy/) • [7](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2027494/) She began her career writing and acting in comedy shows in New York City cabarets and clubs, and teamed with her classmate [Alec Mapa](https://www.edgepedia.org/alec-mapa) to form a cabaret duo.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526649/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lundy/) Her stage work included the productions *Becoming Memories* and *Mad Dog Blues*, and she starred in the off-Broadway remake of *Uncommon Women and Others*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526649/)
## Film work, 1988–1998
Lundy's film debut came in *[Bright Lights, Big City](https://www.edgepedia.org/bright-lights-big-city-film)* (1988), in which she and Mapa were cast in small roles as a result of their cabaret act; she appeared in the [Bryan Ferry](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryan-ferry) music video "Kiss and Tell," which mixed performance footage with clips from the film.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526649/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lundy/) Her larger film break came the same year as Kate Hartounian, Jackie Mason's nouveau riche daughter, in *Caddyshack II*, and she also played Sharon in *Vampire's Kiss* (1988).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526649/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lundy/)
Through the 1990s she took supporting parts in comedies and thrillers: Bernice in *Madhouse* (1990), the talkative apartment applicant in *Single White Female* (1992), a flight attendant in *I Love Trouble* (1994), Julie Ford in *RocketMan* (1997), and roles in *Denial*, *October 22*, and *Just a Little Harmless Sex* (all 1998).[8](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-59987/filmographie/) • [9](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-59987/filmografia/) In *The Stupids* (1996), [John Landis](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-landis)'s comedy based on the children's books about the dumbest family in America, she played Joan Stupid opposite Tom Arnold; the casting followed her work on *Hope & Gloria*.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lundy/) • [10](https://westlandlibrarystorage.b-cdn.net/observer/1996/1996-08-22.pdf)
## Television
After moving to Los Angeles in 1990, Lundy played Nikki Page, an obituary writer who teams with a detective to solve crimes, on the CBS series *Over My Dead Body* (1990–91) opposite [Edward Woodward](https://www.edgepedia.org/edward-woodward).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lundy/) • [11](https://www.tvtango.com/person/jessica_lundy) She then co-starred on ABC's *Baby Talk* (1991–92), appeared in the ensemble of the 1991 CBS revival of *The Carol Burnett Show*, and played Denise Palmaro on NBC's *The Second Half* (1993); all three series were short-lived.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lundy/) • [11](https://www.tvtango.com/person/jessica_lundy)
**Hope & Gloria.** NBC gave Lundy one of the two title roles in the midseason 1995 sitcom *Hope & Gloria*, opposite [Cynthia Stevenson](https://www.edgepedia.org/cynthia-stevenson) as Hope, an optimistic associate producer of a Pittsburgh TV talk show. Lundy played Gloria, a twice-married hairdresser with a realist's view of life; critics compared the pairing to *Kate & Allie* and to the Mary and Rhoda rapport on *The Mary Tyler Moore Show*.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lundy/) She appeared in 35 episodes.[6](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/13354/jessica-lundy)
**Guest roles.** From the late 1990s through the 2010s Lundy worked steadily as a television guest star, with single-episode appearances on *Seinfeld* (as Naomi), *Dharma & Greg*, *Monk*, *Without a Trace*, *Boomtown*, *Medium*, *Numb3rs*, *Saving Grace*, *Pushing Daisies*, *'Til Death*, *Castle* (as Myrna Ramsey), *Criminal Minds* (as Alison Sparks in the season six episode "Coda"), *Hello Ladies*, *Major Crimes*, *Two and a Half Men*, and *B Positive*, among others.[8](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-59987/filmographie/) • [9](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-59987/filmografia/) • [12](https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Jessica_Lundy)
## The Inspectors and the Daytime Emmy
Lundy's longest-running role was Amanda Wainwright, a United States Postal Inspector and mother of a paralyzed teenager, on the CBS Saturday-morning drama *The Inspectors*, which premiered in October 2015 and ran through 2019 for 106 episodes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526649/) • [13](https://news.usps.com/2016/05/02/another-win/) The scripted series, inspired by real cases of the Postal Inspection Service, covers mail fraud, identity theft, and consumer scams, and is designed to educate young viewers.[13](https://news.usps.com/2016/05/02/another-win/) • [14](https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/draftcopy/25076ff358164b8b015830338e241238)
In 2016 Lundy won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's or Pre-School Children's Series for the role, receiving the award at the April 29 ceremony in Los Angeles; she said she shared it with the cast, crew, and the real-life Postal Inspectors whose stories the show tells.[3](https://www.eonline.com/news/761316/2016-daytime-emmy-award-winners-the-complete-list) • [13](https://news.usps.com/2016/05/02/another-win/) She was nominated for the same category at the 43rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards before winning.[15](https://www.tvweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/43rd-Annual-Daytime-Emmy-Award-Nominations-FINAL-Amended.pdf) She also moved behind the camera on the series, writing 25 episodes between 2017 and 2019.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526649/)
## References
1. [Jessica Lundy (I), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526649/)
2. [Jessica Lundy, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lundy/)
3. [2016 Daytime Emmy Award Winners: The Complete List, E! Online](https://www.eonline.com/news/761316/2016-daytime-emmy-award-winners-the-complete-list)
4. [International Motivational Speaker - Jessica Lundy](https://jessicalundy.com/)
5. [Jessica Lundy List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jessica-lundy/credits/3030037517/)
6. [Jessica Lundy, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/13354/jessica-lundy)
7. [Jessica Lundy, elCinema](https://elcinema.com/en/person/2027494/)
8. [Jessica Lundy : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-59987/filmographie/)
9. [Jessica Lundy : Filmografía, SensaCine](https://www.sensacine.com/actores/actor-59987/filmografia/)
10. [The Eccentric, Thursday, August 22, 1996, Westland Library archive](https://westlandlibrarystorage.b-cdn.net/observer/1996/1996-08-22.pdf)
11. [Jessica Lundy, TV Tango](https://www.tvtango.com/person/jessica_lundy)
12. [Jessica Lundy, Criminal Minds Wiki](https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Jessica_Lundy)
13. [Another win: 'The Inspectors' star receives Daytime Emmy, USPS Employee News](https://news.usps.com/2016/05/02/another-win/)
14. [FCC programming response for THE INSPECTORS](https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/draftcopy/25076ff358164b8b015830338e241238)
15. [43rd Annual Daytime Emmy Award Nominations, TV Week](https://www.tvweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/43rd-Annual-Daytime-Emmy-Award-Nominations-FINAL-Amended.pdf)
---
*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 Le to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 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