# Nancy Priddy
**Nancy Priddy** (born 1941 in [South Bend, Indiana](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-bend-indiana)) is an American actress, singer, and singer-songwriter. As an actress she appeared in guest roles on television series including *Bewitched*, *The Waltons*, and *Matlock*, and in films such as *Bad Moms* (2016); as a musician she is known for the 1968 psychedelic folk album *You've Come This Way Before* and for backing vocals on [Leonard Cohen](https://www.edgepedia.org/leonard-cohen)'s debut album. She is the mother of actress [Christina Applegate](https://www.edgepedia.org/christina-applegate).[1](https://sites.google.com/nhj.k12.in.us/indianamusicmakers/folk-singer-songwriters/nancy-priddy) • [2](https://www.biographies.net/biography/nancy-priddy/m/01v2jyh)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1941, South Bend, Indiana, USA[1](https://sites.google.com/nhj.k12.in.us/indianamusicmakers/folk-singer-songwriters/nancy-priddy) |
| Professions | Actress, singer, singer-songwriter[2](https://www.biographies.net/biography/nancy-priddy/m/01v2jyh) |
| Signature album | *You've Come This Way Before* (Dot Records, 1968), ten original songs produced by Phil Ramone[1](https://sites.google.com/nhj.k12.in.us/indianamusicmakers/folk-singer-songwriters/nancy-priddy) |
| Other music work | Backing vocalist on Leonard Cohen's *Songs of Leonard Cohen* (1967); member of the Bitter End Singers (1964)[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nancy-priddy-mn0001316859) |
| Family | Daughter of Katherine Iona Driggs and Carl Priddy; married record producer Robert Applegate (1970); mother of actress Christina Applegate (born 1971)[2](https://www.biographies.net/biography/nancy-priddy/m/01v2jyh) • [4](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Nancy%2BPriddy-151822) |
| Later recording | *Christina's Carousel* (2008), named after her daughter[1](https://sites.google.com/nhj.k12.in.us/indianamusicmakers/folk-singer-songwriters/nancy-priddy) |
| Best-known film | *Bad Moms* (2016), playing Christina Applegate's character's mother; the film earned $184 million[4](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Nancy%2BPriddy-151822) • [5](https://auteurgraph.com/person/nancy-priddy/ratings) |
## Early life and education
Priddy was born in South Bend, Indiana, and worked as a radio disc jockey from the age of 12.[6](https://jazzrocksoul.com/artists/nancy-priddy/) She studied drama at [Oberlin College](https://www.edgepedia.org/oberlin-college) in Ohio and [Northwestern University](https://www.edgepedia.org/northwestern-university), and performed in musical revues at the Peninsula Players Theatre in Wisconsin in 1961 and 1962.[1](https://sites.google.com/nhj.k12.in.us/indianamusicmakers/folk-singer-songwriters/nancy-priddy) • [6](https://jazzrocksoul.com/artists/nancy-priddy/) AllMusic's biography, by staff writer Jason Ankeny, states that she studied liberal arts at Oberlin and graduated from the Northwestern School of Drama before a stint in cabaret.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nancy-priddy-mn0001316859)
## Music career
In 1964 Priddy moved to [Greenwich Village](https://www.edgepedia.org/greenwich-village) and joined the folk combo the Bitter End Singers, making her recorded debut on the 1964 Mercury release *Discover the Bitter End Singers*; she left the group a year later.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nancy-priddy-mn0001316859) While living in the Chicago area she began writing her own songs and cut a series of demo sessions that AllMusic describes as now lost. Back in New York City in 1967, she contributed backing vocals to *[Songs of Leonard Cohen](https://www.edgepedia.org/songs-of-leonard-cohen)*.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nancy-priddy-mn0001316859)
**You've Come This Way Before.** At the end of 1967 Priddy began working with producer [Phil Ramone](https://www.edgepedia.org/phil-ramone) on her debut album, recorded at A&R Studios in New York; it runs 36:06 and consists of ten original songs.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nancy-priddy-mn0001316859) • [7](https://www.allmusic.com/album/youve-come-this-way-before-mw0001254965) The album featured contributions from jazz arranger Manny Albam and drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, and was issued on Dot Records in late 1968.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nancy-priddy-mn0001316859) AllMusic's review by Richie Unterberger describes it as an idiosyncratic singer/songwriter record drawing on folk-rock and psychedelia, with dreamlike lyrics, girlish vocals on songs such as "Ebony Glass," and commercial pop-soul orchestration; he judges the mix an uneasy one that does not fully cohere.[7](https://www.allmusic.com/album/youve-come-this-way-before-mw0001254965) The album sold little at release and quickly disappeared, but it was reissued on CD by Rev-Ola in 2005 and on LP by Modern Harmonic/Sundazed in 2020, and has since gained a reputation as a distinctive artifact of late-1960s psychedelic folk.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nancy-priddy-mn0001316859) • [6](https://jazzrocksoul.com/artists/nancy-priddy/) • [7](https://www.allmusic.com/album/youve-come-this-way-before-mw0001254965)
During a visit to Dot's Los Angeles headquarters she met staff producer Bob Applegate, whom she married; the couple's daughter Christina was born in 1971.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nancy-priddy-mn0001316859) • [4](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Nancy%2BPriddy-151822) Sources disagree on when the marriage ended: biographies.net lists it as running from November 10, 1970 to August 27, 1979, while Filmweb and a Thai-language profile give the divorce as 1972.[2](https://www.biographies.net/biography/nancy-priddy/m/01v2jyh) • [4](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Nancy%2BPriddy-151822) In 1969 Priddy cut the single "Feelings" with producer [Harry Nilsson](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-nilsson) and narrated Mort Garson's *Signs of the Zodiac: Aries*, after which she effectively retired from music to focus on acting.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nancy-priddy-mn0001316859)
## Acting career
From the 1970s Priddy worked mainly in television, with guest appearances as minor characters on shows including *Bewitched*, *Mayberry R.F.D.*, *Police Woman*, *The Waltons*, *[Cannon](https://www.edgepedia.org/cannon-tv-series)*, *Medical Center*, *Barnaby Jones*, *Matlock*, and *Married... with Children*.[1](https://sites.google.com/nhj.k12.in.us/indianamusicmakers/folk-singer-songwriters/nancy-priddy) • [6](https://jazzrocksoul.com/artists/nancy-priddy/) Her television film work included *Short Walk to Daylight* (1972) and *The Aliens Are Coming* (1980).[6](https://jazzrocksoul.com/artists/nancy-priddy/) • [4](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Nancy%2BPriddy-151822)
Her film roles include Gail in *Rodeo Girl* (1980), Elizabeth Perry in *Jaws of Satan* (dated 1981 by Filmweb and 1982 by the ratings site AuteurGraph), Mrs. Franklin in *The Sweetest Thing* (2002), and the mother of Christina Applegate's character in the comedy *Bad Moms* (2016).[4](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Nancy%2BPriddy-151822) • [5](https://auteurgraph.com/person/nancy-priddy/ratings) *Bad Moms* grossed $184 million and *The Sweetest Thing* $69 million, the two highest-grossing titles in her listed filmography.[5](https://auteurgraph.com/person/nancy-priddy/ratings)
## Return to music
A breast cancer survivor, Priddy returned to music in the 1990s, self-releasing albums including *Can We Talk About It?* and *Mama's Jam* on her own imprint.[1](https://sites.google.com/nhj.k12.in.us/indianamusicmakers/folk-singer-songwriters/nancy-priddy) • [3](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nancy-priddy-mn0001316859) In 2008 she released the CD *Christina's Carousel*, named after her daughter, who is also a breast cancer survivor.[1](https://sites.google.com/nhj.k12.in.us/indianamusicmakers/folk-singer-songwriters/nancy-priddy) Her 1968 album had already contained a song titled "Christina's World," written three years before her daughter's birth.[8](https://www.tumblr.com/idasessions/657478562211840000/nancy-priddy-photographed-by-bob-peterson-on-the)
## References
1. [Indiana Music Makers: Nancy Priddy](https://sites.google.com/nhj.k12.in.us/indianamusicmakers/folk-singer-songwriters/nancy-priddy)
2. [Biography of Nancy Priddy, Biographies.net](https://www.biographies.net/biography/nancy-priddy/m/01v2jyh)
3. [Nancy Priddy Biography by Jason Ankeny, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nancy-priddy-mn0001316859)
4. [Nancy Priddy, Filmweb](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Nancy%2BPriddy-151822)
5. [Nancy Priddy Ratings, AuteurGraph](https://auteurgraph.com/person/nancy-priddy/ratings)
6. [Nancy Priddy, JazzRockSoul.com](https://jazzrocksoul.com/artists/nancy-priddy/)
7. [You've Come This Way Before, review by Richie Unterberger, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/youve-come-this-way-before-mw0001254965)
8. [Nancy Priddy album cover note, @idasessions on Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/idasessions/657478562211840000/nancy-priddy-photographed-by-bob-peterson-on-the)
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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: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames N to P*
*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