# Robin Dearden
**Robin Dearden** (full name Robin Gale Dearden) is an American actress whose career consists mainly of guest roles on American television from the late 1970s onward, and who is known to a wider audience as the wife of actor [Bryan Cranston](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryan-cranston), whom she married in 1989.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Robin Gale Dearden[1](https://thetvdb.com/people/291208-robin-dearden) |
| Born | 1953, Los Angeles, California, USA[1](https://thetvdb.com/people/291208-robin-dearden) |
| First television role | Kristy in the 1977 series *Magic Mongo*[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/31149/robin-dearden) |
| Marriage | Married Bryan Cranston on 8 July 1989; they have one child[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0213142) |
| How they met | On the set of the 1980s series *Airwolf*[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/31149/robin-dearden) |
| Daughter | Taylor Dearden, born 1993, an actress known for *The Pitt*[4](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/who-is-taylor-dearden-mel-king-the-pitt/) |
| Later screen work | Guest role as the "Emotional Woman" in *Breaking Bad* (2010)[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/31149/robin-dearden) |
## Television career
Dearden's first television appearance was as Kristy in *Magic Mongo*, a 1977 series that was part of *The Krofft Supershow* on ABC; she played the role through 1978.[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/31149/robin-dearden) • [5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/dearden-robin) Through the 1980s she appeared as a guest performer across the era's action and drama series, including *The Incredible Hulk*, *Magnum, P.I.* (as Mandy in "No Need to Know" and later as Lexi Ziller), *[T. J. Hooker](https://www.edgepedia.org/t-j-hooker)*, *Knight Rider*, *The A-Team*, *Airwolf*, and *Murder, She Wrote*, on which she appeared three times between 1987 and 1991.[5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/dearden-robin) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/31149/robin-dearden) Her one regular series role was Kate Wilson on the NBC soap *Generations* in 1990.[5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/dearden-robin)
Her television movie work includes *To Race the Wind* (CBS, 1980), *Fugitive Family* (CBS, 1980), and *Thirst* (NBC, 1998), in which she played Dr. Kennedy.[5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/dearden-robin)
## Film work
Dearden's film credits are few and mostly small-scale. She played Nancy McNaughton in *Stitches* (1985), Lauren in *Last Chance* (1999), Diane in *The Illusion* (2004), and Kate in *Wooly Boys*.[5](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/dearden-robin) • [6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robin-dearden/)
## Marriage to Bryan Cranston
Dearden met Bryan Cranston while both were working on the 1980s series *Airwolf*, and they married on 8 July 1989.[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/31149/robin-dearden) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0213142) Their daughter Taylor Dearden, born in 1993, became an actress as well, appearing in *Sweet/Vicious*, *American Vandal*, and as Dr. Mel King in *The Pitt*; Cranston has described her as a fourth-generation actor in the family business.[4](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/who-is-taylor-dearden-mel-king-the-pitt/) • [7](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/bryan-cranston-breaking-bad-your-honor-b2279778.html)
Dearden has also appeared alongside her husband on screen: in 2010 she played the "Emotional Woman" in "[No Más](https://www.edgepedia.org/no-mas-breaking-bad)", the opening episode of *Breaking Bad*'s third season, the series that made Cranston's career.[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/31149/robin-dearden) In interviews Cranston has spoken of their long marriage repeatedly, telling *The Guardian* in 2012 that they liked to travel together, and crediting his partner with pulling him out of the mean characters he plays.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/oct/28/bryan-cranston-breaking-bad-argo-interview) • [7](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/bryan-cranston-breaking-bad-your-honor-b2279778.html)
## References
1. [Robin Dearden, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/people/291208-robin-dearden)
2. [Robin Dearden, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/31149/robin-dearden)
3. [Robin Dearden, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0213142)
4. [What to Know About Taylor Dearden, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/who-is-taylor-dearden-mel-king-the-pitt/)
5. [Dearden, Robin, Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television via Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/dearden-robin)
6. [Robin Dearden, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/robin-dearden/)
7. [Bryan Cranston interview, The Independent (2023)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/bryan-cranston-breaking-bad-your-honor-b2279778.html)
8. [Bryan Cranston interview, The Guardian (2012)](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/oct/28/bryan-cranston-breaking-bad-argo-interview)
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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 D to Di*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; 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