Biography
A fair-haired character actress who maintained a nearly constant presence in American television series and features (making her countenance eminently familiar), Jeanetta Arnette began her career in late-'70s exploitation pictures, such as the 1977 releases
Teenage Graffiti and
The Class Reunion Massacre. Beginning with a bit part as a party guest in
Blake Edwards' midlife-crisis comedy
10 (1979), however, Arnette segued gently into more mainstream efforts. She specialized in playing upbeat, highly energetic women with a professional edge. Early assignments included
Rob Cohen's underrated Age of Aquarius period film
A Small Circle of Friends (1980), the made-for-television sci-fi opus
Brave New World (1980), and Andrew V. McLaglen's telemovie Western
The Shadow Riders (1982).
Arnette achieved her broadest fame and recognition for several years in 1986, when she signed on to play Bernadette Meara, the assistant principal of the Monroe High School for teen prodigies, on the popular sitcom
Head of the Class (1986-1991) -- a role she carried for the entire run of the series. Subsequent assignments included the
Rodney Dangerfield comedy
Ladybugs (1992), the gender-bending melodrama
Boys Don't Cry (1999), and
Lasse Hallström's offbeat romantic drama
The Shipping News (2001). In 2007, Arnette tackled a more prominent role in director
David Gordon Green's earnest ensemble drama
Snow Angels. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide