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Claudia Wells

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Claudia Wells
Wells in 2022
Born
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Occupation(s)Actress, businesswoman
Years active1974–1986; 1996–present
Known forJennifer Parker in Back to the Future
Children1
Websitewww.claudiawells.com www.armaniwells.com

Claudia Wells is an American actress and businesswoman, best known for her role as Jennifer Parker in the 1985 film Back to the Future.

Early life

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Wells was born on July 5, 1966 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[1][2] Her family moved to the San Francisco Bay area when she was seven weeks old.[2] She went to Marin Country Day School and French-American Bilingual School. As of 2014, some of her family lived in that area,[3] Wells moved to Los Angeles at the age of 14, later graduating from Beverly Hills High School. She has a brother.[4]

Career

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Wells appeared in ten operas between ages eight and twelve. She began acting in TV shows in the late 1970s.

Wells played Jennifer Parker, Marty McFly's girlfriend, in the 1985 film Back to the Future. She almost did not end up in the first film of the successful franchise. According to Wells, she had been cast, but a pilot she had done for ABC had been picked up, and she was contractually forced to drop out of Back to the Future. During that time, Eric Stoltz had been shooting for five weeks in the role of Marty McFly. Melora Hardin was slated for the role of Jennifer though she never actually filmed any scenes. The producers halted filming and replaced Stoltz with Michael J. Fox. By then, Wells's pilot had been finished and she was recast as Jennifer, now shooting alongside Fox, having never filmed a frame with Stoltz.[5]

That same year (1985), Wells co-starred in Stop the Madness, an anti-drug music video sponsored by the Reagan administration, featuring several famous musicians, actors and athletes. The following year, she appeared in the TV movie Babies Having Babies, and the short-lived series Fast Times, a TV adaptation of the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Wells played Linda Barrett, portrayed by Phoebe Cates in the film). Following Fast Times, she did not appear again on-screen until the 1996 independent film, Still Waters Burn (released on DVD February 12, 2008).

Leaving acting

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After her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, Wells put her career on hold for family reasons, and told the studio she would be unavailable to reprise her Back to the Future role for the two sequels.[6] Actress Elisabeth Shue replaced her.[7] Her mother ultimately died in October 1994.[8]

On December 19, 1991, Wells started a Studio City, Los Angeles-based clothing store, Armani Wells, which she still manages as of 2024.[9][10] She is the founder of Kids in the Spotlight, a program for foster children.[2]

Return to acting

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After a lengthy absence, Wells returned to acting in 2011 with a small role in the independent science-fiction film, Alien Armageddon.[11]

The same year, Wells reprised her role from Back to the Future, 26 years after her last appearance in the series, provided the voice of Jennifer Parker for Back to the Future: The Game.[12] Wells announced that her next project would be a horror film titled Room & Board.[13]

Personal life

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When she was 15, she became a born-again Christian [14] and her faith helped her get through her mother's cancer diagnosis and death.[8]

Wells has a son named Sebastian, born around 1995.[15][16] They live in the Los Angeles area together.[15]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1985 Back to the Future Jennifer Parker
2008 Still Waters Burn Laura Harper
2011 Alien Armageddon Eileen Daly
2013 You Are Not Alone Cristina's Mom Short film
2013 Max Mom Short film
2014 Starship: Rising Captain Savage
2015 EP/Executive Protection Pam Travis
2015 Back in Time Herself Back to the Future documentary[17]
2015 Back to the 2015 Future Jennifer Parker Short film
2018 Groove Street Julie
2018 System Failure Mrs Henderson Short film
2019 Vitals Margaret Parks

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1979 Family Denise / Barbara Collins 2 episodes
1981 Rise and Shine Patsy D'Allisandro 1 episode
1981 Strike Force Patty Episode: "Magic Man"
1982 Herbie, the Love Bug Julie MacLane 5 episodes
1982 Lovers and Other Strangers Mary Claire Delvecchio Television film
1984 Fame Marya Episode: "Appearances"
1984 Anatomy of an Illness Sarakit Television film
1984–1985 Off the Rack Shannon Halloran 7 episodes
1984–1986 CBS Schoolbreak Special Lisa / Wendy 2 episodes
1985 Trapper John, M.D. Candy Episode: "Long Ago and Far Away"
1985 Simon & Simon Phoebe Glass Episode: "Slither"
1985 Able to Do
1986 Fast Times Linda Barrett 7 episodes
1986 Brothers Sarah Episode: "Joe Leaves This Old World Behind"
2011 The Mentalist Chief Marnie Green Episode: "Where in the World is Carmine O'Brien?"
2014 Zero Impact Home Future Petal Short series
2015 The Comeback Kids Herself Episode: "Re-United and It Feels So Good"

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2011 Back to the Future: The Game Jennifer Parker Episode 3: "Citizen Brown"
Episode 4: "Double Visions"

References

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  1. ^ "Claudia Wells on Facebook: "So grateful for all of the love you've all shown me! ❤️❤️❤️"". Facebook. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Claudia Wells, The Original 'Jennifer' From 'Back To The Future' Appears At Wondercon 2014 - CBS San Francisco". CBS News. April 22, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  3. ^ "Claudia Wells, the Original 'Jennifer' from 'Back to the Future' Appears at Wondercon 2014". April 22, 2014. Archived from the original on April 29, 2014.
  4. ^ "Videos". November 8, 2019.
  5. ^ "What Marty McFly's Girlfriend Is Up To In The Future". Yahoo!. May 2, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  6. ^ "Back to the Future's Claudia Wells: Shining Brighter Than Ever Before". The Huffington Post. July 7, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  7. ^ Huver, Scott (July 3, 2015). "Claudia Wells on Back to the Future". Peoplemag. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Nolasco, Stephanie (August 4, 2021). "'Back to the Future' star Claudia Wells on how faith helped her cope with tragedy: It's 'the reason I'm alive'". Fox News. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  9. ^ "Actress Claudia Wells talks about her high-end men's resale shop, Armani Wells". ktla.com.
  10. ^ "Welcome to Armani Wells". www.armaniwells.com.
  11. ^ Clint, Caffeinated. "Claudia Wells in Alien Armageddon". Moviehole. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  12. ^ "Back To The Future Episode 1: It's About Time Video Game, Exclusive Behind The Scenes Part IV: How We Got Jennifer HD". GameTrailers.com. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  13. ^ Wells, Claudia. "Announcing My Next Project..." Twitter. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  14. ^ "How 'Back to the Future' actress Claudia Wells became a Christian". OpentheWord.org. October 19, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Claudia Wells to Join 25th Anniversary 'Back to the Future' Reunion | Jan. 22, 2010". University of North Alabama. January 22, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  16. ^ Nolasco, Stephanie (August 4, 2021). "'Back to the Future' star Claudia Wells reveals her favorite theory about Jennifer Parker: 'It's wild'". Fox News. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  17. ^ "Back in Time Film". backintimefilm.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
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