Katey Sagal's Time In Hollywood Has Been Interesting But Far From Perfect

Updated August 2, 2019 1.7M views 15 items

Katey Sagal skyrocketed into the spotlight in 1987 as Peg Bundy on the now cult-classic TV show Married... with Children. She then earned a place in every nerd's heart as the voice of purple-haired spaceship captain Turanga Leela on Futurama. And she proved her broad appeal by playing an entirely different sort of character as Gemma Teller Morrow on Sons of Anarchy. She's also made memorable appearances on That '70s Show, The Big Bang Theory, and Lost. Sagal has played a character in almost every genre.

While she's played lots of characters, Katey Sagal is more than just a TV star. She reveals some awesome stories in her memoir Grace Notes: My Recollections, showcasing just how interesting her life has been. Her various stories provide a plethora of fascinating Katey Sagal facts that give insight into why she's just so good at playing so many different roles. Get your facts straight and check out these things you never knew about Katey Sagal!

1
She Battled Drug Addiction
Photo:
Joella Marano
Wikimedia Commons
CC BY-SA 2.0
In her 20s, Sagal reportedly struggled with drug abuse, which she discusses at length in her memoir. It started with diet pills but eventually led to cocaine, cannabis, alcohol, and LSD. Eventually, she met someone on set who helped her stop, and she's now been sober for over 30 years.
2
She Had An Affair With Gene Simmons
Photo:
Alan Light
Wikimedia Commons
CC BY 2.0
When Sagal was a teenager, she had a fling with Kiss frontman Gene Simmons. She was a singing waitress at the time, and, in the end, Simmons helped her learn to focus on her career.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she said, "He was very instrumental in me getting serious about what I was doing... He was like 'Don't be this kind of insecure person.'"
3
She Was Escorted Home By Police After Becoming Hysterical At A Beatles Concert
Photo:
Queen Latifah
YouTube
As a child, Katey Sagal was a big Beatles fan. She was even lucky enough to see them live in concert when she was 11 years old. According to her, it didn't end well: "When I was a kid, George Harrison was my favorite Beatle. I got so hysterical at a concert the police had to escort me home."

Her excitement was captured on video and made the nightly news.
4
Sagal Is A Successful Singer And Has Opened For The Rolling Stones With Etta James
Photo:
eOneMusicUS
YouTube
Sagal is gifted with more than acting abilities; she's also a talented musician. In the '70s and '80s, she sang backup vocals for a slew of amazing artists, including Bette Midler, Olivia Newton-John, Molly Hatchet, and Tanya Tucker. She also reportedly sang with Etta James and opened for The Rolling Stones.

Sagal flexes her musical muscles to this day, having released two albums and contributed to the Sons of Anarchy soundtrack.
5
Katey Sagal Was Once A Singing Waitress... With Danny Elfman
Before Sagal made it as a vocalist, she was working as a singing waitress at a placed called the Great American Food & Beverage Company. "I truly sang for my supper," she wrote in Us Weekly. "I was a singing waitress and got my first record deal doing that job."

Among the stranger details of the job was that Danny Elfman also worked there before finding success with Oingo Boingo (and later many, many movie scores). This was also where Sagal met Gene Simmons.
6
She Went To College With Pee-Wee Herman And The Hoff
Photo:
Alan Light
Wikimedia Commons
CC BY 2.0
For a brief period in the early '70s, Sagal attended the California Institute of the Arts to study acting. But she dropped out during her first semester, hoping to find success her own way.

She said her classmates included Paul Reubens, AKA Pee-wee Herman, and David Hasselhoff.
7
Sagal's Family Are Industry Insiders
Almost everyone in Katey Sagal's family has worked in the television and film industry. Her sisters Liz and Jean Sagal are identical twins who have both acted and worked on various television shows, including Double Trouble. Her brother Joey Sagal co-wrote the film Elvis & Nixon, and her stepbrother Gregg Champion is an accomplished director. Her husband, Kurt Sutter, created Sons of Anarchy.

Then there are her parents. Boris Sagal was a director, and her mother, Sara Zwilling, was reportedly a screenwriter.
8
Her Father Died In A Horrific Accident While Filming
Photo:
The Omega Man
Warner Bros.
Katey's father, Boris Sagal, was a well-known director in the '60s and '70s. He led productions such as Masada, The Omega Man, and a remake of Dial M for Murder. In 1981, at the age of 57, he died on set while directing a miniseries called World War III.

He was reportedly struck and killed when he accidentally walked into the tail rotor blades of a helicopter.
9
Her Real-Life Pregnancy Was Written Into Married... With Children - Until She Had A Miscarriage
Photo:
Married... With Children
Fox Network
While working on Married... with Children, Sagal became pregnant. The writers of the show decided to include the pregnancy in the plot and have Peggy Bundy get pregnant as well. Unfortunately, after seven months, Sagal miscarried. The writers swept the pregnancy under the rug by making it a dream.

Later, Sagal would give birth to two healthy children. Those pregnancies were purposefully left out of the show. In 2017, she had a third child via surrogate.
10
Sagal Wrote A Song About Her Stillborn Daughter
After losing her daughter, Sagal released a song called "You Can't Hurry the Harvest" on Well..., her 1994 debut solo album. Some believe the lyrics were inspired by the tragedy:

Change comes when it does
We all grow up when we do
You can ask yourself questions
You can struggle for truth
Can't hurry the harvest
Can't hurry the harvest
11
She Had A Daughter In Her 50s Via Surrogate
Photo:
kateylous
Instagram
Years after having her first two children, Sagal and her new husband Kurt Stutter wanted a child together. Since she was in her early 50s at the time, they decided to use a surrogate. In January 2007, they welcomed Esmé Louise Sutter into the world.
12
Sagal Has Played Kaley Cuoco's Mother On More Than One TV Show
Photo:
8 Simple Rules
Buena Vista Television
From 2002 to 2005, Sagal played Cate Hennessey on 8 Simple Rules. Her character was the mother of Kaley Cuoco’s Bridget Hennessey. Years later, Cuoco would star in the wildly popular TV show The Big Bang Theory. When that show's writers invited Sagal to once again play a mother role for Cuoco's character, she jumped at the chance, saying she was "always ready to be Kaley's mom."
13
She Has Serious Ink On Her Body
Photo:
kateylous
Instagram
Sagal played Gemma on Sons of Anarchy, a character who had some serious chest tattoos, but the actress is no stranger to the needle in real life. She has half-sleeves on each arm. In 2013, on The Late Show with Craig Ferguson, she also showed off a tattoo of a reptile on her ankle.

“When I turned 50 I got that tattoo because, you know, it’s about rebirth and restarting," she said.
14
If You Litter Or Drive Badly, She May Chase You
Photo:
Gage Skidmore
Wikimedia Commons
CC BY-SA 2.0
Sagal loves to drive. But two of her biggest pet peeves are inconsiderate drivers (especially tailgaters) and people who litter from their cars. She says she tends to "chase them down." If driving like a jerk is one way to meet Katey Sagal, it might be worth it.
15
She Hung Out With Judy Garland's Daughter
Photo:
Gage Skidmore
Wikimedia Commons
CC BY-SA 2.0
Growing up in Los Angeles, Sagal crossed paths with plenty of famous people. She says she lived in Judy Garland's neighborhood and became friends with her daughter, Lorna Luft. In her memoir, Sagal admitted that the prevalent drug use in Hollywood likely encouraged her later addiction: "Lorna’s mom had a lot of pills on her bedside table and slept past noon just like my mom... We hung tight. And, of course, I thought everyone’s mom took a lot of pills."