---
name: "Betty Thomas"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/betty-thomas"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "27 July 1948"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T21:21:01.460923+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Betty Thomas

Actor. Born 27 July 1948 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 27 July 1948, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- **Also known as:** Betty Lucille Nienhauser

## Biography

Betty Thomas (born Betty Lucille Nienhauser) is an American actress and director. She trained at Ohio University and began her career in Chicago, performing with the Second City comedy troupe after working as a teacher and waitress.

She gained prominence playing Sergeant Lucy Bates on the television series *Hill Street Blues* (1981–87), receiving seven Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and winning in 1985. She later directed episodes of series including *Doogie Howser, M.D.* (1989) and *Dream On*, winning a second Emmy for directing the latter.

Thomas made her feature directorial debut with *Only You* (1992). Her subsequent films include *The Brady Bunch Movie* (1995), *Private Parts* (1997), *Doctor Dolittle* (1998), *28 Days* (2000), *I Spy* (2002), *John Tucker Must Die* (2006) and *Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel* (2009).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Hill Street Blues* (1981), Fi1m 86, as Lucille Bates — [page](https://film.one/tv/hill-street-blues.md)

## Also known for

- *Doctor Dolittle* (1998), Director
- *Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel* (2009), Director
- *John Tucker Must Die* (2006), Director
- *28 Days* (2000), Director
- *I Spy* (2002), Director
- *Private Parts* (1997), Director
- *Grace and Frankie* (2015), Director
- *The Brady Bunch Movie* (1995), Director

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/betty-thomas