Claudia Wells

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Claudia Wells
Born
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Occupation(s)Actress, businesswoman
Years active1979-1986; 1996-present
Known for Jennifer Parker in Back to the Future
Children1
Website www.claudiawells.com www.armaniwells.com

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

Contents

Life and career

Wells was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to American parents of Ashkenazi Jewish descent (from Germany, Russia and Czechia). Her family moved to San Francisco when she was seven weeks old. She went to Marin Country Day School and French-American Bilingual School. Her father, a parasitologist, and sister, Jennifer, still live in San Francisco, [1] but Wells moved to Los Angeles at the age of 14, later graduating from Beverly Hills High School. Wells also has a brother. [2]

She started acting with appearances in TV shows. When she was 15, she became a born-again Christian at the urging of Dean Jones on the set of Herbie, the Love Bug . [3]

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. [4]

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

After her mother was diagnosed with 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. [5] Actress Elisabeth Shue replaced her.

On December 19, 1991, Wells started a clothing store, Armani Wells, which she still manages as of 2023. [6] [7]

Return to acting

After a lengthy absence, Wells returned to acting in 2011 with a small role in the independent science-fiction film, Alien Armageddon. [8]

The same year, Wells had the opportunity to reprise her role from Back to the Future 26 years after her last appearance in the series. She provided the voice of Jennifer Parker for Back to the Future: The Game . [9] Wells announced that her next project would be a horror film titled Room & Board. [10]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1985 Back to the Future Jennifer Parker
2008Still Waters BurnLaura Harper
2011Alien ArmageddonEileen Daly
2013You Are Not AloneCristina's MomShort film
2013MaxMomShort film
2014 Starship: Rising Captain Savage
2015EP/Executive ProtectionPam Travis
2015 Back in Time HerselfBack to the Future documentary [11]
2015Back to the 2015 Future Jennifer Parker Short film
2018Groove StreetJulie
2018System Failure Mrs HendersonShort film
2019VitalsMargaret Parks

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1979 Family Denise / Barbara Collins2 episodes
1981Rise and ShinePatsy D'Allisandro1 episode
1981 Strike Force PattyEpisode: "Magic Man"
1982 Herbie, the Love Bug Julie MacLane5 episodes
1982Lovers and Other StrangersMary Claire DelvecchioTelevision film
1984 Fame MaryaEpisode: "Appearances"
1984Anatomy of an IllnessSarakitTelevision film
1984–1985 Off the Rack Shannon Halloran7 episodes
1984–1986 CBS Schoolbreak Special Lisa / Wendy2 episodes
1985 Trapper John, M.D. CandyEpisode: "Long Ago and Far Away"
1985 Simon & Simon Phoebe GlassEpisode: "Slither"
1985Able to Do
1986 Fast Times Linda Barrett7 episodes
1986 Brothers SarahEpisode: "Joe Leaves This Old World Behind"
2011 The Mentalist Chief Marnie GreenEpisode: "Where in the World is Carmine O'Brien?"
2014Zero Impact HomeFuture PetalShort series
2015The Comeback KidsHerselfEpisode: "Re-United and It Feels So Good"

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotes
2011 Back to the Future: The Game Jennifer ParkerEpisode 3: "Citizen Brown"
Episode 4: "Double Visions"

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References

  1. ↑ "Claudia Wells, the Original 'Jennifer' from 'Back to the Future' Appears at Wondercon 2014". April 22, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Videos". November 8, 2019.
  3. ↑ "How 'Back to the Future' actress Claudia Wells became a Christian". OpentheWord.org. October 19, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  4. ↑ "What Marty McFly's Girlfriend Is Up To In The Future". Yahoo! . May 2, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Back to the Future's Claudia Wells: Shining Brighter Than Ever Before". The Huffington Post . July 7, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Actress Claudia Wells talks about her high-end men's resale shop, Armani Wells". ktla.com.
  7. ↑ "Welcome to Armani Wells". www.armaniwells.com.
  8. ↑ Clint, Caffeinated. "Claudia Wells in Alien Armageddon". Moviehole. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  9. ↑ "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.
  10. ↑ Wells, Claudia. "Announcing My Next Project..." Twitter . Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Back in Time Film". backintimefilm.com. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
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