Wednesday is still ranked in the top 10 of TV shows in the United States two weeks after it premiered. Fans across the globe love the horror-comedy helmed by 22-year-old Jenna Ortega.
While viewers adore Jenna as the ever dark Wednesday Addams, the role was originated by Lisa Loring in the 1964 show The Addams Family. While Lisa is best known for her role as the gothic character, she starred in a few other roles during her career.
In 2023, Lisa passed away from a stroke at just 64. Her daughter, Vanessa Foumberg, confirmed her mother’s death to Variety, saying: “She went peacefully with both her daughters holding her hands.”
Unlike Wednesday Addams – who dresses solely in black and white – Lisa’s life was colorful.
Lisa was born in February 1958 on the tiny Pacific island called Kwajalein Island, which was a United Nations Trust Territory at the time. She moved to Hawaii where she began modeling at just three-years-old.
In 1964, Lisa was chosen for the role of Wednesday out of a group of five girls in a screen test. She was known for her iconic Wednesday pout. But, at just five-years-old, Lisa hadn’t yet learned to read.
© Disney General Entertainment Con“I learned to memorize before I could read,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2017.
The Addams Family is a classic television sitcom, starring Carolyn Jones, John Astin, among other stars at the time. It’s been the basis of many remakes throughout the years. And Lisa’s performance inspired Jenna’s in Netflix’s version.
Lisa remembered being very close to her cast mates. In 2017, she shared during a YouTube interview: “It was like a real family – you couldn’t have picked a better cast and crew. Carolyn Jones, John Astin – Gomez and Morticia – were like parents to me. They were great.”
© Getty ImagesThe Addams Family only lasted for two seasons when Lisa was eight years old. But her life got very interesting. Lisa’s mom died when she was 14 years old. A year later, in 1973, when Lisa was just 15, she married Farell Foumberg. A year later, they divorced.
In 1981, Lisa married her second husband Doug Stevenson, who was an actor on a CBS soap opera, Search for Tomorrow. With Doug, Lisa had her second daughter. But the two got divorced in 1983.
A few years later, Lisa got married for a third time. She met Jerry Butler on the set of an adult film in 1987, where she worked as a make up artist. While the two were married for five years, their relationship did not last. And when Lisa recalled the marriage to the Sydney Morning Herald, she calls it “the biggest mistake” of her life.
After her and Jerry’s divorce, Lisa entered a drug rehab program for heroin abuse, which she started using after a close friend had taken their own life.
© JONATHAN HESSION/NETFLIXLisa married for the fourth and final time in 2003 to Graham Rich. But, unfortunately, the two separated in 2008 and officially divorced in 2014.
Her life was colorful and filled with ups and downs. But at the end, she was surrounded by her daughters, Marianne and Vanessa, and her grandchildren, Emiliana and Charles, and remembered by fans as the girl who originated Wednesday Addams.
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