Look Who’s Talking had plenty of wild, funny moments, but they would all be especially hard-won without Mollie’s friend Rona. Though Albert was not always on Mollie’s side, the film’s leading lady had her friend by her side when life threw some unpleasant revelations her way. Twink Caplan perfectly presented Rona’s flirty playfulness. Fortunately for fans, she continued to appear in many more popular titles to enjoy.
Twink Caplan was born on December 25, 1947, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Back in ’77, she made her on-screen debut in Prime Time, then going by the name Twinkie Caplan as the character of Louise. Some of her earlier jobs were smaller characters, usually named by their actions or roles, like Cigarette Girl, Bank Customer, or Hooker #1. 1986’s Divorce Court put her as Linda Barry in the episode Barry vs. Barry, and the following year she could be seen in Who’s the Boss? as Joann.
So nice, she appears in the series twice
The roles kept coming at a reliable rate throughout the ’80s, resulting perhaps most famously in Look Who’s Talking. Both she and the film were a hit and so she reprised her role for 1990’s Look Who’s Talking Too, this time with a love interest played by Elias Koteas. Ultimately, they stuck together both as a film couple and as actors in their mutual decision to not appear in Look Who’s Talking Now, released in ’93. Maybe she’ll agree to the film Kirstie Alley and John Travolta want to make.
But Caplan faced no drought of work after that. Some of her roles were, again, more like titles such as Interviewer and Crying Woman, but then along came Clueless, a coming-of-age teen drama that saw Caplan as Miss Toby Geist, and developed a cult following that exhibits plenty of loyalty to this day. This also saw Caplan flex her creative muscles behind the camera as a producer, and when Clueless made the transition from film to TV, she was involved again.
Twink Caplan has been staying active in the industry
For the most part, Caplan seems to have focused primarily on her career. She started as an associate producer for Clueless as a film and became an executive producer when it went to ABC as a series, in addition to reprising her role as Miss Geist. Asked about her favorite part of the classic franchise, she said, “I loved the ’40s fitted clothes and stunning wedding dress Mona May designed for me. The character was humble and sweet and playing opposite Wallace Shawn was the topping on the cake.”
She’s worked alongside Michelle Pfeiffer for I Could Never Be Your Woman, and appeared in the beloved sitcom Community. The steady stream of work continued into CSI: Crime Scene Investigation into 9 Full Moons in 2013. 2020 was particularly eventful as she was in both Royalties and All That, a TV short and series respectively. Hopefully, there will be plenty more where that came from!