Dinah Beth Manoff is an actress and television director from the United States who has appeared in films, television shows, and on stage. Her voice work in the film ‘Everybody Rides the Carousel’ made her quite well-known. She then went on to play Rachel Sager in ‘Raid on Entebbe,’ Karen Aldrich in ‘Ordinary People,’ and other roles. She made her television debut as Chairmaine in the sitcom ‘Welcome Back, Kotter,’ and played Elena Leftkowich in 16 episodes of the 1979 television series ‘Soap.’ Dinah’s debut feature picture, ‘Grease,’ was released in 1978, and she played Marty in it. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway play ‘I Ought to Be in Pictures.’ She has played Karen Aldrich in ‘Ordinary People,’ Jil Tyson in ‘Backfire,’ Maggie Peterson in ‘Child’s Play,’ and Lois Cook in ‘Staying Together.’
Early Life & Childhood
Dinah was born in New York City, New York, on January 25, 1958, to Lee Grant and Arnold Manoff. Her mother is an actor, writer, and director, while her father is a screenwriter.
Joseph Feury, her stepfather, is a producer, and Tom Manoff, her half brother, is a composer and classical music critic for National Public Radio’s ‘All Things Considered.’
She grew up in New York, Malibu, and California, where she went to Santa Monica High School and afterwards the Actor’s Studio.
Career of Dinah Manoff
She has acted in a number of films since 1975, including the American drama film ‘Ordinary People’ as Karen Aldrich, the mystery thriller Backfire as ‘Jill Tyson,’ ‘Child’s Play’ as Maggie Peterson, and the ensemble historical comedy film Blood Hounds of Broadway as Maude Miligan.
She played Lois Cook in the film ‘Staying Together,’ directed by her father.
Dinah played Evelyn Whittacher in the comedy drama Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael, starring Winona Ryder and Jeff Daniels, in 1990. She played Denise in the drama film ‘The Amati Girls’ in 2001. This is the only film Dinah Manoff and her father Lee Grant appeared in together, and it was distributed theatrically.
Her previous picture, ‘Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael,’ was her first theatrical release in nearly ten years. The story follows an Italian American family following their father’s death, as the four sisters strive to convince her mother that her life is still worth living.
Dinah starred as Marge in the English-language drama film Zigs, which obtained a R classification from the Motion Picture Association of America in 2001. Manoff read some of Oscar Wilde’s poems for the documentary ‘Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde’ to commemorate the poet’s birthday. Then, in 2009, she starred in the comedy film ‘Bart Got a Room,’ which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was awarded ‘Best of Fest’ at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.
Dinah made her debut appearance on television in 1976 as Charmaine in an episode of the American sitcom “Sadie Hawkins Day.” Then, in 1976, she played Gisalla Davis in the episode “The Great Cherub Knitwear Strike” of the 90-minute American television monthly anthology “Vision.”
In 1977, she starred as Celia in the horror television film ‘The Possessed’ and as the attendant’s girlfriend in the television movie ‘Night Drive.’ She appeared in various television programs between 1978 and 1979, including Family as Mara in the episode “Sleeping Gypsy” and the ABC sitcom Soap as Elaine Leftkowitz for a total of 16 episodes. She also appeared in the ‘Lou Grant’ television drama series as Joanie Hume in the ‘Bomb’ episode as Joanie Hume.
Later, she played Kathy in an episode of the ‘Mork & Mindy’ sitcom as a spin-off of Happy Days called ‘Mork’s Baby Blues.’ In 1984, she played Glennis in the television movie ‘A Matter of Sex’ and Mary in the film ‘The Seduction of Gina.’ She played Carol Weston in the television series ‘Empty Nest’ for 170 episodes from 1988 to 1995. She’s also the director of two episodes of the series.
In 1989, she played Denise Danielovitch in ‘The Cover Girl and The Cop’ and Laura in ‘Babies.’ Dinnah also appeared in two episodes of the sitcom ‘The Golden Girls’ in 1990, playing Carol Weston, and in two episodes of the sitcom Nurses in 1990. ‘Cybill,’ ‘George and Leo,’ and ‘Touched by an Angel’ are among the other performances.
In the 1999 television sitcom ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch,’ Dinah not only acted in but also directed the episode ‘Prelude to a Kiss.’ Her most recent television appearance was in the television movie ‘A Carol Christmas,’ in which she played Aunt Marla.
Personal Experiences of Dinah Manoff
Dinah married Jean-Marc Joubert, a French designer, in 1980, but the pair divorced in 1985. She married Arthur Mortell, a motivational speaker, in 1997. The couple is the parents of three children.
Dashiel, who was born in 1997 and died in a car accident on January 7th, 2017, at the age of 19, was a great loss to the family. On his way back to Washington State University, he was involved in an accident.
Estimated Net Worth
Dinah Manoff is a well-known actress. Dinah Manoff has a net worth of $1.5 million as an actress and television director in the United States. Dinah Manoff was born in January 1956 in New York City, New York. She is the daughter of Lee Grant, an actress, and Arnold Manoff, a playwright. In 1975, Dinah was admitted into the Actors Studio.
Trivia
In the film Child’s Play, she played the first victim murdered by Chucky.
During the tumultuous days of McCarthyism, her father was placed on a no-fly list for anti-American activity.
She paid tribute to her father by directing ‘Telegram from Heaven,’ a play he wrote, at the Hollywood Hutson Theatre.
In 2010, Manoff attended the Seattle International Film Festival for the Grease Sing-Along. She starred as Marty in the original 1978 film Grease.