Background
Franz was born Betty Jean Frankovich in Akron, Ohio, the daughter of a factory worker
Franz was born Betty Jean Frankovich in Akron, Ohio, the daughter of a factory worker
In 2004 and 2005, Franz appeared at the Royal National Theatre in London, in the Sam Shepard play Buried Child. She has starred in numerous Office-Broadway and regional theater productions, including the world premiere of Kelly Masterson"s Against the Rising Sea, the American premiere of Frank McGuinness"s Bird Sanctuary, Long Day"s Journey into Night with Sam Waterston, Autumn Garden, The Glass Menagerie, The Cripple of Inishman, The Comedy of Errors, Minutes from the Blue Route, Madwoman of Chaillot, Lion in Winter, A View from the Bridge, The Matchmaker, The Wizard of Oz, Great Expectations, The Model Apartment, and Woman in Mind. On television, Franz is most notably a character actor.
She became best known for her role as the villainess Alma Rudder on the soap opera Another World, which she portrayed from 1982 to 1983, while she was performing Brighton Beach Memoirs on Broadway.
She also played the role of Helen Wendall on As the World Turns from 1994 to 1995, and guest-starred in several episodes of Roseanne, as free-spirited beauty salon owner Marsha. She also made guest appearances in the series Gilmore Girls, as the inn owner, Mia, and in Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Cold Case, Dear John and Judging Amy.
In the movies Franz has appeared in the remake of Sabrina, Christmas with the Kranks, The Substance of Fire, The Pallbearer, Stephen King’s Thinner, Fish in a Bathtub, The Secret of My Success, School Ties and Jacknife.