Marlo Thomas was born Margaret Julia Thomas on November 21, 1937 in Detroit, Michigan. She was raised in Beverly Hills, California. Her parents called her Margo as a child but she became known as Marlo because of her childhood mispronunciation of the nickname. Marlo Thomas graduated from the University of Southern California with a teaching degree. She began appearing as a regular on the Joey Bishop Show (1961-1962). She continued her acting career with appearances on My Favorite Martian and Bonanza. It wasn't until 1966 when she acieved the role of Ann Marie on the sitcom That Girl. The series ran for 5 years and gave her a Golden Globe Award and four Emmy nominations. After this series… Marlo Thomas released a children's book, Free to Be...You and Me, which was inspired by her niece Dionne Thomas. In 1973 she along with Gloria Steinem and Patricia Carbine became the founders of the country's first women's fund, The Ms. Foundation for Women. Marlo Thomas also starred in television movies such as It Happened One Christmas, Nobody's Child and The Lost Honor of Kathryn Beck. She has also appeard on Broadway in shows such as: Thieves and Social Security. She is also active with the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee where she serves as the national outreach director.