Before she brought to life Janet Wood in the iconic Three’s Company, Joyce DeWitt was a West Virginia-born, Indiana-raised UCLA student, getting by as a secretary until she broke out onto the television scene in 1975 in Baretta.
By 1977, she was starring in her most pivotal role alongside John Ritter and Suzanne Somers in the hit series she’s known for.
DeWitt brought to life the character of Janet Wood expertly, who was one of two female roommates whose living situation turns somewhat extraordinary when they bring in an eccentric male roommate to cover the rent of their previous one, Eleanor, who has recently moved out.
The show chronicled the hilarious hijinks and day-to-day lives of the trio and the series remains a hit to this day. Joyce DeWitt played the role of Janet up until 1984, and after her Three’s Company run came to an end, her career continued to flourish.
More than just Janet Wood
Even while Joyce DeWitt was starring as Janet Wood, she continued to make herself known in other series and films.
Some of her additional appearances during this time were in series like Supertrain, The Ropers, which was a Three’s Company spinoff, The Love Boat and television movies like With This Ring (1978) and Saturday’s the Place (1984).
Life after Three’s Company for Joyce DeWitt
When the series came to an end in 1984, Joyce DeWitt could be seen in a 1984 episode of Finder of Lost Loves before she took a break from acting on the screen.
In 1991, she took to the stage in Noises Off at Michigan’s Cherry County Playhouse, but it wouldn’t be until 1995 that she could be seen again on television, when she appeared in an episode of Cybill.
Throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, you could catch her guest-starring here and there on shows including Living Single, Twitch City, Hope Island and The Nick at Nite Holiday Special.
2000s and beyond
Over the years, Joyce DeWitt has made her presence known in series and films of all different genres, and has additionally found success in the stage productions she’s taken part in, one of her most recent being Nunsense in 2018 at the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse in New Jersey.
As for appearances on the screen, her most recent credited work was 2022’s Ask Me to Dance, and in 2023, she starred in the music video for the Davisson Brothers Band’s song, “Home.”
Joyce DeWitt looks back on Three’s Company fondly
With John Ritter having passed in 2003 and Suzanne Somer’s sadly passing in 2023, Joyce DeWitt has publicly gave tributes to each of the stars over the years.
“John was a great friend, an extraordinarily talented actor and amazingly good at comedy,” she told Closer Weekly in a 2017 article. “I miss the presence, I miss his smile, I miss the gift that he was.
As for her tribute to the late Suzanne Somers, DeWitt told PEOPLE, “My heart goes out to Suzanne’s family.”
She continued, “They are a very close family — deeply connected and caring one to the other. I can only imagine how difficult this time is for all of them.”
“I’m sure Suzanne was greeted by Angels into the loving wisdom waiting for all of us on the other side, and I hope that will assist her family’s hearts in healing as they travel through this difficult time.”
For several decades, DeWitt and Somers did not keep a relationship with one another due to a salary dispute in which Somers demanded equal pay to her co-star John Ritter and was subsequently fired.
Luckily, the duo was able to patch things up when DeWitt appeared on Suzanne Somers: Breaking Through.
What’s next for Joyce DeWitt
