Christine Nelson(1961-1982)
- Actress
Christine Nelson was born to Jacquie and
Jerry Nelson in New York in 1960.
Throughout her short life, Christine battled cystic fibrosis, a disease
of the exocrine glands which caused numerous lung infections and other
illnesses. Her mother, Jacquie, made a career in the fashion world. Her
father, Jerry, is known for his work with
Jim Henson and
The Muppets, and passed his performer's
passion on to Christine, who aspired to become an actress after
completing high school. After going to many public schools in New York
and Connecticut, she attended Rye Country Day School, a prestigious
private school with a strong focus on stage and drama, and briefly
attended college at Emerson College in Boston, MA but was forced to
withdraw because of her illness. She met and became friends with
Jim Henson and
The Muppets as well as many cast members of
Saturday Night Live (1975),
such as Gilda Radner,
John Belushi and
Chevy Chase. In 1981, she won a small
speaking part in
The Great Muppet Caper (1981),
as the girl who said, "Look Dad, there's a bear!", to which her
companion, played by real-life dad, Jerry, replied, "No Christine,
that's a frog...bears wear hats!" Christine, after fighting her
illness, valiantly, for over two decades, passed away in September,
1982.
