Bess Lindstrom
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Bess Lindstrom (Now Valenti) is a fictional character on the sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the subsequent spin-off series, Phyllis. In both shows, she was played by actress Lisa Gerritsen.
[edit] More the mother than daughter
Bess is the daughter and only child of Phyllis Lindstrom and her late husband, Lars. To some observers, she is more the mother to Phyllis than Phyllis is to Bess. She helped her mother decorate the new apartment that Mary Richards moved into. She bonded well with Rhoda Morgenstern, to her mother's horror, calling her "Aunt Rhoda". She also bonded with Mary, who was an old friend of her mother.
Although she grew up on the show, she was rarely seen on MTM. She was featured more on her mother's spin-off show. By this time, Bess had grown up and had become a High school student. She and her mother moved to San Francisco right after her dermatologist father died. They moved in with her paternal grandmother, Audrey Dexter; her second husband, Judge Jonathan Dexter; and his eighty seven year old mother, Sally "Mother" Dexter.
While Mother Dexter despised Phyllis and did everything possible to put her down, she seemed to get along great with Bess. Eventually, as the show ended, Bess married a young man named Mark Valenti, who was the son of Phyllis' boss at her second job. They eventually moved out of San Francisco and are still happily married.
| Mary Tyler Moore | |
|---|---|
| Main Characters | Ted Baxter | Georgette Franklin Baxter | Lou Grant Phyllis Lindstrom | Rhoda Morgenstern | Sue Ann Nivens Mary Richards | Murray Slaughter |
| Recurring Characters | David Baxter | Edie Grant | Gordy Howard | Bess Lindstrom Flo Meredith | Ida Morgenstern | Martin Morgenstern Dottie Richards | Walter Richards | Andy Rivers Marie Slaughter |
| Other | Episodes | DVDs |
