Cindy Williams will forever live in TV history as Shirley Feeney, the dreamer half of the brewery workers on the long-running hit ABC series "Laverne & Shirley" (1976-82), although she left the show over alleged disputes with executive producer Garry Marshall. Film buffs may prefer to remember the brown-haired, baby-cheeked actress as Ron Howard's girlfriend in George Lucas' classic "American Graffiti" (1973). Since the early 1980s, she has remained active in sitcoms and occasional feature film roles.

Williams was born in Van Nuys, a modest suburban area of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley. She