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In Season 4 of Grace and Frankie, the spunky show tackles many hard storylines that could feel all too real for viewers. Marriage troubles, physical ailments, loss of confidence–Grace and Frankie goes there as its characters continue to grow. One such storyline involves Frankie (Lily Tomlin) reconnecting with her estranged sister Teddy. For any viewers currently going through a rough patch with a family member, which isn’t exactly a rare occurrence in 2018, this plotline hits home.
We first meet Teddy in episode 5 of Season 4, an installment titled “The Pop-Ups.” Grace (Jane Fonda) and Frankie take their small start-up Vybrant to a college campus, setting up a pop-up booth without a permit to sell their Ménage à Moi vibrators to millennials. Without an explanation, Frankie ducks out for a mysterious solo mission. Next time we see Frankie, she’s sitting in on an economics seminar–one being taught by her sister Teddy.
The two haven’t seen each other in 40 years, but Frankie wants to make things right. She says she forgives Teddy for telling her that her husband Sol (Sam Waterston) was gay right before their wedding, and apologizes for letting that keep them apart for decades. Teddy is receptive to the apology, but not to further conversation, and she shuts out the lights on her long lost sister. We learn in the following episode, “The Hinge,” that Teddy has her own reasons for not talking to Frankie, and they’re deeper than just the Sol situation.
While all this is going on, you might have a few questions about Teddy that don’t pertain to Grace and Frankie. Like, who plays Teddy, and where have you seen her before?
Teddy is played by Talia Shire, a movie veteran and member of one of the biggest Hollywood dynasties. If you’re a fan of ’70s cinema, or just movies in general, you no doubt know Shire from two iconic roles: Connie Corleone in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, and Adrian Pennino in the Rocky franchise. In addition to being the subject of one of the most-quoted movie lines ever, she also earned an Academy Award nomination for her turn as Adrian in 1976. Her other Oscar nod came with The Godfather Part II.
As for that Hollywood dynasty, Shire was born Talia Coppola–as in the Coppolas. She is the sister of acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola, and the aunt of Nicolas Cage and Sofia Coppola. You also know her son, Jason Schwartzman.
Shire also appeared in I Heart Huckabees in 2004, a film that also starred her son Jason and her soon-to-be TV sister Lily Tomlin. Whether or not we’ll see more of Talia Shire on Grace and Frankie in the future remains unclear, but she’d be a welcome addition to the recurring cast in the eventual Season 5.
