What's a self-described "Navy brat" doing stuck in a house with 3 kids and a husband with a propensity towards putting holes in the wall? Well, if you're Patricia Richardson, you're starring in "Home Improvement."

Patricia was born in Bethesda, MD., and moved with her family quite a bit for her father's Navy postings. The acting bug bit early, but it wasn't until after graduation from Southern Methodist University that her career was pursued in earnest. Patricia's very first audition after college landed the role of understudy to the role of Gypsy Rose Lee in Angela Lansbury's Broadway revival of the popular musical Gypsy. Her career moved to television, where she guest-starred on numerous shows and starred in three series-- "FM," "Eisenhower and Lutz" and "Double Trouble" -- before "Home Improvement." Patricia has three children...and the phone number of a good handyman (not Tim).