Photo: Jemal Countess © WireImage.com

Born in Houston, TX. Sparkling, intelligent, red-haired actress, singer and dancer whose talents haven't always been used to best advantage. The wholesomely attractive O'Toole seems tailor-made for perky, girl-next-door types, but is also capable of much more. Debuting in the 1973 TV movie "The Girl Most Likely to..." O'Toole first drew attention to herself as one of the conniving beauty pageant contestants in SMILE (1975), and she was briefly typecast as The Loyal Girlfriend in ONE ON ONE (1977), KING OF THE GYPSIES (1978), and 48HRS (1982). More diverse roles finally followed: She escaped feline Nastassia Kinski in CAT PEOPLE (1982), played Lana Lang in SUPERMAN III (1983), suffered through The Date From Hell (with Martin Short) in CROSS MY HEART (1987), and was one of a bigamist's unsuspecting wives in LOVE AT LARGE (1990). She also impressed in many small-screen telefilms throughout the 1970s and 1980s, most memorably in THE WAR BETWEEN THE TATES (1977, as a student involved with her professor) and STAND BY YOUR MAN (1981, as Tammy Wynette). She started off the 1990s by starring in the latest remake of the venerable drama "A Girl of the Limberlost" (1990, TV). Her many other TV movie and miniseries credits include "The Entertainer" (1975), "Stephen King's 'It'" (1990), and "Danielle Steel's Jewels" (1992). Working mostly on TV (most notably as Lisa Bridges on "Nash Bridges", 1996-8), O'Toole's more recent feature film credits include IMAGINARY CRIMES (1994), HERE ON EARTH (2000), TEMPTATION (2003), and THE GOLDEN DOOR (scheduled for release in 2008). On television, she starred in the recurring role of Martha Kent in the series "Smallville" (2001-07). O'Toole married actor/writer and co-nominee Michael McKean in 1999.  Nominated for Music (Original Song) 2003: A MIGHTY WIND "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" - Music & Lyric (w. Michael McKean) 1 nomination