Maw Maw is Virginia Chance's grandmother, Barbara June, who raised Virginia and let her live in her home with her husband, Burt, and their son Jimmy. Although Maw Maw kicked them all out at the stroke of midnight on Jimmy's 18th birthday, they moved back in soon after when they realized she suffers from Alzheimer's disease.
Maw Maw doesn't have many lucid moments. As a result, she often walks around the house without a shirt on and kisses Jimmy, who she thinks is her dead husband, Wilfred.
When Burt tries to make Maw Maw quit smoking, she keeps burning him with lit cigarette butts. In order to protect himself and rid the house of fumes, Burt builds Maw Maw a bubble to smoke in.
She is unstoppable at the game Jenga, as long as "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is playing in the background. This skill comes in handy when Hope crawls into a precariously cluttered shed, and Maw Maw saves the day.
Even though she thinks her husband, Wilfred, is still alive, Maw Maw has an affair with a man she meets at Shelley's daycare. But when Virginia tries to stop Maw Maw from cheating, Mel moves on to another woman and breaks her heart.
In her more delusional moments, the octogenarian thinks she's in labor, breastfeeds baby Hope, and believes that she's still in the USO. But in her lucid moments, she knows that the U.S. is at war with Iraq and Afghanistan, and she reminds Jimmy that there are lots of other fish in the sea.
Cloris Leachman is a celebrated American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy® Awards - more than any other female performer - and one Daytime Emmy® Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and numerous other awards. She also earned an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1971 for her role as "Ruth Popper" in "The Last Picture Show." Most recently, she was nominated for an Emmy® Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on RAISING HOPE.
Leachman is best known for playing the nosy, self-centered and manipulative landlady "Phyllis Lindstrom" on "Mary Tyler Moore" and later on the spin-off series "Phyllis."
Her additional film credits include the Mel Brooks films "Young Frankenstein" and "High Anxiety," as well as "American Cowslip," "Ponyo," "Inglorious Basterds," "New York, I Love You," "Expecting Mary" and the upcoming "The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure" and "The Fields." She became popular in recent years for her recurring role on the hit FOX series "Malcolm in the Middle" and appearances on "The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget," "Love Takes Wings," "The Office," "Phineas and Ferb" and "HawthoRNe."
The 85-year-old Leachman competed on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2008 and served as Grand Marshal of the 2009 New Year's Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, CA, where she presided over the 120th annual parade and the 95th Rose Bowl football game. In March 2010, Leachman became a published author with the release of her bestselling memoir, "Cloris: My Autobiography."
Leachman currently resides in Los Angeles.
