Portrait of Betty Thomas

Birthday profile

Betty Thomas

Betty Thomas, American actress, director, and producer

Born
July 27, 1947
Age in 2026
79
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1947

About Betty Thomas

Betty Thomas is an American director and actress. She is known for her role as Sergeant Lucy Bates on the television series Hill Street Blues, a role for which she was nominated for an Emmy award seven times, winning once. Her latest film, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, was at the time the highest-grossing film ever directed by a solo woman director. In 2009 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel became the first female-directed picture to gross more than $200 million and made her the most successful woman director up to that time at the box office. She was praised for her brassy and outspoken performances, and became the first woman to direct one of their MainStage theatre productions.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Betty Thomas was born

Betty Thomas was born in 1947. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1947

  • #1 song"Near You" – Francis Craig
  • Top movieMiracle on 34th Street
  • Top TV showHowdy Doody
  • Best-selling bookThe Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJackie Robinson breaks baseball's color barrier
  • Top headlineJackie Robinson breaks Major League Baseball's color barrier
  • Technology milestoneTransistor invented at Bell Labs
  • Defining fadFlying saucer mania
  • Notable inventionPolaroid instant camera
  • World population2.47 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (BAA)
  • U.S. population144.1M

1947 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Betty Thomas's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19472026
Gas$0.23$3.45/gal
Average home$7,800$435,000
Average income$4,700$67,500
Minimum wage$0.40$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.40$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population144.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.