These days Felicity Huffman’s name is known more in connection with the 2019 college admissions scandal that was the subject of the “Operation Varsity Blues” documentary. But prior to that unfortunate episode in an otherwise impressive career, Huffman built a reputation as a talented actress. Besides winning an Emmy and several Screen Actors Guild Awards for her role as Lynette Scavo on “Desperate Housewives,” Huffman secured a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of trans woman Bree in the 2005 drama “Transamerica.”
But even with as impressive a résumé as that, Huffman still seems to count her “Frasier” guest role as a career highlight. Speaking to the Television Academy Foundation, she explained that the sitcom was “one of [her] favorite shows” and that she agreed to casting director Jeff Greenberg’s request for her to appear on the series “in a New York minute.” Her character, however, was anything but pleased to be in Frasier’s orbit. At least, at first.
Huffman played Julia Wilcox, a financial reporter who joins KACL after being fired from CNBC for writing a book called “Day Trade Your Way Out of Debt” — a moment in the reporter’s career which Frasier sums up with the line, “Apparently some people lost money.” Julia made her debut in season 10, episode 12 “The Harrassed” and appeared in a further seven episodes across the 10th and 11th seasons. Initially, she and Frasier clashed due to the character’s icy and boorish personality. But eventually the two strike up a romance which proved to be one of the more contentious of Dr. Crane’s relationships among fans.