5 Facts You Didn’t Know About Linda Purl: Actress Reveals Her Guilty Pleasure Snacks and More

Linda Purl opens up to Closer about love, life and guilty pleasures with these five interesting facts about her!

I Love to Sing

She’s best known as an actress, but Linda is also an accomplished vocalist whose latest cabaret show, This Could Be the Start, kicks off February 10 at Florida’s Delray Beach Playhouse. “My music director is Billy Stritch, and he was just so fabulous,” says Linda, 69. “It’s a show about new beginnings and moving forward in your life. It’s very joyful and we can’t wait to be there and do it.”

I’m a Polyglot

“I speak French and Japanese, and I’m working on Spanish,” says Linda. “I grew up in Japan so I didn’t have to work at all to get the language. I just picked it up as a kid playing hopscotch on the street.”

I’ve Been Through Tough Times…

“I have dealt with severe depression in my life. I’m grateful for that because it expanded a level of compassion I don’t think I had before, and what I know is that you can get through it,” says Linda. “Those storms are horrible, they seem inescapable, but I absolutely know that they are escapable.”

…But My Life Today Has Never Been Better

Linda began dating former Dallas star Patrick Duffy in 2020 and “we’re just happy clams,” she says. “We’re so profoundly grateful.”

I’m a Carboholic!

“We eat a pretty healthy diet, but around 8 or 9 p.m. I just want a bag of cookies or four pieces of pizza — and that’s when I just have to hang on,” Linda confesses. “It’s like this monster! Patrick literally hides the cookies from me. He has to, otherwise they’re gone.”