Meet ‘The Rockford Files’ Alum Gretchen Corbett’s Daughter Winslow, Who Is Also an Actress

Gretchen Corbett, better known for her role as Beth Davenport on the television series "The Rockford Files," is the proud mother of Winslow Corbett, a gorgeous young woman who followed her mom's steps into the acting world.

Gretchen Corbett has been an active part of the entertainment industry for the last five decades, and at 72, she’s still acting in local theater in her native Portland, Oregon.

Gretchen Corbett's start

Born in 1947, Corbett is the great-great-granddaughter of Senator Henry Winslow Corbett, who was a prominent figure in the early development of the city.

She studied drama at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Tech, now the Carnegie Mellon University, and was an apprentice at the Carnival Theatre camp at the University of Oregon.

Corbett made her debut on the stage playing Desdemona in a production of Othello at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 1966. She continued doing plays throughout that year and then earned a role in the Broadway production of “After the Rain.”

Her debut on TV was in an episode of the 1967 series “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing;” and two years later, she debuted on film with the comedy “Out of It.”

She moved to L.A after signing a contract with Universal Studios, as one of the last contract players, and made appearances in series like “Kojak,” “Columbo,” “Gunsmoke,” and “Marcus Welby, M.D.”

"The Rockford Files" and beyond

In 1974, Corbett was cast as Beth Davenport, the lawyer and sometimes girlfriend of the main lead on NBC's “The Rockford Files.”

The show ran for six seasons from 1974 to 1980, but Corbett left after the fourth season due to a with the series’ producers.

Corbett kept making small appearances in series and TV films through the ‘90s but mainly focused on her theater work.

She had a recurring role in seasons 3 and 4 of the IFC series “Portlandia,” directed the play Bo-Nita at Portland Center Stage, and recently appeared in the Hulu series “Shrill.”

She’s also the creative director of the Haven Project, a theater workshop for under-served children in Portland.

Like mother, like daughter

Gretchen is not married but has a daughter with actor Robin Gammell.

Winslow Corbett, born in 1979, is also an actress. She was raised primarily by her mom in between Los Angeles and Portland and attended The Catlin Gabel School through middle and high school.

Then, she attended the acting conservatory at SUNY Purchase for two years.

Winslow is better known in the theater circuit for her performance as Elaine Robinson in several stage versions of “The Graduate” throughout the 2000s.

She also appeared in the 1998 film “A Change of Heart,” the series “Submissions Only,” and had recurring roles in “The Digressions” and HBO's “Veep.”

Winslow also helps her mom on the Haven Project occasionally, and her most recent work includes the plays “The Deer and the Antelope,” “Three Sisters,” and the reading series of “The Realistic Joneses” at the Harbor Stage Company in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.

Winslow has nothing but kind words about the theater company, continually sharing the joy of her work on social media and praising her co-workers for creating a safe space for the arts.

She wrote about the Harbor Stage:

“I stand backstage and close my eyes and go, ‘Yep. This exists. This kindness, this intelligence, wicked humor, depth, this care, it is real, and the world contains it, and therefore, I can believe in a corner of the planet with some real goodness.’ It is no accident that it all occurs in Wellfleet, but that’s another post.”

Winslow also enjoys drawing, painting, and photography, and whenever she’s not on stage, the 40-year-old works as a producer behind the cameras.