Polly Holliday was born on July 2, 1937, in Jasper, Alabama. he grew up in Childersburg, Alabama. Her mother was a housewife, while her father was a trucker. During her summer breaks from school, she would ride with him in his truck. She graduated from Alabama College for Women at Montevallo. Afterwards, she attended Florida State University. She taught piano for a time before joining the Asolo Theatre Company in Sarasota, Florida. She was there for around seven seasons.
In 1972, she appeared in a production of Alice Childress’s Wedding Band at the Public Theatre in New York City. It was in 1974 that she made her debut on Broadway in All Over Town. She made her movie debut in W. W. and the Dixie Dance Kings in 1975. In the Seventies, she appeared in the movies Distance (1975), All the President's Men (1976), and The One and Only (1978). She made her television debut in a TV movie adaptation of Wedding Band. It was in 1976 that she began playing Flo on Alice. The character of Flo proved to be popular, so that after four seasons she was spun off into her own show. Debuting in 1980, Flo only lasted one and a half seasons. In the Seventies, Polly Holliday also guest-starred on Search for Tomorrow and NBC Special Treat. She also appeared in such TV movies as Bernice Bobs Her Hair and You Can't Take It With You.
In the Eighties, Polly Holliday continued to appear on Flo. She guest-starred on the shows American Playhouse, Private Benjamin, Stir Crazy, The Golden Girls, Amazing Stories, and The Equalizer. She appeared in the movies Gremlins (1984) and Moon Over Parador (1988). She appeared on Broadway in Arsenic and Old Lace and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
In the Nineties, Polly Holliday had a regular role on the short-lived show The Client and a recurring role on Home Improvement. She guest-starred on Homicide: Life on the Street. She appeared in the TV movies A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story and A Loss of Innocence. She appeared in the movies Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Mr. Wrong (1996), and The Parent Trap (1998). She appeared on Broadway in a revival of Picnic.
In the Naughts, she made her final television appearance, in the 2004 TV movie It Must Be Love. She appeared in the movies Stick It (2006), The Heartbreak Kid (2007), and Fair Game (2010).
Flo on Alice was one of the most memorable characters to emerge on television in the Seventies, and that was largely because of Polly Holliday. While a version of the character had originated in the feature film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (where she was played by Diane Ladd), upon which Alice was based, Polly Hollyday made the character all her own. Indeed, her performance was informed by her experience when she was a child. As mentioned above, she rode with her father in his truck. In a 1980 interview with People, she said, "We'd eat at truck stops, and there'd always be a waitress like Flo with a joke ready."
Of course, Polly Holliday played more than Flo. In the movie Gremlins, she played the none-too-nice, rich widow Ruby Deagle, a character about as far from Flo as one can get. On The Golden Girls, she guest-starred as Rose's sister Lily, who had done everything from receive a pilot's licence to setting the record for the 100 metre dash in St. Olaf. In Mrs. Doubtfire, she played nosy neighbour Gloria. Polly Holliday was a wonderful actress who played a wide array of roles during her career.
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