Debra Jo Rupp, mostly known for her role as Kitty Forman on That '70s Show, made many appearances on different 1990s sitcoms, including Friends and Seinfeld. However, in 2021, Rupp entered the Marvel universe for the first time, also in a sitcom.
WandaVision, the miniseries created by Jac Schaeffer to stream on Disney+, is the first TV series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe produced by Marvel Studios and shares continuity with the rest of the films in the franchise. Rupp played Sharon Davis/"Mrs. Hart" in the critically acclaimed series.
In a recent interview with Vulture, Rupp compares her experience playing Kitty in That '70s Show and its 2023 spinoff, That '90s Show, to her experience making an appearance in the Marvel universe where each of her characters is set in a different period.
"Both of the shows are period pieces. When I do period things, the first thing I look at is where women were in general in that decade. For WandaVision, I played a woman in the '50s; women were very contained and it was all about the husband. For the '70s, there was a women's-lib movement and women were starting to come out of their shell a bit. They were working more. That was all Kitty – she's a nurse, she went to college, and she makes her own living. She has a family. That's what you did. But she was also a small-town person. I don't think Kitty was out there burning her bra, although if someone else had started it, she would've jumped in. [Laughs.] It's now 20 years later in That '90s Show, and she's lived alone with Red for quite some time. That's always pleasant. Technology is coming in and Kitty is older. I think she has less patience because I find that's what happens with me, and Kitty is part of me."
Debra Jo Rupp on Her Character's Wardrobe
In a different interview with ComicBook.com, Rupp talks more about her character's clothing in WandaVision.
"I happened to look good in '50s clothing, unlike the '70s, so that was awesome for me," says Rupp about Mrs. Hart's wardrobe, where the episode she appeared in was set in the 1950s. Another WandaVision episode was set in the 1970s. Rupp did not appear in this one, which might have relieved her since she was not fond of 70s clothing.
That '70s Show is available to stream on Peacock, and That '90s Show is now streaming on Netflix. WandaVision is available on Disney+ with a spinoff series featuring Debra Jo Rupp called Agatha: Coven of Chaos, coming to the streaming service in 2023.