Betty Thomas (born July 27, 1948) is an American actress and director in television and motion pictures.

She was born Betty Thomas Nienhauser in St. Louis, Missouri. She graduated from Ohio University (in Athens, Ohio) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She worked as an artist and taught school in Chicago before deciding to pursue a career in show business.

Thomas joined The Second City comedy group and appeared in the films Tunnel Vision (1975), Chesty Anderson, USN (1976), Used Cars (1980) and Loose Shoes (1980) and on the TV series The Fun Factory (1976).

While Thomas had been building her career in comedy, her breakthrough role as an actress came when she was cast in the dramatic role of police officer (later Sergeant) Lucille Bates on the TV series Hill Street Blues (1981-1987). She was nominated for six Emmy Awards for this role and won one for Best Supporting Actress in 1985. Thomas' character was paired with Officer Joe Coffey, portrayed by Ed Marinaro. Following the end of the series, Thomas moved into directing. She first worked in TV, directing episodes of series such as Doogie Howser, M.D., Dream On, Hooperman, Mancuso, FBI, Midnight Caller, On the Air, Parenthood, Shannon's Deal and Sons and Daughters, and TV movies such as Couples (1994), My Breast (1994), and The Late Shift (1996). She won Emmys for her direction of Dream On in 1990 and My Breast in 1994.

Thomas made her feature film directorial debut in 1992 with Only You. She went on to direct several films, including The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), Private Parts (1997), Dr. Dolittle (1998), 28 Days (2000), and I Spy (2002). She has also produced several films, including Can't Hardly Wait (1998), Charlie's Angels (2000), and Surviving Christmas (2004).

Betty Thomas was born July 27, 1948, in St. Louis, Missouri, graduating from Ohio University with a BA in fine arts. Initially sidetracked, Betty first taught school in Chicago but found herself restricted and needing more of an open forum for self-expression than a classroom. She found herself drawn inextricably to comedy. After toiling as a waitress, she became part of the Second City improvisational troupe where she made use of her towering (6' 1") imposing features in aggressive routines and sketches. True to form, she made her film debut in the sketch satire Tunnel Vision (1976) which parodied TV programming. The movie is lesser known today for its satirical bite and more for its exceptional cast of up-and-coming comedy artists at the time including Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, John Candy, Joe Flaherty (I), Gerrit Graham, Howard Hesseman, and the team of Al Franken and Tom Davis (I). Other innocuous comedies/spoofs followed such as Chesty Anderson, USN (1976), Used Cars (1980), and Loose Shoes (1980) which, at the very least, helped to bulk up her comedy resume. She also appeared as a regular on "Fun Factory, The" (1976), which was three parts quiz show, silly sketches, and audience participation. Ironically, Betty achieved her stardom not in comedy but in hard-hitting drama. Doing a complete about face as tough-talking Officer Lucille Bates on the hit police series "Hill Street Blues" (1981), she displayed both grit and vulnerability as she stood nose-to-nose alongside the rest of the male-oriented precinct. She was nominated for six Emmys in all and won the "Best Supporting Actress" trophy in 1985. Some equally compelling mini-movie roles came along with this success. In the late 1980s, Betty made an abrupt and concentrated move into TV and film directing, one of her last acting roles being that of the butch, underhanded scoutmaster (and Shelley Long's misery-inducing nemesis) in the obvious comedy film Troop Beverly Hills (1989). Betty received her bookend Emmy award while directing the cable sitcom "Dream On" (1990). She never lost her taste for comedy satire, however. One of her major box office successes would come with the spot-on parody Brady Bunch Movie, The (1995). She has continued in this lighter vein of late, guiding the one-man promotion machine Howard Stern (I) to a surprisingly entertaining critical hit with Private Parts (1997), which was based on his memoirs, the Jennifer Love Hewitt film Can't Hardly Wait (1998), I Spy (2002), an updated remake of the 1960s TV series, and Surviving Christmas (2004).