Marilu Henner Shares How ‘Taxi’ Changed Her Life
Marilu Henner can remember the exact moment that her career truly took off. Exact truly means exact, as Henner is one of only a handful of people in the world to have a highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM), which means she remembers most of her memories vividly. Now, Henner is 72 years old and recalls when people began recognizing her for her breakout role in Taxi as Elaine Nardo, a single mother working as a cab driver but hoping to become an artist.
In ’78, when Taxi went on the air for the first time, Henner was dating actor John Travolta. She said, “Taxi went on the air three days earlier. I was in Europe with Johnny Travolta — we were dating. I was walking down the street with the guys from Taxi, and people were honking, yelling, ‘Hey Louie! Hey Nardo! Hey Banta!’ We all looked around, and we all knew our lives had changed. It was such a powerful moment.”
Paramount/Everett Collection
After that moment, the cast truly became inseparable and still remains close to this day. She added, “Everybody has an essence or filter through which they see their lives, and mine has always been family. Every group of people I’ve ever been close to, I turn into a family. I’m still super close to my Grease family and my Chicago the Musical family and definitely my Taxi family. During the pandemic, I started Zooms with the Taxi gang, and we’re about to do our 21st. Nothing is better than friend maintenance.”
Paramount Television/ Everett Collection
Just last year, Taxi celebrated its 45th anniversary and some of the cast members reunited for the special occasion. While Henner and Travolta ultimately broke up, the two also remain friends. Now tell us, who is your favorite character from Taxi? If you’re curious about what they are all up to now, keep reading:
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