You probably know her as the girl who almost took Eric Forman’s dignity in a dream sequence, or maybe as the "sturdy" girlfriend Fez finally managed to land. Honestly, if you grew up watching sitcoms in the early 2000s, Cynthia LaMontagne was everywhere, even if you didn't realize it was her. She had this weirdly specific superpower: she could look like a high-fashion runway model in one scene and then, with enough prosthetic padding and a frizzy wig, transform into the "unattractive" Big Rhonda on That '70s Show.
It’s one of those Hollywood stories that feels a bit "of its time." We look back now and wonder why a perfectly gorgeous woman was cast to play the "ugly" girl, but for LaMontagne, it was just one stop in a career that spanned from gritty 90s crime dramas to some of the most iconic comedies ever made.
The "Big Rhonda" Phenomenon on That '70s Show
Let’s be real. Most people searching for Cynthia LaMontagne movies and tv shows are looking for Rhonda Tate. She first showed up in the Season 4 premiere, "It's a Wonderful Life," as a terrifying "what-if" for Eric. The show leaned hard into the body-shaming humor that was basically the bread and butter of turn-of-the-century sitcoms. They put her in a "fat suit," messed up her hair, and gave her a loud, abrasive personality.
But here’s the thing—Rhonda was actually kind of great. She was confident. She didn't take crap from the guys in the basement. When she and Fez started dating, she brought a weird, chaotic energy to the group that they desperately needed. Fans often forget she was only in six episodes. It feels like more because she left such a massive footprint. If you watch the episode "Hyde Gets the Girl," you see the real Cynthia for a split second without the "Big Rhonda" gear, and the contrast is genuinely jarring.
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From Fembots to The Ski Lodge: Her 90s Peak
Before she was Fez's main squeeze, Cynthia was living a very different life on screen. She was a Fembot. Yeah, the actual, literal Fembots in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997). She was one of the lethal, machine-gun-chested robots designed to take down Mike Myers. It’s the ultimate trivia fact for fans—the same woman who played the "frumpy" Rhonda was also a peak-90s sex symbol archetype.
And then there’s Frasier. If you’re a fan of "The Ski Lodge"—which is widely considered one of the best-written episodes of television ever—you’ve seen her. She played Annie, the ditzy, "put-it-out-there" friend of Daphne who becomes the center of a dizzying web of sexual misunderstandings.
Her performance in Frasier showed she had serious comedic chops. She wasn't just a "pretty face" or a "character actress in a suit." She could handle the rapid-fire, farcical timing that Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce were famous for.
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The Full Cynthia LaMontagne Movies and TV Shows List
She wasn't just limited to the big hits. Her resume is actually a "who's who" of 90s and 2000s staples. She started out with a tiny role in Carlito's Way (1993)—where she also worked as a production assistant, oddly enough—and just kept going.
- The Big Hits: The Cable Guy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall (she was the female bartender), and Flirting with Disaster.
- The TV Guest Spots: ER, Dharma & Greg, Veronica Mars, and Criminal Minds.
- The Cult Favorites: She played Lydia in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (specifically in the episodes "Checkpoint" and "Never Leave Me").
Basically, if you watched TV between 1995 and 2008, you've seen her. She was a staple guest star, the kind of actress who could walk onto a set, nail a three-episode arc, and move on to the next thing without ever becoming "overexposed."
Why She Walked Away
Cynthia LaMontagne retired from acting around 2008. Her last credited role was a small part in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. She married Aaron Zelman (a writer and producer known for The Killing and Bloodline) and seemingly decided she’d had enough of the Hollywood grind.
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There’s something respectable about that. She did the Fembot thing, she did the iconic sitcom thing, and then she just... went to live her life. She doesn't have a curated Instagram feed full of "Throwback Thursday" posts from the That '70s Show set. She’s one of those rare performers who exists primarily in our collective nostalgia.
What You Can Learn from Her Career
If you’re a fan or a student of film, LaMontagne’s career is a masterclass in versatility. She proved that you don't have to be the lead to be the most memorable person in the room. Whether she was playing a mermaid in Maximum Bob or a reporter in Criminal Minds, she brought a specific, grounded reality to roles that could have easily been caricatures.
If you want to catch her best work today, start with the Frasier episode "The Ski Lodge" (Season 5, Episode 14). It’s the perfect distillation of her talent. After that, go back and re-watch the Rhonda episodes of That '70s Show with the knowledge that the woman under all that padding was actually an Austin Powers Fembot. It changes the whole vibe of the performance.
Actionable Insight: If you’re looking to binge her filmography, most of her iconic guest spots are currently streaming on platforms like Hulu (That '70s Show, Frasier) and Disney+ (Buffy). Start with her 1997-2001 era for the most "peak Cynthia" content.