Andrea Hope Elson (born March 6, 1969) is an American retired child model and actress, best known for her science fiction television roles as Alice Tyler on the CBS adventure series Whiz Kids and as Lynn Tanner on the NBC comedy series ALF, which garnered her two Youth in Film Award nominations in 1986 and 1989.
Elson was born in New York City on March 6, 1969.[1][2] She grew up in New York City with her parents and an older sister named Samantha (born circa 1966).[1][2] While she was a child, the family moved to San Diego, California, for four years before returning to Westchester County, New York.[2]
Elson began her professional career as a child model and actress, appearing in a number of commercials, print advertisements and community theatre productions in San Diego.[2]
In 1983, after relocating with her family to Los Angeles, Elson made her television debut at the age of 14 with a co-starring role on the CBS mystery-adventure series, Whiz Kids.[1][2] On the series, she portrayed Alice Tyler, co-starring with Matthew Laborteaux, Todd Porter, and Jeffrey Jacquet as a group of teenage detectives who solve crimes and bring perpetrators to justice with the help of a talking computer.[3]
Although Whiz Kids lasted only one season, Elson's role as Alice established the 14-year-old and her teenage co-stars as prominent fixtures in the various teen magazines of the era, including 16 magazine, Bop and Teen Beat, among others.[1][2][4] The role also led to all the teenage Whiz Kids crossing over into a 1983 episode of Simon & Simon titled "Fly the Alibi Skies".[5]
In 1986, Elson landed a co-starring role on the NBC science-fiction situation comedy ALF. She portrayed Lynn Tanner, the teenage daughter in a typical middle-class suburban family who adopt a friendly extraterrestrial, performed by puppeteer Paul Fusco.[6] The series lasted four seasons and her portrayal earned her two Youth in Film Award nominations before the series' cancellation in 1990.[7][8]
After the cancellation of ALF, Elson continued to appear in a variety of television roles, guest starring on a number of television series of the time, including Who's the Boss?, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, ABC Afterschool Special, Married... with Children, Mad About You, Step by Step, and The Young and the Restless, as well as appearing in the television films Class Cruise and Frankenstein: The College Years.[9]
Elson married former ALF stage manager Scott Hopper in 1993. They have a daughter, Claire, and a son, Dean.[10] As of 2016, she owns and operates a yoga studio.[11]