Who played Carla Tortelli?

Rhea Perlman played Carla Tortelli, the sharp-tongued cocktail waitress at the center of Cheers' workplace comedy.

Carla is introduced as a cynical, quick-witted employee who rarely treats customers gently and is especially famous for her insults, schemes, superstitions, and fiercely combative personality. She works alongside Sam Malone, Diane Chambers, Coach Ernie Pantusso, and later Woody Boyd, helping create the crowded ensemble dynamic that made the bar feel like a real community.

The character's family life is also a recurring source of stories. Carla begins the series as the mother of five children with her ex-husband Nick Tortelli and later has three more children. Perlman's real-life pregnancies were incorporated into the show's storylines. Carla eventually marries hockey player Eddie LeBec, whose later fate becomes one of the show's darker and more absurd comic plots.

Carla is sometimes confused with Diane or Rebecca, the other prominent women connected to Cheers. Shelley Long played Diane Chambers, while Kirstie Alley played Rebecca Howe; neither played Carla.