Elizabeth Reiko Kubota Whitney

Elizabeth Reiko Kubota Whitney is a former actress whose resume includes roles in many popular television shows of the 1980s, such as MacGyver and T.J. Hooker. Whitney was also a cast member of the acclaimed 1982 Mark Taper Forum production of August 6th, 1945, about the bombing of Hiroshima.

A 1980 theater graduate of the former UCLA College of Fine Arts (now the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television), Whitney has long been a champion of UCLA TFT. In 2010 Whitney, in honor of her late sister Jeanne, established the Jeanne Michiko Kubota Fund. The endowed fund subsidizes four-year scholarships for deserving undergraduate theater students in need, covering tuition, room, board and other expenses. It is the first of its kind at UCLA TFT.

Although originally from California, Whitney is based in New York where she lives with her husband, private investor Kenneth Whitney, and their two Yorkies. They have three daughters, two of whom are UCLA TFT alumnae: Ali (Theater) and Rachel (Professional Programs).