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Penelope "Punky" Brewster
The plucky young star of the show, and its namesake. Punky (everyone seems to forget about her real name, by Punky's insistance) first appears in the show climbing into an abandoned apartment with her puppy. Maybe not the cheeriest image, but you wouldn't know it by the way she presented herself. Right there from the start is probably the best overall image of Punky you could get; making the best of the bad, trying hard to lighten things up for everyone else, and in general just a sunny personality.For a sunny personality, though, she has a heck of a past. Little is known about Punky from before the timeline of the series. The first episode tells us that her father walked out on the family, and that the mother soon followed suit, presumably unable to cope. That left Punky premeditately left in a Chicago shopping center (her real hometown would not be revealed during the series) and having to fend for herself. Punky would get a happy ending from these beginnings when she was taken in and later adopted by grumpy photographer Henry Warnimont. Her father is not mentioned again, but Punky takes a long time to get over her mother, and several episodes revolve around the search for her or Punky's longing to find her. After Henry officially adopts her, however, she seems to find some measure of peace with this situation and her mother is rarely mentioned during the final two seasons. (Presumably, the focus on the lighter side of things by the syndication crew helped that as well, but just work with me here.) That's enough about where Punky's been; now about who she is. Generally speaking, Punky is an upbeat individual with extrememly colourful dress sense and the subtlety of a rhino playing football. She also is very emphatic, and almost can't resist taking up a cause or helping someone in need. Combine that with her straight-forwardness, and she can make a bad person to cross; though small, she's fearlessly gone up against school bullies, bank managers, and even Henry on occasion. That's not to say that she's completely goody-goody; she manages to get herself into trouble a fair bit as well. Most of the time, it's the result of a well-meaning scheme or misunderstating, though that's not to say that Punky is above a well-timed water balloon. Most of all, though, she remembers her friends. Her friends tend to be... well, just about everyone. She seems a little odd to some people, but there's very few who can just plain dislike. Apparently, positive thinking really does got you a long way. 
Soleil Moon Frye was the child star behind the role. Despite David Duclon's insistance on an actress with no formal experience, the then-8-year-old Frye was just months removed from her third movie role when she got the part. It was Soleil's natural charisma that made the part and helped to push the show along.After Punky, Soleil would continue to work steadily, mostly in made-for-TV and independant movie roles, and has also directed and written a few projects. Her biggest role after the wrap was as a supporting role in "Sabrina the Teenage Witch", starring during the final three seasons on the WB. Currently, she is doing voice work for the Bratz animated series, is married to producer/director Jason Goldberg, and has recently had a child named Poet Sienna Rose. |