336 | Claudia Wells (Back to the Future)

My Summer Lair Chapter #336: When Was The Last Time You Went Back To The Future?

My gravity is weird.

Obscure famous folks I’ve met include…

Rob Pilatus (the surviving half of Milli Vanilli)

John O’Hurley (he played J. Peterman on Seinfeld, Elaine’s rambling boss)

Shannen Doherty (maybe she’s not obscure but I’m not really a big fan so it was a struggle to say something nice about 90210. Heathers is cool, though.)

And now to that bizarre list I can add Claudia Wells aka Jennifer Parker, Marty’s girlfriend in the OG Back to the Future. (Claudia’s mom was tragically ill, caring for her forced her to drop out of the sequels.)

Check out the glorious ‘80s hair…

Talking to Claudia is a wonderful ‘80s throwback.

She auditioned and was in the running for Goonies, Gremlins and even screentested for Adventures in Babysitting (the producers went with Elisabeth Shue who oddly replaced her in Back to the Future II and III. Pop Culture is all connected.)

Clearly, she was destined to be in a cinematic classic.
Also? What a special time that was for us as punk kids.
All those movies are foundational.

Funny thing is, I was talking to Claudia in person at Fan Expo and to our right was a legit Back to the Future DeLorean. We took a photo in front of it, of course.

This Fan Expo conversation I recorded with her is brimming with fandom and timeless pop culture. I transcended Back to the Future. I asked her about Herbie the Love Bug (another famous car) and even Bill Bixby, the lonely actor on The Incredible Hulk. (You can hear the sad piano music, right now, huh?)

I asked her about the convoluted Back to the Future timeline…when she was cast was Marty McFly…Michael J. Fox or Eric Stoltz?

When you see the Eric Stoltz Back to the Future footage it’s clearly not working. He was playing it Marlon Brando straight, like he was hopelessly trapped in 1955.

Michael J. Fox brought a comedic and goofy fun touch to the movie, his tone is pitch perfect.

I am ecstatic I got to talk to Claudia, Marty’s OG girlfriend Jennifer about this remarkable movie.

For so many of us this movie is special. It’s why we’re celebrating it, 40 years later.

Thank you Michael J. Fox.

Thank you Christopher Lloyd.

Thank you Bob Gale.

Thank you Robert Zemeckis.

And thank you Claudia Wells for the time and the memories.

My heart is full.

Claudia Wells @ W • T • F

Host Sammy Younan

Recorded: Thursday, August 21, 2025 at 10:30 am (EST) at Fan Expo Canada

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