“Well, this is such a crazy thing,” Conn says. “I was doing a lot of commercials when I first started in New York, and a lot of times you’re thrown into a room and somebody’s got to be your husband or you’re on your honeymoon with some guy, [something] like that.”<\/p>\n
After one audition, Conn found herself riding an elevator with a man who looked familiar.<\/p>\n
“And I’m coming down an elevator after an audition and I look at this guy, I say, ‘Hey, how are you?’ And he looks at me, he says, ‘Oh, I’m good. How are you?’ ” she recalls. “And it was about 16 floors. By the time we got to the bottom, he says, ‘You want to have some coffee?’ I said, ‘Sure.’ “<\/p>\n
At the time, Conn was convinced she recognized him from a previous acting job.<\/p>\n
“I was sure that I knew him, maybe played my husband or something,” she says.<\/p>\n
The pair sat down together, and Conn tried to place him.<\/p>\n
“We sit down and I say, ‘So what [have] you been up to?’ And he says, ‘Well, Happy Days.’ “<\/p>\n
![\"Henry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/12c84d1fc96a0293f03db14d872364d7.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Henry WInkler
Credit: Silver Screen Collection\/Getty<\/p>\n
That’s when it clicked, she tells PEOPLE.<\/p>\n
“And I knew it. I had seen him on Happy Days \u2014 it was Henry Winkler. I didn’t know,” the Shining Time Station actress stated. “I had just said, ‘Well, this is where acting comes in.’ “<\/p>\n
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!<\/a><\/p>\n She continues: “And we talked and talked and I said, ‘Hey, you know, I’m moving to California in a couple of months.’ He says, ‘Here’s my number, call me.’ “<\/p>\n Not long after arriving in California, Conn received an audition for the show.<\/p>\n “I got an audition for Happy Days, it was my first audition,” she says. “So I called him to tell him.”<\/p>\n She adds: “When I went to Paramount and I was shown to the office where the audition was, guess who was there and he read with me?”<\/p>\n Though she didn’t learn immediately whether she had landed the role, the answer soon came.<\/p>\n “I didn’t find out right away that I got the part, but when I walked away and I’m on the Paramount lot, this Brooklyn girl looking around,” she says. “I called up my agent and they had heard that I got it.”<\/p>\n Conn adds: “I was so happy and I thanked Henry, and we stayed very good friends.”<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n Check out PEOPLE’s weekly giveaway: Win a Yoto Player package valued at $260 only on the PEOPLE app<\/a>!<\/p>\n The actress recently partnered with Laura Geller Beauty for a nostalgic campaign promoting the brand’s Full Root-ine Hair & Brow Concealing Cream + Powder.<\/p>\n In a playful nod to her memorable “Beauty School Dropout” scene from Grease, Conn stars in a tongue-in-cheek “Beauty Service Announcement<\/a>” encouraging women to skip expensive salon visits in favor of simple at-home beauty solutions.<\/p>\n The campaign launched as an Amazon Prime Day exclusive on June 22.<\/p>\n