<Li> Cate S. Hennessy ( née Egan ) , portrayed by Katey Sagal , is the wife , mother , nurse , and easily the most sane and composed person in the family . She takes a nursing job at the kids ' school so she can work standard hours and spend more time with the kids . Cate starts dating her kids ' high - school principal , Ed Gibb ( portrayed by Adam Arkin ) , towards the end of season three . During her teens , she was more or less just as popular , scheming , and rebellious as Bridget , thus she is usually the first to notice when Bridget is up to something . She received her middle name `` Stinky '' as a result of her father promising his best friend he would name one of his children after him after accidentally stabbing him with a bayonet while they were drunk in Korea ; to hide this , she claims that the S stands for `` Stacy . '' </Li>
<Li> Cate S. Hennessy ( née Egan ) , portrayed by Katey Sagal , is the wife , mother , nurse , and easily the most sane and composed person in the family . She takes a nursing job at the kids ' school so she can work standard hours and spend more time with the kids . Cate starts dating her kids ' high - school principal , Ed Gibb ( portrayed by Adam Arkin ) , towards the end of season three . During her teens , she was more or less just as popular , scheming , and rebellious as Bridget , thus she is usually the first to notice when Bridget is up to something . She received her middle name `` Stinky '' as a result of her father promising his best friend he would name one of his children after him after accidentally stabbing him with a bayonet while they were drunk in Korea ; to hide this , she claims that the S stands for `` Stacy . '' </Li>
who played ed gibb on 8 simple rules
who played ed gibb on 8 simple rules
Adam Arkin
Adam Arkin