The Queen of Mean

Background:

Golden Globe nominated actress Heather Locklear acquired worldwide fame after portraying bad character Amanda Woodward in the popular drama series Melrose Place (1993). She won a First Americans in the Arts Award for Best Actress in a TV Series in 1998 for her significant performance. She was also well known for playing the manipulative wife of Blake Carrington's son in the famous series Dynasty (1981). Due to Heather's success in portraying notable television villains, she was credited as "The Queen of Mean."

Heather, who owned dogs named Kitty and Harley, was formerly romantically linked to several Hollywood actors including Scott Baio, Tom Cruise and Mark Harmon before finding her love for musicians Tommy Lee (married, divorced) and Richie Sambora (married December 1994). Recently, Heather gives time and support to the Motion Picture & Television Fund and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

Lumbee Indian Mix

Childhood and Family:

A mix of American, African and European origin (Lumbee Indian), Heather Deen Locklear was born on September 25, 1961, in Westwood, California. The youngest child to Bill Locklear (the Dean of the School of Engineering at UCLA) and Diane Locklear (Administrative assistant of the Walt Disney Company), graduated from Newbury Park High School in Newbury Park, California before studying psychology at the University of California in Los Angeles. During her time at UCLA, Heather was a model for the school store and appeared in television commercials. When bitten by the acting bug, she left college to focus on her career.

Blue-eyed, blonde-haired Heather married, then later divorced (1992) to drummer of the rock band Mötley Crüe, Tommy Lee. Shortly after the divorce, Heather remarried another musician, Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora in 1994 in Paris. The couple lives in Los Angeles with their only daughter, Ava Elizabeth (born in 1997).

Melrose Villain

Career:

Starting out as a school model, Heather Locklear later modeled in television commercials for Pepsi, Polaroid and the California Dairy Council. Shortly after appearing on TV as a model, Heather decided to pursue an acting carrier professionally and made her television appearance debut in Tales of the Unexpected (1979). After dropping out of UCLA, she acted in the 1980's television series CHiPs and also guest-starred in The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies (1981) and Twirl (1981).

Heather received her big break when she portrayed the manipulative wife of Blake Carrington's son in the popular series Dynasty (1981, aired almost for a decade). Though she was gone from the show for a short time, her role in the series brought her nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress and Outstanding Actress/Actor in a Comic Relief Role at the Soap Opera Digest Awards (1990).

During her off time from Dynasty, Heather took part in Aaron Spelling's T.J. Hooker (1982, played Officer Stacy Sheridan, cancelled after five seasons). When she was called back to Dynasty, Heather became the single actress who worked regularly on two popular soap operas.

While working in the series, Heather had some big screen projects which included Firestarter (1984) and The Return of Swamp Thing (1989, for which she received a nomination at the Razzie Awards for Worst Actress in 1990). She also appeared in several television movies like City Killer (1984), T.J. Hooker: Blood Sport (1986) and Rock 'n' Roll Mom (1988).

Entering the 1990's, Heather continued working on several TV projects but captured the attention of Hollywood when she joined another Spelling's project, Melrose Place, in 1993. Her portrayal as the owner of an apartment-complex raised the rating of the series. Additionally, Heather's performance as a "bad" character received a nomination for Best Actress in a TV Drama for four consecutive years at the Golden Globes and eventually won the First Americans in the Arts Award for Best Actress in a TV Series in 1998.

While involved with the series, Heather hosted The 1994 Billboard Music Awards (1994, TV) before playing the role of Priscilla Davis in the highly rated miniseries Texas Justice (1995). Additionally, Heather portrayed Suzy/Bonnie/Ginger/Victoria/D.J in the critically acclaimed NBC television film Shattered Mind (1996) and had a cameo in The First Wives Club (1996). The following year, Heather was seen in Money Talks (1997) before starring in the HBO thriller Double Tap (1997).

Due to the cancellation of Melrose Place in 1998, Heather had the chance to showcase her comic talent on the hit comedy series Spin City (1999-2002). Her portrayal of the Mayor's consultant Caitlin Moore, and costarring with Michael J. Fox and later Charlie Sheen, increased the ratings of the show and earned Heather a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical in 2000.

In 2003, Heather starred in her own NBC sitcom, Once Around the Park (2003), playing the role of Alex Wingfield, a single parent with two kids. She was also featured in MGM's Uptown Girls (2003) and appeared in Warner Bros' Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003). In the subsequent year, Heather had a leading role as iron-willed Airdrome Boss Harley Random in NBC's drama LAX (2004). Recently, she starred with Hillary Duff and Chris Noth in the feature film The Perfect Man: Back in Action (2005).

Awards:

• First Americans in the Arts: Best Actress in a TV Series, Melrose Place, 1998.