Cagney & Lacey

Background:

“We're showing women who can do a so-called man's job without ever forgetting that they are women.” Sharon Gless (on her hit show “Cagney & Lacey”)

Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress Sharon Gless is widely recognized as Sgt. Christine Cagey from the 1980s police procedural drama series “Cagney & Lacey” (1982-1988) and as the title role in the CBS drama series "The Trials of Rosie O'Neill" (1990-1992). She now plays Colleen Rose on FX Networks' medical drama "Nip/Tuck" and Madeline Westen, the chain-smoking hypochondriac mother of Jeffrey Donovan's Michael and Seth Peterson's Nate, on the USA Network's drama series "Burn Notice."

On the stage, Gless performed (to positive reviews) on the London stage in an adaptation of Stephen King's "Misery" in 1992 and headlined Neil Simon's "Chapter Two," alongside Tom Conti, in 1996.

This 5' 5" blonde leading-lady has been married to “Cagney & Lacey” producer Barney Rosenzweig since 1991.

Sharon received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995.

Fifth-Generation Californian

Childhood and Family:

"I had a wonderful childhood. When my older brother and I reminisce about when we were children, my sister-in-law says, “No one in the world had that fun a childhood.” I was raised in the same house my mother was raised in. My grandparents built it. I was raised Catholic and went to a Catholic school, a parochial school, then I was shipped off to a girls’ boarding school called Santa Catalina School for Girls, in Monterey, California. Very beautiful, but almost the day I got there, my parents separated so it was a hard four years for me. They had it planned. I was the only girl and they thought I was going to take it badly. As soon as I was on the train, my father moved into the athletic club, and when I came back, he was gone. No one told me while I was up there. So those years were actually not my favorite years." Sharon Gless

Daughter of Marjorie Gless (died on March 14, 1998, at age 84) and a father who worked as a sales executive in the garment trade, Sharon Marguerite Gless, a fifth-generation Californian, was born in Los Angeles, California, on May 31, 1943. Her grandfather, Neil S. McCarthy, was an entertainment lawyer who represented Howard Hughes, Louis B Mayer and Cecil B DeMille, among others. Gless has two brothers, Arick Dennis Gless (born in December 1950) and Michael McCarthy Gless (born in August 1940).

On May 4, 1991, Gless married producer Barney Rosenzweig. A year earlier, Rosenzweig had divorced his wife of 11 years, Barbara Corday, who was the creator/writer of "Cagney & Lacey" (1982).

Gless, who considers herself to be primarily a comedienne, is good friends with Emmy-winning TV host, stand-up comedian, actress, and author Rosie O'Donnell.

The Trials of Rosie O'Neill

Career:

Gless became interested in acting while working as a secretary for the advertising agencies Grey Advertising and Young & Rubicam and the independent movie production companies Sassafras Films and General Film Corporation. She decided to try her hand at acting and began taking acting lessons.

In the early 1970s, Gless began appearing on television and played Jennifer, one of Robert Young's daughters, in the ABC TV movie pilot "All My Darling Daughters," and its sequel, "My Darling Daughters' Anniversary." She also appeared in the role of Sergeant Maggie Clinger in the NBC TV series "McCloud," where she replaced Nancy Fox.

From 1972 to 1976, Gless played Nurse Kathleen Faverty during the last two seasons of the long-running ABC series "Marcus Welby, M.D." During this time, she also appeared as Holly Barrett in the NBC series "Faraday and Company" (1973). She then signed a 10-year contract with Universal Studios in 1974.

Gless subsequently played Maggie Philbin in the CBS TV series "Switch" from 1975 to 1978. She spent the rest of the decade acting in the TV mini-series "The Immigrants" (syndicated; 1978), "Centennial" (1978) and "The Last Convertible" (1979; both NBC). She also co-starred with John Schuck in the short-lived NBC sitcom "Turnabout" (1979).

Entering the 1980s, Gless played film star Carole Lombard in the NBC TV movie "Moviola: The Scarlett O'Hara War." In 1982, Gless landed the critically-acclaimed role of Detective Christine Cagney, a single, career-minded woman, opposite Tyne Daly's Lacey, in the CBS police procedural drama series "Cagney & Lacey" (1982-1988), in which she replaced Meg Foster in the role.

Comparing the characters of Christine Cagney and Lynne Warner, Gless commented, “Cagney was more petulant, more immature. Cagney was an angry cop with a mouth on her who had dreams of becoming the first female police commissioner and was driven almost in an unhealthy way. Lynne is much more controlled, much cooler. She may be a hothead inside the room, but never to her detriment. Cagney had no respect for authority at all, but Lynne does respect her President.”

The series was canceled by CBS in 1983 due to unimpressive ratings, but was subsequently brought back to the network's schedule following a letter-writing campaign staged by fans of the show. The show finished in the top 10 for the 1983-84 seasons and went on to earn 36 Emmy nominations and 14 wins throughout its run until 1988.

“I like Cagney because she's complex and flawed and so am I.” Sharon Gless

"Cagney & Lacey" also won Gless two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1986 and 1987, as well as a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Drama in 1986. She also scooped up four Viewers for Quality Television Awards for Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series (1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988). She would later reprise her role in "Cagney & Lacey: The Return" in 1994 and in the reunion movie, "Cagney & Lacey: True Convictions" in 1996.

During her "Cagney & Lacey" tenure, Gless also received the feature role of Jane Jeffreys during the last two seasons (1982) of CBS’ comedy series "House Calls." She also made her feature film debut in director Peter Hyams' crime drama film starring Michael Douglas and Hal Holbrook, "The Star Chamber" (1983).

1990-1992 saw Gless play the title role of a lawyer working in the public defender's office for the City of Los Angeles in the CBS drama series "The Trials of Rosie O'Neill," which marked her return to series television after her Emmy-winning run on "Cagney & Lacey." Gless' performance in the show received positive reviews and she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Drama in 1991. She was also nominated for two Emmy Awards in 1991 and 1992, both for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

In 1994, Gless starred in a dual role, opposite Steve Railsback, in the CBS movie "Separated by Murder." The following year, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Afterward, she narrated the documentary "Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life" (1996) and starred in the CBS movie "The Girl Next Door" (1998).

“Well I'm doing a movie here for CBS called 'The Girl Next Door.' The girl next door is played by Tracey Gold. It's the story about a young girl who comes into the police station and confesses, or tries to confess, to a murder that happened two years ago. Where I come in is I'm the psychiatrist who is assigned to pull the story out of her.” Sharon Gless

Hitting the new millennium, Gless began playing the slightly overbearing mother of a gay man in the Americanized version of the British series "Queer as Folk" (Showtime), in which she stayed until 2005. In 2003, she appeared in the music video for Murk vs Kristine W, "Some Lovin'."

After "Queer as Folk" ended in 2005, Gless co-starred with Jason Isaacs in the six-episode British television political drama/thriller "The State Within" (2006), playing Lynne Warner, the United States Secretary of Defense.

Gless now plays Madeline Westen, the chain-smoking hypochondriac mother to Jeffrey Donovan's Michael and Seth Peterson's Nate, on the USA Network's action/drama series "Burn Notice," which premiered of June 28, 2007. She also portrays Colleen Rose on FX Networks' Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning medical drama series "Nip/Tuck." Her performance in the show earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2008.

Gless also has extensive stage experience. In 1992, she appeared to positive reviews on the London stage in an adaptation of Stephen King's "Misery" at the Criterion Theatre. In the stage version of the hit film, she portrayed the Kathy Bates role of Annie Wilkes.

Awards:

• Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Drama, "The Trials of Rosie O'Neill," 1991

• Viewers for Quality Television: Q Award - Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series, "Cagney & Lacey," 1988

• Viewers for Quality Television: Q Award - Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series, "Cagney & Lacey," 1987

• Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, "Cagney & Lacey," 1987

• Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, "Cagney & Lacey," 1986

• Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Drama, "Cagney & Lacey," 1986

• Viewers for Quality Television: Q Award - Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series, "Cagney & Lacey," 1986

• Viewers for Quality Television: Q Award - Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series, "Cagney & Lacey," 1985