Cybill Shepherd - Biography, Filmography, Television work

Film actress, born in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. She was a successful model before her critically acclaimed film debut in The Last Picture Show (1971), following this with The Heartbreak Kid (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976). She also starred with Bruce Willis in the long-running television series Moonlighting (1985–9). Later films include Once Upon a Crime (1992) and Married To It (1993), and the television sitcom Cybill (1995–8).

Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born 18 February 1950) is an American actress, singer, and former fashion model, best known as the character Maddie Hayes on the groundbreaking ABC show Moonlighting.

Biography

Early life

Shepherd was born in Memphis, Tennessee to William Jennings Shepherd and Patty Shobe. Named after her grandfather Cy and her father Bill, Shepherd won the 1966 "Miss Teenage Memphis" contest at age sixteen, resulting in fashion modelling work through high school and after. Upon seeing the cover in a supermarket check-out line, Bogdanovich was reported to say "That's Jacy" referring to the role he was casting - and ultimately offered to Shepherd - in The Last Picture Show (1971). Also during the filming of The Last Picture Show, Shepherd began an affair with Bogdanovich that would last off and on for eight years.

First run at fame

Soon, Cybill Shepherd was cast opposite Charles Grodin in The Heartbreak Kid (1972).

In 1974, Shepherd again teamed with Peter Bogdanovich for a starring role in Daisy Miller, based on the Henry James novella. The role - a period piece set in Europe - was a challenging one, especially for a relatively inexperienced Shepherd. In a 1987 interview, Shepherd shared that she had recently viewed the film again, and said "It's frustrating to watch now because I've learned so much as an actor, and I would have approached that character so differently".

Shepherd bounced back with good reviews for her work in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976), a role in which "she appeared like an angel, out of this filthy mass", in the words of Robert De Niro's character. According to Shepherd, Martin Scorsese had requested a "Cybill Shepherd type" for the role.

After a series of less successful roles, including the remake of Hitchcock movie The Lady Vanishes, she left show business in 1978 and moved back to Memphis, saying she was fed up with Hollywood.

Return to Hollywood

Back from Memphis, Shepherd won the role of Colleen Champion in the night-time drama The Yellow Rose (1983), opposite Sam Elliott.

A year later, Cybill was cast as Maddie Hayes in ABC's Moonlighting (1985-1989), which became the role that would define her career.

In 1990, Shepherd's marriage to Oppenheim ended and she once again became a sought-after film actress. She then reprised her role as Jacy in Texasville (1990), the sequel to The Last Picture Show (1971), as the original cast (including director Peter Bogdanovich) reunited 20 years after filming the original.

In 1997, she won her third Golden Globe award, for CBS' Cybill (1995-1998), a television sitcom, in which the title character - Cybill Sheridan, an actress struggling with hammy parts in B movies and bad soaps - was loosely modeled on herself (including portrayals by actors of her two ex-husbands).

In 2000, Shepherd's autobiography was published, titled Cybill Disobedience: How I Survived Beauty Pageants, Elvis, Sex, Bruce Willis, Lies, Marriage, Motherhood, Hollywood, and the Irrepressible Urge to Say What I Think, written in collaboration with Aimee Lee Ball.

She has played Martha Stewart in two TV movies: Martha, Inc.: The Story of Martha Stewart (2003) and Martha: Behind Bars (2005).

In June 2006, it was announced that Shepherd has signed to star in 11 episodes of the Showtime drama, The L Word, in its upcoming fourth season in 2007.

Music

Cybill Shepherd is also an accomplished singer, having made over ten albums, including a jazz offering with Stan Getz in 1978 that was widely praised. Throughout her career, Cybill Shepherd has been an outspoken activist for such issues as gay rights, abortion rights, and other politically relevant topics. Annette Benning's character in American Beauty, Carolyn Burnham, was supposedly based on Cybill Shepherd. In the episode of the popular TV cartoon Family Guy titled "The Fat Guy Strangler", Peter Griffin slays Cybill Shepherd, claiming her to be a dragon.

Filmography

The Last Picture Show (1971) The Heartbreak Kid (1972) Daisy Miller (1974) At Long Last Love (1975) Taxi Driver (1976) Special Delivery (1976) Aliens From Spaceship Earth (1977) Silver Bears (1978) The Lady Vanishes (1979) Americathon (1979) The Return (1980) Chances Are (1989) Texasville (1990) Alice (1990) Picture This: The Times of Peter Bogdanovich in Archer City, Texas (1991) (documentary) Married to It (1991) Once Upon a Crime... (1992) The Last Word (1995) The Muse (1999) Marine Life (2000) Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003) (documentary) Signs and Voices (2004) (short subject) Open Window (2005) Hard Luck (2006)

Television work

A Guide for the Married Woman (1978) The Yellow Rose (1983-1984) Masquerade (1983) (pilot for a series which Shepherd did not appear in) Secrets of a Married Man (1984) Moonlighting (1985-1989) Seduced (1985) The Long Hot Summer (1985) Which Way Home (1991) Memphis (1992) (also executive producer and writer) Stormy Weathers (1992) (also executive producer) Telling Secrets (1993) There Was a Little Boy (1993) Baby Brokers (1994) While Justice Sleeps (1994) Cybill (1995 in television-1998) (also executive producer) Journey of the Heart (1997) (also co-executive producer) Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus (2000-2001) Due East (2002) Martha, Inc.: The Story of Martha Stewart (2003) Detective (2005) Martha: Behind Bars (2005)

Upcoming:

The L Word (2007)