Sherilyn Fenn
Encyclopedia
Sherilyn Fenn is an American actress and filmmaker. She came to international attention for her performance as Audrey Horne
on the 1990 cult TV series Twin Peaks
. She is also known for her roles in Of Mice and Men
, Ruby
, Boxing Helena
and Rude Awakening
, Two Moon Junction
and for portraying actress Elizabeth Taylor
in Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story
.
. She comes from a family of musicians: her mother is keyboard player Arlene Quatro, her aunt is singer Suzi Quatro
, her grandfather Art Quatro was a jazz
musician, and her father, Leo Fenn, managed such rock bands as Suzi Quatro's The Pleasure Seekers, Alice Cooper
, and The Billion Dollar Babies. Fenn is of Italian and Hungarian
descent on her mother's side and of Irish and French descent on her father's. She was raised Catholic. Fenn frequently traveled with her mother and two older brothers before the family settled in Los Angeles
when she was 17. She did not want to start with a new school again, and soon enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute
.
s including The Wild Life
(1984, opposite Chris Penn
), the 1986 skater film Thrashin'
(opposite Josh Brolin
and Pamela Gidley
), the 1986 teen fantasy
movie The Wraith
(opposite Charlie Sheen
and Nick Cassavetes), the 1987 horror film Zombie High
(alongside Virginia Madsen
), and the Beauty and the Beast
-inspired erotic movie Meridian
. She had a part in the 1985 cult teen-comedy Just One of the Guys
in which she tries to seduce a teenage girl disguised as a boy, played by Joyce Hyser
. Fenn starred alongside Johnny Depp
in the 1985 short student film Dummies, directed by Laurie Frank for the American Film Institute
. Fenn and Depp dated for three and a half years, subsequently getting engaged. In 1987, she joined Depp in a season-one episode of 21 Jump Street
called "Blindsided".
Fenn is the first to admit that she has appeared in many films that are worth forgetting, and that turned into sexploitation
films "where directors tried to convince [her] to appear naked after the contract was signed." "Still, I did a lot of movies instead of waitressing or that kind of thing at the beginning, and it wasn't as if I even took acting very seriously when I started," she says. "I was in California for the first time. I was going to clubs, I was going here, I was going there, I was skipping acting classes when I could. Luckily, I had an agent who really believed in me and she just kept pushing me, thinking something would happen."
Fenn landed her first starring role, as an engaged heiress to an old Southern family who falls for carnival worker Richard Tyson
, in Zalman King
's erotic drama film Two Moon Junction
, after which she said she wanted to hide for a year. "I was so embarrassed about how it turned out that I went into a cocoon for a year afterwards", she said. Junction was meant to be Fenn’s big break, but the film turned into another sexploitation film. "A lot of people said some really bad things about me for doing such a sexy movie. But I decided to do it because I wasn't comfortable with the material. I didn't want to make choices that would always put me in a place that was comfortable and secure. I thought interesting things would happen and I would grow. Interesting things did happen. I cried at the end of all my love scenes."
After these film experiences, Fenn decided to take control of her career. "I decided to be more myself and not to be pushed into what other people wanted me to be. It’s scary how little imagination many people in this business have."
Fenn won her most famous role and made an impression on the public when she was cast by David Lynch
and Mark Frost
as the tantalizing, reckless Audrey Horne
, a high school femme fatale
, in the critically acclaimed TV series Twin Peaks
. The series ran from 1990 to 1991, and the character of Audrey was one of the most popular with fans, in particular for her unrequited love for FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper
(played by Kyle MacLachlan
) and her style from the '50s (with her saddle shoes, plaid skirts, and tight sweater
s). Fenn reached cult status with a scene in which she danced to Angelo Badalamenti
's music and a scene in which she knotted a cherry stem in her mouth. "With Sherilyn Fenn, Twin Peaks came on and effortlessly destroyed every other show’s sexuality", said co-star James Marshall
. "Audrey is a woman-child who dresses like the girls in the '50s and shows her body", said Fenn. "But she's daddy's little girl at the same time." In the show's second season, when the idea of pairing Audrey with Cooper was abandoned, Audrey was paired with other characters like Bobby Briggs (played by Dana Ashbrook
) and John Justice Wheeler (Billy Zane
). About Audrey, Fenn said:
Shortly after shooting the Twin Peaks pilot episode, David Lynch gave her a small part in Wild at Heart
, as a girl injured in a car wreck, obsessed by the contents of her purse, opposite Nicolas Cage
and Laura Dern
. The film won the Golden Palm Award at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival
. "David’s direction was, ‘Only think of this: bobby pins, lipstick, wallet, comb, that’s it.’ It’s very abstract." "I just pictured her being able to do this", said Lynch of her scene, "she’s like a broken China doll." David Lynch, who once described Sherilyn Fenn as "five feet of heaven in a ponytail" (quoting from a 1958 record by The Playmates), and said that she makes him think of a porcelain doll, said about her: "He's very creative and unafraid of taking chances," she said of the director. "I really respect him. He's wonderful."
She soon portrayed John Dillinger
's girlfriend Billie Frechette in ABC
's 1991 gangster TV movie Dillinger opposite Mark Harmon
, and shot the neo-noir
black comedy Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel
in which she played a sultry, seductive femme fatale
, opposite Whip Hubley
and David Hewlett
.
After Twin Peaks, Fenn chose to focus on widening her range of roles and was determined to avoid typecasting
. "They’ve offered me every variation on Audrey Horne, none of which were as good or as much fun." She turned down the Audrey Horne spinoff
series that was offered to her, and unlike most of the cast, chose not to return for the 1992 prequel
movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, as she was then shooting Of Mice and Men.
After two nominations (Emmy
and Golden Globe
) for Twin Peaks, and a pictorial in Playboy
magazine (for which she chose her then boyfriend, Barry Hollywood, to photograph her), Fenn was propelled to stardom and became a major sex symbol
, with her Old Hollywood
looks. In October 1990, while promoting Twin Peaks, Fenn made the cover of Rolling Stone magazine along with Mädchen Amick
and Lara Flynn Boyle
. In 1990 Us Magazine chose her as one of the "10 Most Beautiful Women in the World" and in 1991 People
magazine chose her as one of the "50 Most Beautiful Women in the World". She posed for photographer Steven Meisel
for the autumn-winter 1991–1992 Dolce & Gabbana
campaign, for which he photographed her as a classical Hollywood
femme fatale. In 1992, photographer George Hurrell
took a series of photographs of Sherilyn Fenn, Sharon Stone
, Julian Sands
, Raquel Welch
, Eric Roberts
and Sean Penn
. In these portraits he recreated his style of the 1930s, with Fenn posing in costumes, hairstyle and makeup of the period.
In 1991, veteran Hollywood acting coach Roy London
chose her to star in his directorial debut Diary of a Hitman
(nominated for the Critics Award at the 1991 Deauville Film Festival
), in which she plays a young mother determined to protect her child from hit-man Forest Whitaker
. According to Fenn, the turning point in her career was when she met London in 1990. She credits him with instilling confidence and newfound enthusiasm. She learned from her beloved teacher "to find the roles that you're passionate about, that speak to you on some level and which will help you grow on some level," which has then become her line of conduct. "A lot of the sentiment that acting should be about an art form rather than mass entertainment and celebrity is at the core of Fenn’s attitude to the business," wrote Jessica Sully in Australia
n magazine Movie. "I try to keep myself centered," Fenn said. "I don't go to parties and all that. I don't think being seen or being in the right place is going to make me a better actress. I care about my work and try to do what's right in my heart." As Mike Bygrave wrote in Sky Magazine: "One of the keys to understanding Fenn is that when she talks about the characters she plays she's really talking about herself." Fenn was eager to play varied parts that could eclipse her sex-symbol image. "People who think they know me would be surprised that my whole life doesn't revolve around sex," she said. After Twin Peaks, Fenn demanded a no-nudity clause in her contracts. She turned to the independent
world, to manage to carve out a career on her own terms as a versatile actress. She worked intensely, choosing varied and unusual roles:
A highlight of Fenn's film career is Gary Sinise
's film adaptation of Of Mice and Men
(nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival
), in which she played a sad and lonely country wife, desperately in need to talk to somebody, opposite Sinise and John Malkovich
. "Sherilyn’s one of the reasons we got such a great ovation at Cannes", said Sinise. "She’s like a terribly sad angel in this film. Sherilyn plays against just being a sexy and beautiful girl," he added. "Hopefully her performance in my film will show her deep talent because she certainly showed the right mix of innocence and seductiveness for the role. We needed a fresh face but also one who knew what she was doing."
"Gary Sinise was one of the first people who didn’t see me like a lot of other people did", she said. "It was a wonderful experience. Horton Foote adapted the novel and he fleshed out my character, and he made her much, much more."
The same year saw her starring alongside Danny Aiello
, Arliss Howard
and Marc Lawrence
in John Mackenzie's Ruby
, that attempts to unravel the mystery of who killed John F. Kennedy
and why, and depicts the events that led Jack Ruby
to shoot Lee Harvey Oswald
. Fenn plays the part of ambitious stripper Sheryl Ann DuJean, a fictitious character who is a composite of several real-life women including stripper Candy Barr
, Marilyn Monroe
and Judith Campbell Exner. "She’s got a brain and all the right emotional instincts, and that’s a great combination," said Mackenzie of Fenn.
In 1993, she starred in the romantic comedy Three of Hearts
as Kelly Lynch
and William Baldwin
's love interest. During the shooting the relations between Fenn and director Yurek Bogayevicz
became more and more strained as she refused to appear nude in the film, although she had appeared fully nude five years earlier in Two Moon Junction.
Fenn was also considered for the title role in Roger Vadim
's remake of his 1968 film Barbarella
that ultimately didn't come off.
Her most notable film role to date was in the controversial Boxing Helena
(nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival
), directed by David Lynch's daughter Jennifer Chambers Lynch. Fenn portrayed a narcissistic
seductress amputated and imprisoned by Julian Sands
, who makes her become his personal Venus de Milo
in an effort to possess her. Helena
was a way for Fenn to avoid being type-cast
, with a radically different role from what she’d done in the past: "Women do feel like they're in a box," she says of the subtext that attracted her to the role. "Society, Hollywood, some men... they want to wrap women up in a neat little package." Both Lynch and Fenn were proud of their work in it but the film— which was overshadowed by the lawsuits against Kim Basinger
after she dropped out—ultimately was a critical and commercial failure. However, both women enjoyed their collaboration. "Sherilyn is an amazing actress, a total bundle of energy and a real powerhouse and I think people will see a side of her that we have never seen of Sherilyn anywhere else before," said Lynch of the actress. "I have with Sherilyn something I didn't think I'd ever find and that is the entire whole." "Jennifer’s one of the brightest person I know," said Fenn. "Boxing Helena was something that I think was pretty cool, but people judged it without even having seen it. It’s not perfect, but I think for the story that we were trying to tell, it turned out pretty good. What it signified was really powerful to me: how society puts us in boxes one way or another."
She then starred in Carl Reiner
's neo-noir
parody Fatal Instinct
as Armand Assante
's devoted secretary and Sean Young
and Kate Nelligan
’s rival. She was asked to read for the femme fatale Lola (eventually played by Young), but opted for Assante's lovesick secretary.
Fenn afterward portrayed Potiphar
's wife Zulaikha in Showtime's Biblical
TV movie Slave of Dreams
(released in 1995) opposite Adrian Pasdar
and Edward James Olmos
. The film was directed by multi-award-winning Robert M. Young and produced by Martha and Dino De Laurentiis
.
In 1995, she starred in an episode of Tales from the Crypt
directed by Robert Zemeckis
, alongside Isabella Rossellini
and John Lithgow
, in which she played the lover of Humphrey Bogart
, who appeared in the episode via CGI
special effects. "It was wonderful working with Bob Zemeckis and Isabella, and everybody was really nice."
After a short break during which she married and gave birth to a son, Fenn was chosen among more than 100 actresses to portray legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor
in NBC
's 1995 telemovie Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story
. "Director Kevin Connor
and I arranged a lunch, not an audition," said executive producer Lester Persky
. "We knew 10 minutes into our meeting that Sherilyn was it. She has the same striking beauty, and because of that she's experienced some of the things in life and in this business that make Elizabeth such a fascinating person." When she accepted the part, Fenn was unaware that Taylor was suing to stop both the broadcast of the film and the unauthorized biography that it is based on. But she didn't let that distract her from her work. "I am somebody who doesn't make choices lightly at this point of my life. I'm not somebody who wants to exploit another's woman story or life in any way." Some parallels with her life made it important for Fenn to do the biography. Like Taylor, Fenn's mother married several times. "It's remarkable, to be married so many times. How do you say 'I do' yet again and again and mean it? Maybe she lives her life in the moment, and ferociously believe in love. My mother getting married over and over definitely had an effect on me." Also, Fenn and Taylor both encountered similar experiences in the film business. "There are stereotypes of what a beautiful woman is. She struggled with that. A certain part of her life she went on that calling card. I certainly know I've come into contact with that. ‘You are too pretty,’ I'm told." During the shooting, Fenn fought to keep integrity in the script. Her priority was to respectfully and accurately portray Taylor, and she supported the original screenwriter's effort to concentrate on Taylor the person, not the legend.
In the late 1990s, Fenn's career took a downturn. The discrepancies between her vision of the profession of actress and the Hollywood-centered commercial fixation led to her lack of enthusiasm in traditional Hollywood films.
"I didn't like anything," she admits. "It was crazy, I was very picky. In other words, I didn't take advantage of what was happening necessarily then. But they also have a way of putting you in a category. I wasn't into playing the Hollywood game. I only responded to certain things." Also, she herself has attributed her failure to adapt to the Hollywood system to her frankness and her dislike for the "Hollywood game".
She then began to alternate TV movies and independent films. In 1996 she joined the winning ensemble cast
in the romantic comedy
Lovelife
as a waitress who attempts to become a writer and has to rebuild her life. The film was written and directed by Tru Calling
s creator Jon Harmon Feldman
and costarred Matt Letscher
, Jon Tenney, Bruce Davison
, Saffron Burrows
and Carla Gugino
.
Fenn also appeared in the 1997 romantic comedy Just Write
, along with Jeremy Piven
as the dream actress of a Hollywood tour bus driver, who mistakes him for a famous screenwriter. Both films have been well-received on the festival circuit.
In a 1997 episode of Friends
, Fenn guest-starred as Matthew Perry
's girlfriend Ginger, who has a prosthetic right leg (a possible Boxing Helena in-joke). "Matthew Perry was darling and very funny. All my scenes were with Matthew, basically, so it was fun. I like the show. I was happy to be a part of it."
The same year she was cast as the female lead in ABC
's show Prey
(originally entitled Hungry for Survival) and starred in the unaired original pilot episode. However, the pilot was reshot and Fenn was replaced by Debra Messing
.
Fenn starred in the 1998 British psychological drama
and huis-clos Darkness Falls
as a wealthy and neglected wife, who is sequestered with her husband (played by Tim Dutton
) by a man (Ray Winstone
) determined to understand the events that led to his wife ending up in a coma
. "I loved the script when I read it; it's a wonderful character piece. I saw Ray's work, like Nil by Mouth
, and I saw Tim's work, and I just was really excited to be a part of it." While shooting the film in the Isle of Man
in late 1997, Fenn hesitated to settle in London
in order to start a European career, and eventually decided to stay in the U.S.
She subsequently starred opposite Jon Tenney in the pilot for a remake of ABC's Love, American Style
, for the 1998–1999 television season. The pilot, that also featured Melissa Joan Hart
, Matt Letscher
and Mariska Hargitay
was not ordered into a series. Nevertheless, ABC aired it on February 20, 1999.
Fenn gained newfound enthusiasm with the lead role in Showtime's sitcom Rude Awakening
as Billie Frank
, an alcoholic ex-soap opera
actress, based upon executive producer-creator Claudia Lonow
's experience, who tries to go sober and become a writer but continues to struggle with her self-destructive habits. The series ran from 1998 to 2001 and co-starred Lynn Redgrave
, Jonathan Penner
and Mario Van Peebles
.
Fenn joined again Jeremy Piven
in a 1998 episode of Cupid
, as Piven's love interest.
In 1999 she re-teamed with Chris Penn
and Adrian Pasdar
for Pasdar's art-house
directorial debut, the neo-noir
Cement
, a contemporary re-telling of Othello
, in which she played a tempting but imprudent femme fatale
, the wife of jealous corrupt cop Chris Penn
. "I play a character who's selfish and sloppy with her sexual energy. I saw the film and I was really happy with it. It's got a lot of soul." The film, which won Best Picture awards on the festival circuit, was written by Farscape
’s screenwriter Justin Monjo
and also starred Jeffrey Wright and Henry Czerny
.
She also reteamed with actor/director Bruce Davison
for his 2001 award-winning family comedy, Showtime's Off Season
alongside Rory Culkin
, Hume Cronyn
and Adam Arkin
.
In 2001, she starred in the episode Replica
of The Outer Limits
, playing a scientist who volunteered to be cloned. She also starred in an episode of Night Visions
, as a woman who buys a used car possessed by a vengeful spirit. She was cast as a kindergarten teacher for the pilot of the 2001 American version of the British TV show Blind Men, alongside French Stewart
. However, the pilot was not ordered into a series.
In 2002, Fenn was one of several former Twin Peaks stars, such as Dana Ashbrook
and Mädchen Amick
, to have a recurring role on The WB's Dawson's Creek
. She guest-starred in three episodes from the fifth season, as Alex Pearl, the seductive manager of the restaurant where Joshua Jackson
works.
Fenn was afterwards cast as madcap villain Harley Quinn
in The WB's Birds of Prey but was replaced by Mia Sara before the series began. Fenn starred in the original pilot episode but dropped out, due to scheduling conflicts, as the show's creators realized that the character of Harley Quinn would need to be a bigger part of the show.
She also played a manipulative woman in a season-4 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
opposite Christopher Meloni
and Mariska Hargitay
and appeared in Watching Ellie
.
Fenn played a crime boss in the 2002 film Swindle
opposite Tom Sizemore
. She had a small role in the critically acclaimed The United States of Leland
, opposite Ryan Gosling
, in which she played a mother who captivates a troubled teenage boy.
In 2003, Fenn appeared on The WB
's Gilmore Girls
as Sasha, the girlfriend of Jess Mariano's estranged father (played by Rob Estes
) in the season three episode Here Comes the Son, which was the back-door pilot for a California
-set spin-off titled Windward Circle, that was to have starred Milo Ventimiglia
, Estes and Fenn. The network dropped the project citing cost issues due to filming on location in Venice, California.
She then played the recurring part of Violet Montgomery on Fox
's Boston Public
(2003–2004), and appeared in Showtime's Cavedweller
(2004) opposite Kyra Sedgwick
.
In 2004, Fenn joined former co-star Mark Harmon
in an episode of NCIS
, as an amnesiac woman. She was afterwards cast for the 2004 remake of Mister Ed
, planned for the Fox
network. However, after the pilot was shot, the show's writer/producer Drake Sather
committed suicide, and the pilot was not aired.
In 2004, Fenn co-starred opposite Traci Lords
and Paul Johansson
in Emily Skopov's Novel Romance
, released in 2006, in which she played a pregnancy shop owner who can't have children and whose sister decides to become a single mother. She then appeared in the martial arts film Lesser of Three Evils alongside Ho Sung Pak
, Peter Greene
and Roger Guenveur Smith
, as the unbalanced and alcoholic wife of a corrupt detective. The film was released in 2009 under the title Fist of the Warrior
.
In 2005, Fenn made a notable appearance on The 4400
, playing Jean DeLynn Baker, a 4400 who has the ability to grow toxin
-emitting spore
s on her hands. She also guest-starred on the final episode of Judging Amy
.
After finishing the Russia-set action film Treasure Raiders
with David Carradine
, Fenn starred in the Canadian
psychological thriller Presumed Dead, opposite Duncan Regehr
, as a detective working on a missing person case, who has to outwit a crime novelist.
In 2006, Fenn re-teamed with Amy Sherman-Palladino
and reappeared in the sixth and seventh seasons of Gilmore Girls
as Anna Nardini, the ex-girlfriend of Luke Danes (played by Scott Patterson
) and protective mother to his daughter April. After the 2003 Gilmore Girls spin-off project, Sherman-Palladino wanted to work with Fenn again ever since, and wrote the character of Anna with her in mind. When asked why she cast Fenn for two different roles on Gilmore Girls, Sherman-Palladino said: However, after Sherman-Palladino left the show, the direction for the character changedthe producers decided to make her character a villain in a custody battle.
Fenn was cast as the female lead in ABC's 2006 comedy series Three Moons Over Milford
but she was ultimately replaced by Elizabeth McGovern
.
Fenn was slated for a recurring role on CBS
' 2006 crime drama Smith
, but the show was quickly canceled.
She appeared in the 2007 Dukes of Hazzard
prequel
, The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning
as Lulu Hogg. "It's just a fun silly role," she said, but Fenn who had already worked with director Robert Berlinger
on Rude Awakening, wanted to do so again.
In July 2006, shortly after shooting The Dukes of Hazzard prequel, Fenn stepped behind the camera for the first time and directed in Pittsburgh a documentary film
about child enrichment program CosmiKids and its founder Judy Julin. She subsequently joined its executive team in 2007 as executive director of the film and television division.
In July 2008, Fenn filmed The Scenesters
, a black comedy made by Los Angeles-based comedy group The Vacationeers, which premiered in October 2009.
In July 2009, Fenn made a guest appearance on In Plain Sight
as a lesbian counterfeiter.
In December 2010, Fenn appeared on Psych
with other Twin Peaks actors on the Season 5 episode "Dual Spires
" as sultry librarian Maudette Hornsby. The episode, a homage to Twin Peaks, also makes many in-joke references to the show.
, and gave birth to a son, Myles, in late 1993. The marriage came to an end in 1997.
Her second son, Christian, with IT consultant
Dylan Stewart, was born in August 2007.
In 2009, Fenn created a blog named Postcards from the Ledge.
Golden Globe Awards
Audrey Horne
Audrey Horne is a fictional character from the television series Twin Peaks, created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. She was played by Sherilyn Fenn.Audrey is 18 years old during the action of the series...
on the 1990 cult TV series Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
. She is also known for her roles in Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men (1992 film)
Of Mice and Men is a 1992 American film starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinise, directed and produced by Gary Sinise. It is the third movie adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1937 novel of the same name, and was preceded by the 1939 film version and the 1981 television movie.- Plot :George Milton is...
, Ruby
Ruby (film)
Ruby is a feature film, released in the United States on March 27, 1992, about Jack Ruby, the Dallas, Texas nightclub owner who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement garage of a Dallas city police station in 1963. The film was directed by John Mackenzie and stars Danny Aiello , Sherilyn...
, Boxing Helena
Boxing Helena
Boxing Helena is a 1993 romantic drama film and the debut feature film by Jennifer Chambers Lynch, daughter of David Lynch. The film stars Julian Sands and Sherilyn Fenn as the eponymous Helena.-Plot:...
and Rude Awakening
Rude Awakening (TV series)
Rude Awakening is a TV series created by Claudia Lonow, aired by Showtime on 55 22-min episodes for 3 seasons .-Story:Rude Awakening tells the story of Billie Frank, an out of work alcoholic ex-soap opera actress. She tries to go sober and become a writer but continues to struggle with her...
, Two Moon Junction
Two Moon Junction
Two Moon Junction is a 1988 American English language erotic thriller and romance film written and directed by Zalman King, starring Sherilyn Fenn and Richard Tyson...
and for portraying actress Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
in Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story
Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story
Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story is a 1995 biographical TV film directed by Kevin Connor. The film stars Sherilyn Fenn , Katherine Helmond, Nigel Havers, Angus Macfadyen, William McNamara and Ray Wise.-Cast:...
.
Early life
Fenn was born Sheryl Ann Fenn in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. She comes from a family of musicians: her mother is keyboard player Arlene Quatro, her aunt is singer Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.-Music:Quatro began her...
, her grandfather Art Quatro was a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician, and her father, Leo Fenn, managed such rock bands as Suzi Quatro's The Pleasure Seekers, Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
, and The Billion Dollar Babies. Fenn is of Italian and Hungarian
Hungarian American
Hungarian Americans Hungarian are American citizens of Hungarian descent. The constant influx of Hungarian immigrants was marked by several waves of sharp increase.-History:...
descent on her mother's side and of Irish and French descent on her father's. She was raised Catholic. Fenn frequently traveled with her mother and two older brothers before the family settled in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
when she was 17. She did not want to start with a new school again, and soon enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute
Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute
__notoc__The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute is an acting school located at 115 East 15th Street between Union Square East and Irving Place in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, as well as at 7936 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California...
.
Early career (1984–1989)
Fenn began her career with a number of B-movieB-movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
s including The Wild Life
The Wild Life (film)
The Wild Life is a 1984 comedy-drama film, written by Cameron Crowe and directed by Art Linson.The movie was an indirect sequel to the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The film is only available on VHS and Laserdisc in pan and scan with stereo analog tracks. No DVD version has been released due...
(1984, opposite Chris Penn
Chris Penn
Christopher Shannon "Chris" Penn was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as The Wild Life, Reservoir Dogs, Footloose, Rush Hour, True Romance, All the Right Moves and Pale Rider.-Early life:Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest son of Leo Penn,...
), the 1986 skater film Thrashin'
Thrashin'
Conversely, Brolin had turned down the role of Thom Hansen on 21 Jump Street, which ultimately went to Depp.-Continuing reaction to the film: Sixteen years after initial release, the MTV series Jackass, in a February 2002 episode, played homage to the "jousting scene" with "maces and man-purse" in...
(opposite Josh Brolin
Josh Brolin
Josh James Brolin is an American actor. He has acted in theater, film and television roles since 1985, and won acting awards for his roles in the films W., No Country for Old Men, Milk and True Grit.-Early life:...
and Pamela Gidley
Pamela Gidley
Pamela Catherine Gidley is an American actress and model.-Early life:Gidley was born in Methuen, Massachusetts but was raised in Nashua, New Hampshire and the youngest of the family with four older brothers...
), the 1986 teen fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
movie The Wraith
The Wraith
The Wraith is a 1986 action/science fiction film, directed and written by Mike Marvin. The film was later featured in an episode of Cinema Insomnia....
(opposite Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
and Nick Cassavetes), the 1987 horror film Zombie High
Zombie High
-Plot:A teenage girl gains a scholarship to an all-male boarding school, but soon discovers that her fellow classmates are becoming personality-less drones...
(alongside Virginia Madsen
Virginia Madsen
Virginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...
), and the Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale. The first published version of the fairy tale was a rendition by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in La jeune américaine, et les contes marins in 1740...
-inspired erotic movie Meridian
Meridian: Kiss Of The Beast
Meridian is a 1990 horror film and romance film produced and directed by Charles Band. It starred Sherilyn Fenn, Malcolm Jamieson, Hilary Mason and Charlie Spradling.-Plot summary:...
. She had a part in the 1985 cult teen-comedy Just One of the Guys
Just One of the Guys
Just One of the Guys is a 1985 comedy film, directed by Lisa Gottlieb. The film is marketed with the tagline "Terri Griffith is about to go where no woman has gone before." This movie ranked number 48 on Entertainment Weeklys list of the "50 Best High School Movies".-Plot:Terry Griffith is an...
in which she tries to seduce a teenage girl disguised as a boy, played by Joyce Hyser
Joyce Hyser
Joyce Hyser is an American actress.-Career:Hyser appeared in various films in the early 1980s, the last of which — Just One of the Guys — achieved some cult status. She then mainly guest-starred in TV shows, including a recurring role in L.A. Law as Jimmy Smits's girlfriend...
. Fenn starred alongside Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
in the 1985 short student film Dummies, directed by Laurie Frank for the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
. Fenn and Depp dated for three and a half years, subsequently getting engaged. In 1987, she joined Depp in a season-one episode of 21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street is an American police procedural crime drama television series that aired on the Fox Network from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focused on a squad of youthful-looking undercover police officers investigating crimes in high schools,...
called "Blindsided".
Fenn is the first to admit that she has appeared in many films that are worth forgetting, and that turned into sexploitation
Sexploitation
Sexploitation, or "sex-exploitation", describes a class of independently produced, low-budget feature films generally associated with the 1960s and serving largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations and gratuitous nudity. The genre is a subgenre of exploitation films...
films "where directors tried to convince [her] to appear naked after the contract was signed." "Still, I did a lot of movies instead of waitressing or that kind of thing at the beginning, and it wasn't as if I even took acting very seriously when I started," she says. "I was in California for the first time. I was going to clubs, I was going here, I was going there, I was skipping acting classes when I could. Luckily, I had an agent who really believed in me and she just kept pushing me, thinking something would happen."
Fenn landed her first starring role, as an engaged heiress to an old Southern family who falls for carnival worker Richard Tyson
Richard Tyson
Richard Martin Tyson is an American actor.-Biography:His most prominent role was as the villain Cullen Crisp, Sr. in Kindergarten Cop co-starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also starred as high school bully Buddy Revell in the 1987 comedy Three O'Clock High...
, in Zalman King
Zalman King
Zalman King is an American film director, writer, actor and producer. His directing and writing productions are known for incorporating erotica as a centerpiece to plots which are nevertheless about greater issues.-Acting:As a young man in 1963 he played a gang member on Alfred Hitchcock Presents...
's erotic drama film Two Moon Junction
Two Moon Junction
Two Moon Junction is a 1988 American English language erotic thriller and romance film written and directed by Zalman King, starring Sherilyn Fenn and Richard Tyson...
, after which she said she wanted to hide for a year. "I was so embarrassed about how it turned out that I went into a cocoon for a year afterwards", she said. Junction was meant to be Fenn’s big break, but the film turned into another sexploitation film. "A lot of people said some really bad things about me for doing such a sexy movie. But I decided to do it because I wasn't comfortable with the material. I didn't want to make choices that would always put me in a place that was comfortable and secure. I thought interesting things would happen and I would grow. Interesting things did happen. I cried at the end of all my love scenes."
After these film experiences, Fenn decided to take control of her career. "I decided to be more myself and not to be pushed into what other people wanted me to be. It’s scary how little imagination many people in this business have."
Rise to fame – Twin Peaks (1990–1991)
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
and Mark Frost
Mark Frost
Mark Frost is an American novelist, television/film writer, director, who is best known as a writer for the TV show Hill Street Blues and co-creator of the show Twin Peaks.-Personal life:...
as the tantalizing, reckless Audrey Horne
Audrey Horne
Audrey Horne is a fictional character from the television series Twin Peaks, created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. She was played by Sherilyn Fenn.Audrey is 18 years old during the action of the series...
, a high school femme fatale
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
, in the critically acclaimed TV series Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
. The series ran from 1990 to 1991, and the character of Audrey was one of the most popular with fans, in particular for her unrequited love for FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper
Dale Cooper
FBI Special agent Dale Bartholomew Cooper is a fictional character from the television series Twin Peaks, portrayed by Kyle MacLachlan. He is the lead protagonist of the series, and briefly appears in the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me....
(played by Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle MacLachlan
Kyle Merritt MacLachlan is an American actor. MacLachlan is best known for his roles in cult films Blue Velvet as Jeffrey Beaumont, Showgirls as Zack Carey, as Paul Atreides in Dune, and Ray Manzarek in the Oliver Stone film The Doors...
) and her style from the '50s (with her saddle shoes, plaid skirts, and tight sweater
Sweater
A sweater, jumper, pullover, sweatshirt, jersey or guernsey is a garment intended to cover the torso and arms. It is often worn over a shirt, blouse, T-shirt, or other top, but may also be worn alone as a top...
s). Fenn reached cult status with a scene in which she danced to Angelo Badalamenti
Angelo Badalamenti
Angelo Badalamenti is an American composer, known for his movie soundtrack work for director David Lynch, notably Blue Velvet, the Twin Peaks saga and Mulholland Drive...
's music and a scene in which she knotted a cherry stem in her mouth. "With Sherilyn Fenn, Twin Peaks came on and effortlessly destroyed every other show’s sexuality", said co-star James Marshall
James Marshall (actor)
James Marshall is an American actor, best known for playing the character James Hurley in the cult television series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and for his role as PFC Louden Downey in A Few Good Men.Marshall was born James David Greenblatt on January 2,...
. "Audrey is a woman-child who dresses like the girls in the '50s and shows her body", said Fenn. "But she's daddy's little girl at the same time." In the show's second season, when the idea of pairing Audrey with Cooper was abandoned, Audrey was paired with other characters like Bobby Briggs (played by Dana Ashbrook
Dana Ashbrook
Dana V. Ashbrook is an American actor, perhaps best known for playing Bobby Briggs on the cult TV series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.-Personal life:...
) and John Justice Wheeler (Billy Zane
Billy Zane
William George "Billy" Zane, Jr. is an American actor, producer and director. He is probably best known for his roles as Caledon Hockley in Titanic, The Phantom from The Phantom, John Wheeler in Twin Peaks and Mr...
). About Audrey, Fenn said:
Shortly after shooting the Twin Peaks pilot episode, David Lynch gave her a small part in Wild at Heart
Wild at Heart (film)
Wild at Heart is a 1990 American film written and directed by David Lynch, and based on Barry Gifford's 1989 novel Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula. Both the book and the film revolve around Sailor Ripley and Lula Pace Fortune , a young couple from Cape Fear, North Carolina who go on...
, as a girl injured in a car wreck, obsessed by the contents of her purse, opposite Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...
and Laura Dern
Laura Dern
Laura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
. The film won the Golden Palm Award at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. "David’s direction was, ‘Only think of this: bobby pins, lipstick, wallet, comb, that’s it.’ It’s very abstract." "I just pictured her being able to do this", said Lynch of her scene, "she’s like a broken China doll." David Lynch, who once described Sherilyn Fenn as "five feet of heaven in a ponytail" (quoting from a 1958 record by The Playmates), and said that she makes him think of a porcelain doll, said about her: "He's very creative and unafraid of taking chances," she said of the director. "I really respect him. He's wonderful."
She soon portrayed John Dillinger
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
's girlfriend Billie Frechette in ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's 1991 gangster TV movie Dillinger opposite Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon is an American actor who has been starring in American television programs and films since the mid-1970s, after a career as a collegiate football player with the UCLA Bruins. Since 2003, Harmon has starred as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the CBS series NCIS.-Early life:Harmon was born Thomas...
, and shot the neo-noir
Neo-noir
Neo-noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.-History:The term Film Noir was coined by...
black comedy Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel
Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel
Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel is a 1992 neo-noir black comedy written and directed by Alien Castle. The film stars Sherilyn Fenn, Whip Hubley, David Hewlett, David Johansen and Paul Bartel.-Plot:...
in which she played a sultry, seductive femme fatale
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
, opposite Whip Hubley
Whip Hubley
Whip Hubley is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Mischa in the 1987 film Russkies, and Hollywood in the 1986 film Top Gun. He later played Brian Hawkins in the Showtime miniseries More Tales of the City and its follow-up Further Tales of the City...
and David Hewlett
David Hewlett
David Ian Hewlett is an English-born Canadian actor best known for his role as Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay on the science fiction television shows Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis.-Early life:...
.
After Twin Peaks, Fenn chose to focus on widening her range of roles and was determined to avoid typecasting
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
. "They’ve offered me every variation on Audrey Horne, none of which were as good or as much fun." She turned down the Audrey Horne spinoff
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
series that was offered to her, and unlike most of the cast, chose not to return for the 1992 prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, as she was then shooting Of Mice and Men.
Post-
Peaks roles (1992–1995)Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
and Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
) for Twin Peaks, and a pictorial in Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine (for which she chose her then boyfriend, Barry Hollywood, to photograph her), Fenn was propelled to stardom and became a major sex symbol
Sex symbol
A sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, supermodel, teen idol, or sports star, noted for their sex appeal. The term was first used in the mid 1950s in relation to the popularity of certain Hollywood stars, especially Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte...
, with her Old Hollywood
Classical Hollywood cinema
Classical Hollywood cinema or the classical Hollywood narrative, are terms used in film history which designates both a visual and sound style for making motion pictures and a mode of production used in the American film industry between roughly the 1910s and the early 1960s.Classical style is...
looks. In October 1990, while promoting Twin Peaks, Fenn made the cover of Rolling Stone magazine along with Mädchen Amick
Mädchen Amick
Mädchen Amick is an American actress best known for playing Shelly Johnson on the cult television series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.-Early life:...
and Lara Flynn Boyle
Lara Flynn Boyle
Lara Flynn Boyle is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice...
. In 1990 Us Magazine chose her as one of the "10 Most Beautiful Women in the World" and in 1991 People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine chose her as one of the "50 Most Beautiful Women in the World". She posed for photographer Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel is an American photographer, who obtained popular acclaim with his work in US and Italian Vogue and his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book Sex...
for the autumn-winter 1991–1992 Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian luxury industry fashion house. The company was started by the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in Milan, Italy. By 2005 their turnover was €597 million....
campaign, for which he photographed her as a classical Hollywood
Classical Hollywood cinema
Classical Hollywood cinema or the classical Hollywood narrative, are terms used in film history which designates both a visual and sound style for making motion pictures and a mode of production used in the American film industry between roughly the 1910s and the early 1960s.Classical style is...
femme fatale. In 1992, photographer George Hurrell
George Hurrell
George Hurrell was a photographer who made a significant contribution to the image of glamour presented by Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
took a series of photographs of Sherilyn Fenn, Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
, Julian Sands
Julian Sands
Julian M. Sands is an English actor, known for his roles in the Best Picture nominee The Killing Fields, the cult film Warlock, A Room with a View, Arachnophobia, Vatel, the television series 24 and as Jor-El in the television series Smallville.-Career:Sands began his film career appearing in...
, Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch
Jo Raquel Tejada , better known as Raquel Welch, is an American actress, author and sex symbol. Welch came to attention as a "new-star" on the 20th Century-Fox lot in the mid-1960s. She posed iconically in a animal skin bikini for the British-release One Million Years B.C. , for which she may be...
, Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
and Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
. In these portraits he recreated his style of the 1930s, with Fenn posing in costumes, hairstyle and makeup of the period.
In 1991, veteran Hollywood acting coach Roy London
Roy London
Roy London was an American actor and acting coach and teacher.-Early life:London was born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City. A math prodigy at age five, London was on the radio show, Quiz Kids, and educated at the experimental elementary school at Hunter College, NYC...
chose her to star in his directorial debut Diary of a Hitman
Diary of a Hitman
Diary of a Hitman is a 1991 drama/thriller directed by Roy London and written by Kenneth Pressman, based on his play Insider's Price. The film stars Forest Whitaker, Sherilyn Fenn, James Belushi, Sharon Stone and Lois Chiles....
(nominated for the Critics Award at the 1991 Deauville Film Festival
Deauville American Film Festival
The Deauville American Film Festival is a yearly film festival devoted to American cinema, taking place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Chouchan and André Halimi....
), in which she plays a young mother determined to protect her child from hit-man Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
. According to Fenn, the turning point in her career was when she met London in 1990. She credits him with instilling confidence and newfound enthusiasm. She learned from her beloved teacher "to find the roles that you're passionate about, that speak to you on some level and which will help you grow on some level," which has then become her line of conduct. "A lot of the sentiment that acting should be about an art form rather than mass entertainment and celebrity is at the core of Fenn’s attitude to the business," wrote Jessica Sully in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n magazine Movie. "I try to keep myself centered," Fenn said. "I don't go to parties and all that. I don't think being seen or being in the right place is going to make me a better actress. I care about my work and try to do what's right in my heart." As Mike Bygrave wrote in Sky Magazine: "One of the keys to understanding Fenn is that when she talks about the characters she plays she's really talking about herself." Fenn was eager to play varied parts that could eclipse her sex-symbol image. "People who think they know me would be surprised that my whole life doesn't revolve around sex," she said. After Twin Peaks, Fenn demanded a no-nudity clause in her contracts. She turned to the independent
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
world, to manage to carve out a career on her own terms as a versatile actress. She worked intensely, choosing varied and unusual roles:
Gary Sinise
Gary Alan Sinise is an American actor, film director and musician. During his career, Sinise has won various awards including an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1992, Sinise directed, and played the role of George Milton in the successful film adaptation of...
's film adaptation of Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men (1992 film)
Of Mice and Men is a 1992 American film starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinise, directed and produced by Gary Sinise. It is the third movie adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1937 novel of the same name, and was preceded by the 1939 film version and the 1981 television movie.- Plot :George Milton is...
(nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
), in which she played a sad and lonely country wife, desperately in need to talk to somebody, opposite Sinise and John Malkovich
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
. "Sherilyn’s one of the reasons we got such a great ovation at Cannes", said Sinise. "She’s like a terribly sad angel in this film. Sherilyn plays against just being a sexy and beautiful girl," he added. "Hopefully her performance in my film will show her deep talent because she certainly showed the right mix of innocence and seductiveness for the role. We needed a fresh face but also one who knew what she was doing."
"Gary Sinise was one of the first people who didn’t see me like a lot of other people did", she said. "It was a wonderful experience. Horton Foote adapted the novel and he fleshed out my character, and he made her much, much more."
The same year saw her starring alongside Danny Aiello
Danny Aiello
Daniel Louis "Danny" Aiello, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures, including Once Upon a Time in America, Ruby, The Godfather: Part II, Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Moonstruck, Léon, Two Days in the Valley, and Dinner Rush...
, Arliss Howard
Arliss Howard
Arliss Howard is an American actor, writer and film director.-Life and career:Howard was born in Independence, Missouri in 1954, and graduated from Truman High School and Columbia College at Columbia, Missouri. Howard established his career with stand-out roles in Full Metal Jacket and Ruby...
and Marc Lawrence
Marc Lawrence
Marc Lawrence was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C...
in John Mackenzie's Ruby
Ruby (film)
Ruby is a feature film, released in the United States on March 27, 1992, about Jack Ruby, the Dallas, Texas nightclub owner who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement garage of a Dallas city police station in 1963. The film was directed by John Mackenzie and stars Danny Aiello , Sherilyn...
, that attempts to unravel the mystery of who killed John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and why, and depicts the events that led Jack Ruby
Jack Ruby
Jacob Leon Rubenstein , who legally changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby in 1947, was convicted of the November 24, 1963 murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Ruby, who was originally from Chicago, Illinois, was then a nightclub operator in Dallas, Texas...
to shoot Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
. Fenn plays the part of ambitious stripper Sheryl Ann DuJean, a fictitious character who is a composite of several real-life women including stripper Candy Barr
Candy Barr
Candy Barr was an American stripper, burlesque exotic dancer, actress in one pornographic movie, and model in men's magazines of the mid-20th century....
, Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
and Judith Campbell Exner. "She’s got a brain and all the right emotional instincts, and that’s a great combination," said Mackenzie of Fenn.
In 1993, she starred in the romantic comedy Three of Hearts
Three of Hearts (film)
Three of Hearts is a 1993 comedy/romance film directed by Yurek Bogayevicz and starring William Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, and Sherilyn Fenn.- Plot summary :...
as Kelly Lynch
Kelly Lynch
Kelly Lynch is an American actress. Once a model for the Elite modeling agency, Lynch appeared in the film Drugstore Cowboy which starred Matt Dillon, and the film Road House which starred Patrick Swayze....
and William Baldwin
William Baldwin
William Joseph "Billy" Baldwin is an American actor, producer, and writer, known for his starring roles in such films as Flatliners , Backdraft , Sliver , Fair Game , Virus , Double Bang , as Johnny 13 in Danny Phantom , Art Heist , The Squid and the Whale , as himself...
's love interest. During the shooting the relations between Fenn and director Yurek Bogayevicz
Yurek Bogayevicz
Yurek Bogajevicz is a Polish film director, screenwriter, actor and producer. He directed, among others, Anna , Three of Hearts and Exit in Red .-Director:* Anna...
became more and more strained as she refused to appear nude in the film, although she had appeared fully nude five years earlier in Two Moon Junction.
Fenn was also considered for the title role in Roger Vadim
Roger Vadim
Roger Vadim was a French screenwriter, director, and producer as well as a journalist, author and actor, who launched Brigitte Bardot's career in the film And God Created Woman.-Early life:...
's remake of his 1968 film Barbarella
Barbarella (film)
Barbarella is a 1968 Franco-Italian science fiction film based on Jean-Claude Forrest's French Barbarella comics. The film was directed by Roger Vadim and stars Jane Fonda, who was Vadim's wife at the time.-Plot:...
that ultimately didn't come off.
Her most notable film role to date was in the controversial Boxing Helena
Boxing Helena
Boxing Helena is a 1993 romantic drama film and the debut feature film by Jennifer Chambers Lynch, daughter of David Lynch. The film stars Julian Sands and Sherilyn Fenn as the eponymous Helena.-Plot:...
(nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
), directed by David Lynch's daughter Jennifer Chambers Lynch. Fenn portrayed a narcissistic
Narcissism
Narcissism is a term with a wide range of meanings, depending on whether it is used to describe a central concept of psychoanalytic theory, a mental illness, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait...
seductress amputated and imprisoned by Julian Sands
Julian Sands
Julian M. Sands is an English actor, known for his roles in the Best Picture nominee The Killing Fields, the cult film Warlock, A Room with a View, Arachnophobia, Vatel, the television series 24 and as Jor-El in the television series Smallville.-Career:Sands began his film career appearing in...
, who makes her become his personal Venus de Milo
Venus de Milo
Aphrodite of Milos , better known as the Venus de Milo, is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. Created at some time between 130 and 100 BC, it is believed to depict Aphrodite the Greek goddess of love and beauty. It is a marble sculpture, slightly...
in an effort to possess her. Helena
Boxing Helena
Boxing Helena is a 1993 romantic drama film and the debut feature film by Jennifer Chambers Lynch, daughter of David Lynch. The film stars Julian Sands and Sherilyn Fenn as the eponymous Helena.-Plot:...
was a way for Fenn to avoid being type-cast
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
, with a radically different role from what she’d done in the past: "Women do feel like they're in a box," she says of the subtext that attracted her to the role. "Society, Hollywood, some men... they want to wrap women up in a neat little package." Both Lynch and Fenn were proud of their work in it but the film— which was overshadowed by the lawsuits against Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger
Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...
after she dropped out—ultimately was a critical and commercial failure. However, both women enjoyed their collaboration. "Sherilyn is an amazing actress, a total bundle of energy and a real powerhouse and I think people will see a side of her that we have never seen of Sherilyn anywhere else before," said Lynch of the actress. "I have with Sherilyn something I didn't think I'd ever find and that is the entire whole." "Jennifer’s one of the brightest person I know," said Fenn. "Boxing Helena was something that I think was pretty cool, but people judged it without even having seen it. It’s not perfect, but I think for the story that we were trying to tell, it turned out pretty good. What it signified was really powerful to me: how society puts us in boxes one way or another."
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
's neo-noir
Neo-noir
Neo-noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.-History:The term Film Noir was coined by...
parody Fatal Instinct
Fatal Instinct
Fatal Instinct is a 1993 comedy film directed by Carl Reiner. It parodies the erotic thriller movie genre, which at the time had reached its commercial peak. The film stars Armand Assante as a lawyer and cop named Ned Ravine who has an affair with a woman named Lola Cain played by Sean Young...
as Armand Assante
Armand Assante
-Personal life:Assante was born in New York City and raised in Cornwall, New York, the son of Katherine , a music teacher and poet, and Armand Anthony Assante, Sr., a painter and artist. His father was Italian and his mother was Irish, and was raised in a devoutly Roman Catholic family...
's devoted secretary and Sean Young
Sean Young
Sean Young is an American actress, best known for her performance in films from the 1980s such as Blade Runner, Dune, and No Way Out.-Early life:...
and Kate Nelligan
Kate Nelligan
Patricia Colleen "Kate" Nelligan is a Canadian BAFTA award winning stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Nelligan, the fourth of six children, was born in London, Ontario, the daughter of Josephine Alice , a schoolteacher, and Patrick Joseph Nelligan, a factory repairman and municipal...
’s rival. She was asked to read for the femme fatale Lola (eventually played by Young), but opted for Assante's lovesick secretary.
Fenn afterward portrayed Potiphar
Potiphar
Potiphar or Potifar is a person in the Book of Genesis's account of Joseph. Potiphar is said to be the captain of the palace guard and is referred to without name in the Quran. Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers, is taken to Egypt where he is sold to Potiphar as a household slave...
's wife Zulaikha in Showtime's Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
TV movie Slave of Dreams
Slave of Dreams
Slave of Dreams is a 1995 TV film based on the story of Joseph in the Bible, directed by Robert M. Young, produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Martha De Laurentiis and written by Ron Hutchinson. The film stars Adrian Pasdar as Joseph, Sherilyn Fenn as Zulaikha and Edward James Olmos as Potiphar....
(released in 1995) opposite Adrian Pasdar
Adrian Pasdar
Adrian Kayvan Pasdar is an American actor, voice artist, and film director. He is known for playing Jim Profit on the TV series Profit, for his roles in Near Dark, Carlito's Way, Mysterious Ways and as Nathan Petrelli on Heroes. Additionally, he directed the feature film Cement...
and Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos is an American actor and director. Among his most memorable roles are William Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, Lt...
. The film was directed by multi-award-winning Robert M. Young and produced by Martha and Dino De Laurentiis
Dino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis was an Italian film producer.-Early life:He was born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples, and grew up selling spaghetti produced by his father...
.
In 1995, she starred in an episode of Tales from the Crypt
Tales from the Crypt (TV series)
Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
directed by Robert Zemeckis
Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Zemeckis first came to public attention in the 1980s as the director of the comedic time-travel Back to the Future film series, as well as the Academy Award-winning live-action/animation epic Who Framed Roger Rabbit ,...
, alongside Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.-Background and early life:Rossellini is a...
and John Lithgow
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
, in which she played the lover of Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, who appeared in the episode via CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
special effects. "It was wonderful working with Bob Zemeckis and Isabella, and everybody was really nice."
After a short break during which she married and gave birth to a son, Fenn was chosen among more than 100 actresses to portray legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
in NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's 1995 telemovie Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story
Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story
Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story is a 1995 biographical TV film directed by Kevin Connor. The film stars Sherilyn Fenn , Katherine Helmond, Nigel Havers, Angus Macfadyen, William McNamara and Ray Wise.-Cast:...
. "Director Kevin Connor
Kevin Connor (director)
Kevin Connor is an English film and television director currently based in Hollywood.Connor was born in London on the 24 of September 1937 and grew up during the 2nd World War...
and I arranged a lunch, not an audition," said executive producer Lester Persky
Lester Persky
Lester Persky was an American film, television, and theatre producer.-Early life and career:Born in Brooklyn, New York, Persky attended Brooklyn College before serving in the Merchant Navy during World War II. After the war, he worked at The New York Times and later as a copywriter at an...
. "We knew 10 minutes into our meeting that Sherilyn was it. She has the same striking beauty, and because of that she's experienced some of the things in life and in this business that make Elizabeth such a fascinating person." When she accepted the part, Fenn was unaware that Taylor was suing to stop both the broadcast of the film and the unauthorized biography that it is based on. But she didn't let that distract her from her work. "I am somebody who doesn't make choices lightly at this point of my life. I'm not somebody who wants to exploit another's woman story or life in any way." Some parallels with her life made it important for Fenn to do the biography. Like Taylor, Fenn's mother married several times. "It's remarkable, to be married so many times. How do you say 'I do' yet again and again and mean it? Maybe she lives her life in the moment, and ferociously believe in love. My mother getting married over and over definitely had an effect on me." Also, Fenn and Taylor both encountered similar experiences in the film business. "There are stereotypes of what a beautiful woman is. She struggled with that. A certain part of her life she went on that calling card. I certainly know I've come into contact with that. ‘You are too pretty,’ I'm told." During the shooting, Fenn fought to keep integrity in the script. Her priority was to respectfully and accurately portray Taylor, and she supported the original screenwriter's effort to concentrate on Taylor the person, not the legend.
Career slowdown (1996–1998)
"I didn't like anything," she admits. "It was crazy, I was very picky. In other words, I didn't take advantage of what was happening necessarily then. But they also have a way of putting you in a category. I wasn't into playing the Hollywood game. I only responded to certain things." Also, she herself has attributed her failure to adapt to the Hollywood system to her frankness and her dislike for the "Hollywood game".
She then began to alternate TV movies and independent films. In 1996 she joined the winning ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
in the romantic comedy
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
Lovelife
Lovelife
Lovelife is a 1997 romantic comedy film written and directed by Jon Harmon Feldman. The ensemble cast includes Matt Letscher, Sherilyn Fenn, Saffron Burrows, Carla Gugino, Bruce Davison, Jon Tenney and Peter Krause....
as a waitress who attempts to become a writer and has to rebuild her life. The film was written and directed by Tru Calling
Tru Calling
Tru Calling is an American television supernatural drama series that premiered on Fox Network on October 30, 2003. It ran for two seasons before being canceled....
s creator Jon Harmon Feldman
Jon Harmon Feldman
Jon Harmon Feldman is an American screenwriter and director.He has created and worked on TV series such as The Wonder Years, Tru Calling, Reunion, Dawson's Creek, Doctor, Doctor,American Dreams, Roswell, American Town, Dirty Sexy Money and Big Shots .He wrote and directed the 1997 romantic comedy...
and costarred Matt Letscher
Matt Letscher
Matthew Letscher is an American actor.-Biography:Letscher was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. He attended college at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity....
, Jon Tenney, Bruce Davison
Bruce Davison
Bruce Davison is an American actor and director.-Early life:Davison was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Marian E. , a secretary, and Clair W. Davison, a musician, architect, and draftsman for the Army Engineers. His parents divorced when he was three years old. He was raised by his...
, Saffron Burrows
Saffron Burrows
Saffron Dominique Burrows is an English actress and former fashion model, who starred as Det. Serena Stevens on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Lorraine Weller on Boston Legal.-Early life:...
and Carla Gugino
Carla Gugino
Carla Gugino is an American actress known for her roles of Sally Jupiter in Watchmen, Dr. Vera Gorski in Sucker Punch, Lucille in Sin City, Amanda Daniels in seasons 3, 5 and 7 of Entourage, Ingrid Cortez in the Spy Kids film trilogy, and as the lead characters of the television series Karen Sisco...
.
Fenn also appeared in the 1997 romantic comedy Just Write
Just Write
Just Write is a 1997 romantic comedy directed by Andrew Gallerani starring Jeremy Piven, Sherilyn Fenn, JoBeth Williams and Wallace Shawn.-Plot:...
, along with Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American film producer and actor best known for his role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage for which he has won three Emmy Awards as well as several other nominations for Best Supporting Actor....
as the dream actress of a Hollywood tour bus driver, who mistakes him for a famous screenwriter. Both films have been well-received on the festival circuit.
In a 1997 episode of Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, Fenn guest-starred as Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry (actor)
Matthew Langford Perry is a Canadian-American actor and comedian, best known for his Emmy-nominated role as Chandler Bing on the popular, long-running NBC television sitcom Friends...
's girlfriend Ginger, who has a prosthetic right leg (a possible Boxing Helena in-joke). "Matthew Perry was darling and very funny. All my scenes were with Matthew, basically, so it was fun. I like the show. I was happy to be a part of it."
The same year she was cast as the female lead in ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's show Prey
Prey (TV series)
Prey was a science-fiction television series that aired for one season in 1998 on ABC. The series starred Debra Messing, Adam Storke, Larry Drake, Frankie Faison, James Morrison, and Vincent Ventresca.-Premise:...
(originally entitled Hungry for Survival) and starred in the unaired original pilot episode. However, the pilot was reshot and Fenn was replaced by Debra Messing
Debra Messing
Debra Lynn Messing is an American actress, voice artist, and comedienne. She is perhaps best known for her role as Grace Adler in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace and as Molly Kagan in the mini-series The Starter Wife....
.
Fenn starred in the 1998 British psychological drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
and huis-clos Darkness Falls
Darkness Falls (1999 film)
Darkness Falls is a 1999 drama film by John Howlett and directed by Gerry Lively.The film was shot in late 1997 on the Isle of Man.-Plot:...
as a wealthy and neglected wife, who is sequestered with her husband (played by Tim Dutton
Tim Dutton
Tim Dutton is a British actor. He was born in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England.Dutton has appeared on stage, in film, and in television series. Among the films are Darkness Falls , The Bourne Identity , and The Detonator...
) by a man (Ray Winstone
Ray Winstone
Raymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "tough guy" roles, beginning with that of Carlin in the 1979 film Scum and as Will Scarlet in the cult television adventure series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over...
) determined to understand the events that led to his wife ending up in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. "I loved the script when I read it; it's a wonderful character piece. I saw Ray's work, like Nil by Mouth
Nil by Mouth (film)
Nil by Mouth is a 1997 British drama film portraying a family of characters living in South East London. It was Gary Oldman's debut as a writer and director; the film was produced by Douglas Urbanski and Luc Besson. It stars Ray Winstone as Raymond, the abusive husband of Valerie...
, and I saw Tim's work, and I just was really excited to be a part of it." While shooting the film in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
in late 1997, Fenn hesitated to settle in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in order to start a European career, and eventually decided to stay in the U.S.
She subsequently starred opposite Jon Tenney in the pilot for a remake of ABC's Love, American Style
Love, American Style
Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
, for the 1998–1999 television season. The pilot, that also featured Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Hart
Melissa Joan Catherine Hart is an American actress, writer, television director, television producer, singer and businesswoman...
, Matt Letscher
Matt Letscher
Matthew Letscher is an American actor.-Biography:Letscher was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. He attended college at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI where he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity....
and Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay is an American actress, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.The daughter of actress...
was not ordered into a series. Nevertheless, ABC aired it on February 20, 1999.
Return to television – Rude Awakening (1998–2001)
Rude Awakening (TV series)
Rude Awakening is a TV series created by Claudia Lonow, aired by Showtime on 55 22-min episodes for 3 seasons .-Story:Rude Awakening tells the story of Billie Frank, an out of work alcoholic ex-soap opera actress. She tries to go sober and become a writer but continues to struggle with her...
as Billie Frank
Billie Frank (Rude Awakening)
Billie Frank was a fictional character, played by Sherilyn Fenn on the US television sitcom, Showtime's Rude Awakening .Billie Frank was inspired by executive producer/creator Claudia Lonow's experience. Billie is an alcoholic has-been ex-soap actress who struggles with her self-destructive habits...
, an alcoholic ex-soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
actress, based upon executive producer-creator Claudia Lonow
Claudia Lonow
Claudia Lonow is an American actress, comedian and performer turned television writer and producer.-Early life:Claudia Lonow was born and raised in New York City, where she attended the High School of Music and Art, and began studying acting.Born Claudia Rapaport, she is the daughter of JoAnne...
's experience, who tries to go sober and become a writer but continues to struggle with her self-destructive habits. The series ran from 1998 to 2001 and co-starred Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE was an English actress.A member of the well-known British family of actors, Redgrave trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962...
, Jonathan Penner
Jonathan Penner
Jonathan Lindsay Penner is an American actor, writer and film producer known for starring in The Last Supper and the television series Rude Awakening and The Naked Truth, as well as for appearing on the television show Survivor.-Life and career:Penner was born in New York City...
and Mario Van Peebles
Mario Van Peebles
Mario "Chip" Cain Van Peebles is an American director and actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films. He is son of filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles.-Life and career:...
.
Fenn joined again Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American film producer and actor best known for his role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage for which he has won three Emmy Awards as well as several other nominations for Best Supporting Actor....
in a 1998 episode of Cupid
Cupid (TV series)
Cupid is a 1998–1999 American comedy-drama series created by Rob Thomas, which featured Paula Marshall as Dr. Claire Allen, a Chicago psychologist who is given charge of a man named Trevor Hale . Hale believes he is Cupid, sent down from Mt...
, as Piven's love interest.
In 1999 she re-teamed with Chris Penn
Chris Penn
Christopher Shannon "Chris" Penn was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as The Wild Life, Reservoir Dogs, Footloose, Rush Hour, True Romance, All the Right Moves and Pale Rider.-Early life:Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest son of Leo Penn,...
and Adrian Pasdar
Adrian Pasdar
Adrian Kayvan Pasdar is an American actor, voice artist, and film director. He is known for playing Jim Profit on the TV series Profit, for his roles in Near Dark, Carlito's Way, Mysterious Ways and as Nathan Petrelli on Heroes. Additionally, he directed the feature film Cement...
for Pasdar's art-house
Art film
An art film is the result of filmmaking which is typically a serious, independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience...
directorial debut, the neo-noir
Neo-noir
Neo-noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.-History:The term Film Noir was coined by...
Cement
Cement (film)
Cement is a 2000 crime drama-thriller film directed by Adrian Pasdar and written by Justin Monjo. The film, which is a contemporary re-telling of Othello, was shot in Los Angeles, California, USA, and was Pasdar's first film as director.-Plot:...
, a contemporary re-telling of Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, in which she played a tempting but imprudent femme fatale
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
, the wife of jealous corrupt cop Chris Penn
Chris Penn
Christopher Shannon "Chris" Penn was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as The Wild Life, Reservoir Dogs, Footloose, Rush Hour, True Romance, All the Right Moves and Pale Rider.-Early life:Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest son of Leo Penn,...
. "I play a character who's selfish and sloppy with her sexual energy. I saw the film and I was really happy with it. It's got a lot of soul." The film, which won Best Picture awards on the festival circuit, was written by Farscape
Farscape
Farscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...
’s screenwriter Justin Monjo
Justin Monjo
Justin Monjo is an Australian screenwriter, television producer, and actor, best known for his work on Farscape.He is the son of children's author F. N. Monjo III and the great-great-grandson of arctic furrier F. N. Monjo. Monjo wrote Adrian Pasdar's film debut screenplay Cement and worked on...
and also starred Jeffrey Wright and Henry Czerny
Henry Czerny
- Career :Czerny received formal training at the National Theatre School in Montreal. After graduating in 1982, he went on to perform onstage across Canada, from Ottawa's National Arts Centre to Edmonton's Citadel Theatre and the Stratford Festival. By the late 1980s, he had established himself as...
.
She also reteamed with actor/director Bruce Davison
Bruce Davison
Bruce Davison is an American actor and director.-Early life:Davison was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Marian E. , a secretary, and Clair W. Davison, a musician, architect, and draftsman for the Army Engineers. His parents divorced when he was three years old. He was raised by his...
for his 2001 award-winning family comedy, Showtime's Off Season
Off Season
Off Season is a 2001 TV movie directed by Bruce Davison, and starring Sherilyn Fenn, Rory Culkin, Hume Cronyn, Adam Arkin, and Bruce Davison...
alongside Rory Culkin
Rory Culkin
Rory Hugh Culkin is an American actor and is the younger brother of actors Macaulay Culkin and Kieran Culkin.-Personal life:...
, Hume Cronyn
Hume Cronyn
Hume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
and Adam Arkin
Adam Arkin
Adam Arkin is an American television, film and stage actor and director. He played the role of Aaron Shutt on Chicago Hope. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including a Tony as well as 3 primetime Emmys, 4 SAG Awards , and a DGA Award...
.
Recent roles (2001–present)
Following Rude Awakening, Fenn's work consisted of a lot of episodic TV work. In the middle of the 2000s, she failed to find a role that could re-ignite her career as she got involved into many projects, that went unrealized.In 2001, she starred in the episode Replica
Replica (episode)
"Replica" is an episode of The Outer Limits television series. It first aired 27 April 2001. It is the seventh episode from the seventh season of The Outer Limits.-Introduction:...
of The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002...
, playing a scientist who volunteered to be cloned. She also starred in an episode of Night Visions
Night Visions
Night Visions is an American television anthology series created in the style of The Twilight Zone. Each 43 minute episode was made up of two 21 to 22 minutes stories that dealt with themes of the supernatural or simply explored the dark side of human nature. Henry Rollins was the uncredited host...
, as a woman who buys a used car possessed by a vengeful spirit. She was cast as a kindergarten teacher for the pilot of the 2001 American version of the British TV show Blind Men, alongside French Stewart
French Stewart
Milton French Stewart , better known by his stage name French Stewart, is an American actor, best known for his role as Harry Solomon on the 1990s sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun.-Early life:...
. However, the pilot was not ordered into a series.
In 2002, Fenn was one of several former Twin Peaks stars, such as Dana Ashbrook
Dana Ashbrook
Dana V. Ashbrook is an American actor, perhaps best known for playing Bobby Briggs on the cult TV series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.-Personal life:...
and Mädchen Amick
Mädchen Amick
Mädchen Amick is an American actress best known for playing Shelly Johnson on the cult television series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.-Early life:...
, to have a recurring role on The WB's Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
. She guest-starred in three episodes from the fifth season, as Alex Pearl, the seductive manager of the restaurant where Joshua Jackson
Joshua Jackson
Joshua Carter Jackson is a Canadian American actor. He has appeared in primetime television and in over 32 film roles. He is best known for playing Charlie Conway in The Mighty Ducks film series, Pacey Witter in the television series Dawson's Creek and Peter Bishop in the television series...
works.
Fenn was afterwards cast as madcap villain Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn was first introduced as a villain on September 11, 1992, in the animated series Batman: The Animated Series, later adapted into DC Comics' Batman comic books. As suggested by her name , she is clad in the manner of a traditional harlequin jester...
in The WB's Birds of Prey but was replaced by Mia Sara before the series began. Fenn starred in the original pilot episode but dropped out, due to scheduling conflicts, as the show's creators realized that the character of Harley Quinn would need to be a bigger part of the show.
She also played a manipulative woman in a season-4 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
opposite Christopher Meloni
Christopher Meloni
Christopher Peter Meloni is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC police drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and as inmate Chris Keller on the HBO prison drama Oz.-Early life:Meloni was born the youngest of three children in...
and Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay is an American actress, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.The daughter of actress...
and appeared in Watching Ellie
Watching Ellie
Watching Ellie is an American sitcom that starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus and was created by her husband, Brad Hall. It aired on NBC from February 2002 to May 2003, though only sixteen episodes were broadcast before it was canceled due to low ratings....
.
Fenn played a crime boss in the 2002 film Swindle
Swindle (film)
Swindle is a 2002 crime thriller film written and directed by K.C. Bascombe and starring Tom Sizemore, Sherilyn Fenn and Dave Foley.-Cast:*Tom Sizemore as Seth George*Sherilyn Fenn as Sophie Zenn*Dave Foley as Michael Barnes*Conrad Pla as Cisco...
opposite Tom Sizemore
Tom Sizemore
Thomas Edward "Tom" Sizemore, Jr. is an American film and television actor and producer. He is known for his roles in films such as Saving Private Ryan, Strange Days, Pearl Harbor, Heat and Black Hawk Down....
. She had a small role in the critically acclaimed The United States of Leland
The United States of Leland
The United States of Leland is a 2003 American drama film by director Matthew Ryan Hoge and producer Kevin Spacey about a meek teenaged boy named Leland P. Fitzgerald who has inexplicably committed a shocking murder...
, opposite Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor and musician. He first came to public attention as a child star on the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club and went on to appear in other family entertainment programmes including Are You Afraid of the Dark? , Goosebumps , Breaker High and Young Hercules...
, in which she played a mother who captivates a troubled teenage boy.
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
's Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
as Sasha, the girlfriend of Jess Mariano's estranged father (played by Rob Estes
Rob Estes
Robert Estes is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Harry Wilson on the Teen drama 90210, as Sgt. Chris Lorenzo on the Crime drama Silk Stalkings, and as Kyle McBride on the Primetime Soap opera Melrose Place.-Career:Estes first became interested in an acting career while training...
) in the season three episode Here Comes the Son, which was the back-door pilot for a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-set spin-off titled Windward Circle, that was to have starred Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Anthony Ventimiglia is an American television actor best known for his role of Peter Petrelli on the TV series Heroes...
, Estes and Fenn. The network dropped the project citing cost issues due to filming on location in Venice, California.
She then played the recurring part of Violet Montgomery on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's Boston Public
Boston Public
Boston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place...
(2003–2004), and appeared in Showtime's Cavedweller
Cavedweller (film)
Cavedweller is a 2004 film directed by Lisa Cholodenko. It stars Kyra Sedgwick and Aidan Quinn. It was nominated for a numerous amount of awards in 2004 and 2005.-Cast:*Kyra Sedgwick as Delia Byrd*Aidan Quinn as Clint Windsor*Sherilyn Fenn as MT...
(2004) opposite Kyra Sedgwick
Kyra Sedgwick
Kyra Minturn Sedgwick is an American actress.Sedgwick is best known for her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the TNT crime drama The Closer. Sedgwick's role in the series won her a Golden Globe Award in 2007 and an Emmy Award in 2010...
.
In 2004, Fenn joined former co-star Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon
Mark Harmon is an American actor who has been starring in American television programs and films since the mid-1970s, after a career as a collegiate football player with the UCLA Bruins. Since 2003, Harmon has starred as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the CBS series NCIS.-Early life:Harmon was born Thomas...
in an episode of NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
, as an amnesiac woman. She was afterwards cast for the 2004 remake of Mister Ed
Mister Ed
Originally produced in late 1960, Mister Ed is an American television situation comedy produced by Filmways that first aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966....
, planned for the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network. However, after the pilot was shot, the show's writer/producer Drake Sather
Drake Sather
Drake Sather was an American stand-up comedian and Emmy nominated television writer. His credits include Zoolander, Saturday Night Live, Dennis Miller Show, Ed and NewsRadio....
committed suicide, and the pilot was not aired.
In 2004, Fenn co-starred opposite Traci Lords
Traci Lords
Traci Lords , also known as Traci Elizabeth Lords and Tracy Lords, is an American film actress, producer, film director, writer and singer...
and Paul Johansson
Paul Johansson
Paul Joseph Otto Johansson is an American-born Canadian actor, writer and director, best known for playing Dan Scott on the WB/CW television series, One Tree Hill, and for his role as Nick Wolfe on the short lived Highlander: The Series spin-off Highlander: The Raven...
in Emily Skopov's Novel Romance
Novel Romance
Novel Romance is an art-house romantic comedy 2006 film directed by Emily Skopov in her feature film directorial debut. It stars Traci Lords, Paul Johansson and Sherilyn Fenn...
, released in 2006, in which she played a pregnancy shop owner who can't have children and whose sister decides to become a single mother. She then appeared in the martial arts film Lesser of Three Evils alongside Ho Sung Pak
Ho Sung Pak
Ho-Sung Pak is an American film actor, martial artist, action choreographer, writer, and producer.-Early life and career:Pak, a Korean American, was born in Seoul, South Korea...
, Peter Greene
Peter Greene
Peter Greene is an American character actor.A native of Montclair, New Jersey, Greene did not pursue a career in acting until his mid 20s...
and Roger Guenveur Smith
Roger Guenveur Smith
Roger Guenveur Smith is an American actor, director, and writer.-Early life:Smith was born in Berkeley, California, the son of Helen Guenveur, a dentist, and Sherman Smith, a judge...
, as the unbalanced and alcoholic wife of a corrupt detective. The film was released in 2009 under the title Fist of the Warrior
Fist of the Warrior
Fist of the Warrior, formerly known as Lesser of Three Evils, is a martial arts/crime film directed by Wayne A. Kennedy in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Ho-Sung Pak, Peter Greene, Roger Guenveur Smith and Sherilyn Fenn, and features fight choreography by Ho-Sung Pak and Wayne A....
.
In 2005, Fenn made a notable appearance on The 4400
The 4400
The 4400 is a science fiction TV series produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with Sky Television, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network. The show was created and written by Scott Peters and René Echevarria, and it stars Joel Gretsch and Jacqueline McKenzie...
, playing Jean DeLynn Baker, a 4400 who has the ability to grow toxin
Toxin
A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms; man-made substances created by artificial processes are thus excluded...
-emitting spore
Spore
In biology, a spore is a reproductive structure that is adapted for dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many bacteria, plants, algae, fungi and some protozoa. According to scientist Dr...
s on her hands. She also guest-starred on the final episode of Judging Amy
Judging Amy
Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...
.
After finishing the Russia-set action film Treasure Raiders
Treasure Raiders
Treasure Raiders is a 2007 independently-produced treasure-hunt film, directed by Brent Huff and written by Alexander Izotov and Alexey Overchuk, starring Steven Brand and well-known actors David Carradine, Sherilyn Fenn and Russian action star Alexander Nevsky...
with David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
, Fenn starred in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
psychological thriller Presumed Dead, opposite Duncan Regehr
Duncan Regehr
Duncan Peter Regehr is a Canadian writer, multi-media artist, and film and television actor. He has also been a figure skater, an Olympic boxing contender, and a classically trained Shakespearean stage actor in his native Canada, before heading to Hollywood in 1980...
, as a detective working on a missing person case, who has to outwit a crime novelist.
In 2006, Fenn re-teamed with Amy Sherman-Palladino
Amy Sherman-Palladino
Amy Sherman-Palladino is an American television writer, director, and producer who is best known as the creator of the television series Gilmore Girls.-Life:Sherman-Palladino is married to writer and producer Daniel Palladino...
and reappeared in the sixth and seventh seasons of Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
as Anna Nardini, the ex-girlfriend of Luke Danes (played by Scott Patterson
Scott Patterson (actor)
Scott Gordon Patterson is an American actor. He is known for his role as Luke Danes in Gilmore Girls and Agent Strahm in Saw IV, Saw V and Saw VI...
) and protective mother to his daughter April. After the 2003 Gilmore Girls spin-off project, Sherman-Palladino wanted to work with Fenn again ever since, and wrote the character of Anna with her in mind. When asked why she cast Fenn for two different roles on Gilmore Girls, Sherman-Palladino said: However, after Sherman-Palladino left the show, the direction for the character changedthe producers decided to make her character a villain in a custody battle.
Fenn was cast as the female lead in ABC's 2006 comedy series Three Moons Over Milford
Three Moons Over Milford
Three Moons Over Milford is an American science fiction dramedy set in a picturesque small town in southern Vermont. Shortly before the series begins, an asteroid hits the Moon, shattering it into three fragments, threatening to eventually fall to Earth and end life...
but she was ultimately replaced by Elizabeth McGovern
Elizabeth McGovern
-Early life:McGovern was born in Evanston, Illinois, the daughter of Katharine Wolcott , a high school teacher, and William Montgomery McGovern, Jr., a university professor. Her paternal grandfather was adventurer William Montgomery McGovern and her maternal great-grandfather was U.S. diplomat...
.
Fenn was slated for a recurring role on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' 2006 crime drama Smith
Smith (TV series)
Smith is an American television drama that premiered on September 16, 2006 at 10:00 PM ET on CBS and on September 18, 2006 on CTV in Canada...
, but the show was quickly canceled.
She appeared in the 2007 Dukes of Hazzard
Dukes of Hazzard
The Dukes of Hazzard is an American television series that aired on the CBS television network from 1979 to 1985.The series was inspired by the 1975 film Moonrunners, which was also created by Gy Waldron and had many identical or similar character names and concepts.- Overview :The Dukes of Hazzard...
prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
, The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning
The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning
The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning is a prequel to the 2005 theatrical-release film The Dukes of Hazzard. An edited version of the film debuted on the ABC Family cable television channel on March 4, 2007. 'R'-rated and unrated versions were released on DVD March 13.- Plot :Bo Duke is arrested for...
as Lulu Hogg. "It's just a fun silly role," she said, but Fenn who had already worked with director Robert Berlinger
Robert Berlinger
Robert Berlinger is an American television director and producer.-Career:Berlinger was born in New York City. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree at Dartmouth College...
on Rude Awakening, wanted to do so again.
In July 2006, shortly after shooting The Dukes of Hazzard prequel, Fenn stepped behind the camera for the first time and directed in Pittsburgh a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about child enrichment program CosmiKids and its founder Judy Julin. She subsequently joined its executive team in 2007 as executive director of the film and television division.
In July 2008, Fenn filmed The Scenesters
The Scenesters
The Scenesters is a 2009 art-house black comedy film written and directed by Todd Berger. The film was made by Los Angeles-based comedy group The Vacationeers and stars Blaise Miller, Suzanne May, Jeff Grace, Kevin M. Brennan, Todd Berger and Sherilyn Fenn...
, a black comedy made by Los Angeles-based comedy group The Vacationeers, which premiered in October 2009.
In July 2009, Fenn made a guest appearance on In Plain Sight
In Plain Sight
In Plain Sight is an American dramatic television series on USA Network. The series revolves around Mary Shannon , a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico office of the Federal Witness Security Program , more commonly known as the Federal Witness Protection Program...
as a lesbian counterfeiter.
In December 2010, Fenn appeared on Psych
Psych
Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
with other Twin Peaks actors on the Season 5 episode "Dual Spires
Dual Spires
"Dual Spires" is the 12th episode of the fifth season of the American comedy-drama television series Psych, and the 75th episode overall. The episode was directed by Matt Shakman and written by Bill Callahan and series star James Roday...
" as sultry librarian Maudette Hornsby. The episode, a homage to Twin Peaks, also makes many in-joke references to the show.
Personal life
In 1994, Fenn married guitarist-songwriter Toulouse Holliday, whom she met on the set of Three of HeartsThree of Hearts (film)
Three of Hearts is a 1993 comedy/romance film directed by Yurek Bogayevicz and starring William Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, and Sherilyn Fenn.- Plot summary :...
, and gave birth to a son, Myles, in late 1993. The marriage came to an end in 1997.
Her second son, Christian, with IT consultant
Information technology consulting
Information technology consulting is a field that focuses on advising businesses on how best to use information technology to meet their business objectives...
Dylan Stewart, was born in August 2007.
In 2009, Fenn created a blog named Postcards from the Ledge.
Awards and nominations
Emmy Awards- 1990: nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – Twin PeaksTwin PeaksTwin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
Golden Globe Awards
- 1991: nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV – Twin PeaksTwin PeaksTwin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
Other recognition
- Fenn made the cover of such magazines as New YorkNew York (magazine)New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
, Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
(along with Mädchen AmickMädchen AmickMädchen Amick is an American actress best known for playing Shelly Johnson on the cult television series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.-Early life:...
and Lara Flynn BoyleLara Flynn BoyleLara Flynn Boyle is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice...
), In Fashion (along with Billy IdolBilly IdolWilliam Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
), PlayboyPlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, The FaceThe Face (magazine)The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.-1980s:Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.The magazine was influential in...
, DetailsDetails (magazine)Details is an American monthly men's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, founded in 1982. Though primarily a magazine devoted to fashion and lifestyle, Details also features reports on relevant social and political issues.-History:...
, SkySKY magazineSky Magazine was a UK magazine that started in the late 1980s and ceased publication in 2001. It was an entertainment magazine dealing mainly in celebrities featured in film, television and music. It should not be confused with the Sky magazine sent free to subscribers to British Sky Broadcasting...
, and Harper's BazaarHarper's BazaarHarper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
. - In 1990 Us Magazine chose her as one of the "10 Most Beautiful Women in the World".
- In 1991 PeoplePeople (magazine)In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
chose her as one of the "50 Most Beautiful Women in the World". - Fenn posed for photographer Steven MeiselSteven MeiselSteven Meisel is an American photographer, who obtained popular acclaim with his work in US and Italian Vogue and his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book Sex...
for the autumn-winter 1991–1992 Dolce & GabbanaDolce & GabbanaDolce & Gabbana is an Italian luxury industry fashion house. The company was started by the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in Milan, Italy. By 2005 their turnover was €597 million....
campaign. - In 1992, Fenn posed for photographer George HurrellGeorge HurrellGeorge Hurrell was a photographer who made a significant contribution to the image of glamour presented by Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
. - Singer and composer Screamin' Jay HawkinsScreamin' Jay HawkinsJalacy Hawkins , best known as Screamin' Jay Hawkins was an American musician, singer, and actor...
wrote and recorded the 1993 song entitled "Sherilyn Fenn", featured on his album Stone Crazy. The song is an ode to Fenn, who worked with Hawkins in Two Moon JunctionTwo Moon JunctionTwo Moon Junction is a 1988 American English language erotic thriller and romance film written and directed by Zalman King, starring Sherilyn Fenn and Richard Tyson...
. - Fenn is mentioned in the song "Razor Burn" by the punk band LagwagonLagwagonLagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, just outside Santa Barbara, California. They formed in 1990 and went on hiatus and reunited several times over the years...
on their 1995 album entitled HossHoss (album)Hoss is Lagwagon's third album, released on November 21, 1995 by Fat Wreck Chords. It was produced by Ryan Greene.Both Shaun Dewey and Derrick Plourde would leave the band shortly after the release of Hoss...
. - In 1995 FHMFHMFHM, originally published as For Him Magazine, is an international monthly men's lifestyle magazine.- History :The magazine began publication in 1985 in the United Kingdom under the name For Him and changed its title to FHM in 1994 when Emap Consumer Media bought the magazine, although the full For...
chose her as one of the "100 sexiest women in the world". - In 1996, The Daily MirrorThe Daily MirrorThe Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
chose her as one of the "World's 100 Most Beautiful Women", and Femme FatalesFemme Fatales (magazine)Femme Fatales is an American men's magazine focusing on film and television actresses.Femme Fatales was founded by Frederick S. Clarke in the summer of 1992, as the sister publication of his science fiction film magazine Cinefantastique. Published by Clarke, it was originally edited by pin-up...
chose her as one of the "50 sexiest sci-fi actresses". - Fenn inspired NorwegianNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
hard rockHard rockHard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band Audrey HorneAudrey Horne (band)Audrey Horne is a hard rock/post-grunge band from Bergen, Norway. The band took its name from Sherilyn Fenn's character in the cult TV series Twin Peaks...
, formed in 2002, named after her character in Twin Peaks. - In 2006, Australian men magazine Zoo WeeklyZoo WeeklyZoo is a weekly lads' magazine published in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 29 January 2004, as the second weekly men's magazine in the UK after the similar and rival magazine Nuts)...
chose her as one of the "Top 50 Hottest Babes Ever".
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Penny Harlin | ||
| 1985 | Out of Control | Katie | |
| 1985 | Just One of the Guys Just One of the Guys Just One of the Guys is a 1985 comedy film, directed by Lisa Gottlieb. The film is marketed with the tagline "Terri Griffith is about to go where no woman has gone before." This movie ranked number 48 on Entertainment Weeklys list of the "50 Best High School Movies".-Plot:Terry Griffith is an... |
Sandy | |
| 1985 | Dummies | AFI American Film Institute The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act... short film |
|
| 1986 | Thrashin' Thrashin' Conversely, Brolin had turned down the role of Thom Hansen on 21 Jump Street, which ultimately went to Depp.-Continuing reaction to the film: Sixteen years after initial release, the MTV series Jackass, in a February 2002 episode, played homage to the "jousting scene" with "maces and man-purse" in... |
Velvet | |
| 1986 | Keri Johnson | ||
| 1987 | Zombie High Zombie High -Plot:A teenage girl gains a scholarship to an all-male boarding school, but soon discovers that her fellow classmates are becoming personality-less drones... |
Suzi | |
| 1988 | Two Moon Junction Two Moon Junction Two Moon Junction is a 1988 American English language erotic thriller and romance film written and directed by Zalman King, starring Sherilyn Fenn and Richard Tyson... |
April Delongpre | |
| 1989 | Crime Zone | Helen | |
| 1989 | True Blood | Jennifer Scott | |
| 1990 | Backstreet Dreams Backstreet Dreams (1990 film) Backstreet Dreams is a 1990 drama movie starring Brooke Shields, Jason O'Malley, Sherilyn Fenn and Anthony Franciosa. It was directed by Rupert Hitzig and Jason O'Malley.-Plot:... |
Lucy | |
| 1990 | Wild at Heart Wild at Heart (film) Wild at Heart is a 1990 American film written and directed by David Lynch, and based on Barry Gifford's 1989 novel Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula. Both the book and the film revolve around Sailor Ripley and Lula Pace Fortune , a young couple from Cape Fear, North Carolina who go on... |
Girl in accident | |
| 1990 | Meridian Meridian: Kiss Of The Beast Meridian is a 1990 horror film and romance film produced and directed by Charles Band. It starred Sherilyn Fenn, Malcolm Jamieson, Hilary Mason and Charlie Spradling.-Plot summary:... |
Catherine Bomarzini | |
| 1991 | Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel is a 1992 neo-noir black comedy written and directed by Alien Castle. The film stars Sherilyn Fenn, Whip Hubley, David Hewlett, David Johansen and Paul Bartel.-Plot:... |
Bridget 'Bridey' DeSoto | |
| 1991 | Diary of a Hitman Diary of a Hitman Diary of a Hitman is a 1991 drama/thriller directed by Roy London and written by Kenneth Pressman, based on his play Insider's Price. The film stars Forest Whitaker, Sherilyn Fenn, James Belushi, Sharon Stone and Lois Chiles.... |
Jain Zidzyck | |
| 1992 | Ruby Ruby (film) Ruby is a feature film, released in the United States on March 27, 1992, about Jack Ruby, the Dallas, Texas nightclub owner who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement garage of a Dallas city police station in 1963. The film was directed by John Mackenzie and stars Danny Aiello , Sherilyn... |
Sheryl Ann 'Candy Cane' DuJean | also song performer |
| 1992 | Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men (1992 film) Of Mice and Men is a 1992 American film starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinise, directed and produced by Gary Sinise. It is the third movie adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1937 novel of the same name, and was preceded by the 1939 film version and the 1981 television movie.- Plot :George Milton is... |
Curley's wife | |
| 1993 | Three of Hearts Three of Hearts (film) Three of Hearts is a 1993 comedy/romance film directed by Yurek Bogayevicz and starring William Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, and Sherilyn Fenn.- Plot summary :... |
Ellen Armstrong | |
| 1993 | Boxing Helena Boxing Helena Boxing Helena is a 1993 romantic drama film and the debut feature film by Jennifer Chambers Lynch, daughter of David Lynch. The film stars Julian Sands and Sherilyn Fenn as the eponymous Helena.-Plot:... |
Helena | |
| 1993 | Fatal Instinct Fatal Instinct Fatal Instinct is a 1993 comedy film directed by Carl Reiner. It parodies the erotic thriller movie genre, which at the time had reached its commercial peak. The film stars Armand Assante as a lawyer and cop named Ned Ravine who has an affair with a woman named Lola Cain played by Sean Young... |
Laura Lincolnberry | |
| 1997 | Lovelife Lovelife Lovelife is a 1997 romantic comedy film written and directed by Jon Harmon Feldman. The ensemble cast includes Matt Letscher, Sherilyn Fenn, Saffron Burrows, Carla Gugino, Bruce Davison, Jon Tenney and Peter Krause.... |
Molly | |
| 1997 | Just Write Just Write Just Write is a 1997 romantic comedy directed by Andrew Gallerani starring Jeremy Piven, Sherilyn Fenn, JoBeth Williams and Wallace Shawn.-Plot:... |
Amanda Clark | |
| 1998 | Dez Wilson | ||
| 1998 | Outside Ozona Outside Ozona Outside Ozona is a 1998 American comedy film written and directed by J. S. Cardone. The film follows a group of strangers who are all listening to the same radio station.-Plot:... |
Marcy Duggan Rice | |
| 1999 | Darkness Falls Darkness Falls (1999 film) Darkness Falls is a 1999 drama film by John Howlett and directed by Gerry Lively.The film was shot in late 1997 on the Isle of Man.-Plot:... |
Sally Driscoll | |
| 2000 | Cement Cement (film) Cement is a 2000 crime drama-thriller film directed by Adrian Pasdar and written by Justin Monjo. The film, which is a contemporary re-telling of Othello, was shot in Los Angeles, California, USA, and was Pasdar's first film as director.-Plot:... |
Lyndel Holt | |
| 2003 | Swindle Swindle (film) Swindle is a 2002 crime thriller film written and directed by K.C. Bascombe and starring Tom Sizemore, Sherilyn Fenn and Dave Foley.-Cast:*Tom Sizemore as Seth George*Sherilyn Fenn as Sophie Zenn*Dave Foley as Michael Barnes*Conrad Pla as Cisco... |
Sophie Zenn | |
| 2003 | Angela Calderon | ||
| 2003 | Dream Warrior | Sterling | |
| 2006 | Novel Romance Novel Romance Novel Romance is an art-house romantic comedy 2006 film directed by Emily Skopov in her feature film directorial debut. It stars Traci Lords, Paul Johansson and Sherilyn Fenn... |
Liza Normane Stewart | |
| 2007 | Treasure Raiders Treasure Raiders Treasure Raiders is a 2007 independently-produced treasure-hunt film, directed by Brent Huff and written by Alexander Izotov and Alexey Overchuk, starring Steven Brand and well-known actors David Carradine, Sherilyn Fenn and Russian action star Alexander Nevsky... |
Lena | |
| 2009 | Fist of the Warrior Fist of the Warrior Fist of the Warrior, formerly known as Lesser of Three Evils, is a martial arts/crime film directed by Wayne A. Kennedy in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Ho-Sung Pak, Peter Greene, Roger Guenveur Smith and Sherilyn Fenn, and features fight choreography by Ho-Sung Pak and Wayne A.... |
Katie Barnes | aka Lesser of Three Evils |
| 2009 | A.D.A. Barbara Dietrichson |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Silence of the Heart Silence of the Heart Silence of the Heart is a 1984 television family drama film written by Phil Penningroth and directed by Richard Michaels for CBS Television... |
Monica | CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... TV movie |
| 1985 | Cheers Cheers Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles... |
Gabrielle | episode 4.04 "The Groom Wore Clearasil" |
| 1987 | 21 Jump Street 21 Jump Street 21 Jump Street is an American police procedural crime drama television series that aired on the Fox Network from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focused on a squad of youthful-looking undercover police officers investigating crimes in high schools,... |
Diane Nelson | episode 1.09 "Blindsided" |
| 1987 | Tales from the Hollywood Hills | Betty | episode "A Table at Ciro's" |
| 1988 | Divided We Stand | Lorraine | ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... TV pilot—not ordered to series |
| 1988 | ABC Afterschool Special ABC Afterschool Special The ABC Afterschool Special is an American television anthology series that aired on ABC from 1972 to 1996, usually in the late afternoon on week days. Most of the episodes were dramatic presentations of situations, often controversial, of interest to children and teenagers. Several episodes were... |
Beth | episode 17.2 "A Family Again" |
| 1989 | TV 101 TV 101 TV 101 is an American drama series that aired on CBS from 1988 until 1989. The series starred Sam Robards, Brynn Thayer, Leon Russom and Andrew Cassese. Other notable cast members include Stacey Dash, Teri Polo, Alex Désert and Matt LeBlanc... |
Robin Zimmer | episodes 1.07, 1.08 "The Last Temptation of Checker" (part 1&2) |
| 1990 | Twin Peaks Twin Peaks Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer... |
Audrey Horne Audrey Horne Audrey Horne is a fictional character from the television series Twin Peaks, created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. She was played by Sherilyn Fenn.Audrey is 18 years old during the action of the series... |
series regular (1990–1991) Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film |
| 1991 | Dillinger | Billie Frechette | ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... TV movie |
| 1994 | Spring Awakening | Margie | CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... TV movie |
| 1995 | Slave of Dreams Slave of Dreams Slave of Dreams is a 1995 TV film based on the story of Joseph in the Bible, directed by Robert M. Young, produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Martha De Laurentiis and written by Ron Hutchinson. The film stars Adrian Pasdar as Joseph, Sherilyn Fenn as Zulaikha and Edward James Olmos as Potiphar.... |
Zulaikha | Showtime TV movie |
| 1995 | Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt (TV series) Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO... |
Erika | episode 6.15 "You, Murderer" |
| 1995 | Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story is a 1995 biographical TV film directed by Kevin Connor. The film stars Sherilyn Fenn , Katherine Helmond, Nigel Havers, Angus Macfadyen, William McNamara and Ray Wise.-Cast:... |
Elizabeth Taylor Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age... |
NBC NBC The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago... miniseries |
| 1996 | Kit Bradley | CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... miniseries |
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| 1997 | Friends Friends Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television... |
Ginger | episode 3.14 "The One with Phoebe's Ex-Partner" |
| 1997 | Isabella Leoni | TMC The Movie Channel The Movie Channel is an American premium channel owned by Showtime Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, which shows mostly movies, as well as special behind-the-scenes features, softcore adult erotica and movie trivia.... TV movie |
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| 1997 | Prey Prey (TV series) Prey was a science-fiction television series that aired for one season in 1998 on ABC. The series starred Debra Messing, Adam Storke, Larry Drake, Frankie Faison, James Morrison, and Vincent Ventresca.-Premise:... |
Dr. Sloan Larkin | original pilot—also known as Hungry for Survival |
| 1998 | Nightmare Street | Joanna Burke / Sarah Randolph | ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... TV movie |
| 1998 | Rude Awakening Rude Awakening (TV series) Rude Awakening is a TV series created by Claudia Lonow, aired by Showtime on 55 22-min episodes for 3 seasons .-Story:Rude Awakening tells the story of Billie Frank, an out of work alcoholic ex-soap opera actress. She tries to go sober and become a writer but continues to struggle with her... |
Billie Frank Billie Frank (Rude Awakening) Billie Frank was a fictional character, played by Sherilyn Fenn on the US television sitcom, Showtime's Rude Awakening .Billie Frank was inspired by executive producer/creator Claudia Lonow's experience. Billie is an alcoholic has-been ex-soap actress who struggles with her self-destructive habits... |
lead (1998–2001) |
| 1998 | Cupid Cupid (TV series) Cupid is a 1998–1999 American comedy-drama series created by Rob Thomas, which featured Paula Marshall as Dr. Claire Allen, a Chicago psychologist who is given charge of a man named Trevor Hale . Hale believes he is Cupid, sent down from Mt... |
Helen Davis | episode 1.07 "Pick-Up Schticks" |
| 1999 | Love, American Style Love, American Style Love, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974... |
Nancy | segment "Love And The Jealous Lover" |
| 2001 | Nora Griffiths / Nora's clone | episode 7.07 "Replica Replica (episode) "Replica" is an episode of The Outer Limits television series. It first aired 27 April 2001. It is the seventh episode from the seventh season of The Outer Limits.-Introduction:... " |
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| 2001 | Night Visions Night Visions Night Visions is an American television anthology series created in the style of The Twilight Zone. Each 43 minute episode was made up of two 21 to 22 minutes stories that dealt with themes of the supernatural or simply explored the dark side of human nature. Henry Rollins was the uncredited host... |
Charlotte | episode 1.08 "Used Car" |
| 2001 | Blind Men | CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... TV pilot—not ordered to series |
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| 2001 | Off Season Off Season Off Season is a 2001 TV movie directed by Bruce Davison, and starring Sherilyn Fenn, Rory Culkin, Hume Cronyn, Adam Arkin, and Bruce Davison... |
Patty Winslow | Showtime TV movie |
| 2002 | Watching Ellie Watching Ellie Watching Ellie is an American sitcom that starred Julia Louis-Dreyfus and was created by her husband, Brad Hall. It aired on NBC from February 2002 to May 2003, though only sixteen episodes were broadcast before it was canceled due to low ratings.... |
Vanessa | episodes 1.05 "Cheetos", 1.07 "Gift" |
| 2002 | Dawson's Creek Dawson's Creek Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons... |
Alexandra 'Alex' Pearl | episodes 5.20 "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)", 5.21 "After Hours", 5.22 "The Abby" |
| 2002 | Birds of Prey Birds of Prey (TV series) Birds of Prey is a television drama series produced in 2002. The series was developed by Laeta Kalogridis for The WB and is loosely based on the Birds of Prey DC Comics series... |
Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn Harley Quinn Harley Quinn was first introduced as a villain on September 11, 1992, in the animated series Batman: The Animated Series, later adapted into DC Comics' Batman comic books. As suggested by her name , she is clad in the manner of a traditional harlequin jester... |
original pilot |
| 2002 | Scent of Danger | Brenna Shaw | TV movie |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced... |
Gloria Stanfield | episode 4.02 "Deception Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 4) This article contains a list of episodes for season 4 of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.B. D. Wong is added to the opening credits this season as Dr. George Huang.-Cast:*Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler... " |
| 2003 | Nightwaves | Shelby Naylor | TV movie |
| 2003 | Gilmore Girls Gilmore Girls Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW... |
Sasha | episode 3.21 "Here Comes the Son"—backdoor pilot for spin-off, not ordered to series |
| 2003 | Boston Public Boston Public Boston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place... |
Violet Montgomery | recurring (2003–2004) |
| 2004 | Cavedweller Cavedweller (film) Cavedweller is a 2004 film directed by Lisa Cholodenko. It stars Kyra Sedgwick and Aidan Quinn. It was nominated for a numerous amount of awards in 2004 and 2005.-Cast:*Kyra Sedgwick as Delia Byrd*Aidan Quinn as Clint Windsor*Sherilyn Fenn as MT... |
M.T. | Showtime TV movie |
| 2004 | NCIS | Jane Doe/Suzzanne McNeil | episode 1.10 "Left for Dead" |
| 2004 | Century Cities Century City (TV series) Century City is an American science fiction-legal drama television series set in Los Angeles in the year 2030.-Synopsis:The show follows the legal team of Crane, Constable, McNeil & Montero... |
Bree Clemens | episode 1.07 "The Face Was Familiar" |
| 2004 | Mister Ed | Carlotta Pope | Fox Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the... TV pilot—not ordered to series |
| 2004 | Pop Rocks Pop Rocks (film) Pop Rocks is a 2004 movie starring Gary Cole and Sherilyn Fenn. - Plot :A bank loan officer named Jerry Harden has his life turned upside down when a scruffy-looking guitarist named Izzy shows up at his bank office. It is revealed that Jerry was a member of a hard rock band called Rock Toxin, and... |
Allison Harden | ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... TV movie |
| 2005 | Officer Down | Kathryn Shaunessy | TV movie |
| 2005 | Deadly Isolation | Susan Mandaway | TV movie |
| 2005 | Judging Amy Judging Amy Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly... |
Heather Reid | episode 6.22 "My Name Is Amy Gray..." |
| 2005 | Jean DeLynn Baker | episode 2.7 "Carrier" | |
| 2006 | Presumed Dead | Det. Mary Anne 'Coop' Cooper | TV movie |
| 2006 | Gilmore Girls Gilmore Girls Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW... |
Anna Nardini | recurring (2006–2007) |
| 2006 | CSI: Miami CSI: Miami CSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.... |
Gwen Creighton | episode 4.22 "Open Water" |
| 2006 | Three Moons Over Milford Three Moons Over Milford Three Moons Over Milford is an American science fiction dramedy set in a picturesque small town in southern Vermont. Shortly before the series begins, an asteroid hits the Moon, shattering it into three fragments, threatening to eventually fall to Earth and end life... |
Janet Davis | original pilot |
| 2006 | Smith Smith (TV series) Smith is an American television drama that premiered on September 16, 2006 at 10:00 PM ET on CBS and on September 18, 2006 on CTV in Canada... |
Debbie Turkenson | episode 1.06 "Six" |
| 2007 | Lulu Hogg Lulu Coltrane Hogg Lulu Coltrane Hogg is a fictional character on the American television series The Dukes of Hazzard played by the late Peggy Rea.Lulu is Boss Hogg's wife, and Roscoe's "fat sister", making Boss and Roscoe brothers-in-law. Boss and Lulu are childless and live in a large mansion in Hazzard County.... |
ABC American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948... TV movie |
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| 2008 | House M.D. House (TV series) House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in... |
Mrs. Soellner | episode 5.11 "Joy to the World" |
| 2009 | In Plain Sight In Plain Sight In Plain Sight is an American dramatic television series on USA Network. The series revolves around Mary Shannon , a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico office of the Federal Witness Security Program , more commonly known as the Federal Witness Protection Program... |
Helen Trask/Helen Traylen | episode 2.13 "Let's Get It Ahn" |
| 2010 | Psych Psych Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts... |
Maudette Hornsby | episode 5.12 "Dual Spires Dual Spires "Dual Spires" is the 12th episode of the fifth season of the American comedy-drama television series Psych, and the 75th episode overall. The episode was directed by Matt Shakman and written by Bill Callahan and series star James Roday... " |