Sue Ellen Ewing
Encyclopedia
Sue Ellen Ewing (born 1947) is a character on the popular American television series Dallas
, played by Linda Gray
from 1978 to 1989. Sue Ellen was the long-suffering two-time wife of the nefarious J. R. Ewing.
was born, her alcoholic father deserted the family and died shortly thereafter. Her mother, with a modest income of her own, never remarried and instead brought up her two daughters to attain wealth and position. Sue Ellen became a straight A student in high school with exceptional beauty and social skills. She went on to the University of Texas where her freshman year she was invited to join every social sorority, pledging one and also making varsity cheerleader. Later, at her mother’s urging, she went out for the ultimate beauty prize: representing Texas at the Miss America pageant.
When Sue Ellen won the title of Miss Texas
1967, she met her future husband J.R., who was a judge for the pageant. After a courtship, they were married on February 15, 1970, but after several years, their marriage deteriorated, due in large part to J.R.’s numerous extramarital affairs and his disinterest in her.
In 1979, a lonely Sue Ellen began an affair with J.R.’s nemesis Cliff Barnes
. Shortly thereafter, Sue Ellen found herself pregnant and believed that Cliff was the father because she and J.R. had been married for years without conceiving and by this point, they barely had marital relations.
Sue Ellen believed she loved Cliff, but was unable to leave J.R. To console herself, she started drinking heavily
during her pregnancy. Worried about the safety of her unborn child, J.R. had Sue Ellen committed to a sanitarium in 1979 to gain sobriety. However, Sue Ellen managed to continue drinking and escaped the sanitarium drunk and crashed a car. While in the hospital, she gave birth to a son, John Ross Ewing III
.
After her son’s birth, Sue Ellen became severely depressed and showed no interest in the child. She then began an affair with rodeo cowboy Dusty Farlow and entered into psychiatric treatment. Eventually, she gained the strength to connect with her child. After Cliff sued for paternity of the baby, tests revealed that J.R. was in fact the actual biological father. Sue Ellen, meanwhile, made plans to leave J.R. for Dusty, however, Dusty was reportedly killed in a plane crash and this news sent Sue Ellen back to the bottle.
In 1981, Sue Ellen learned that Dusty was in fact alive, but had been horribly crippled as a result of the plane crash. Nonetheless, Sue Ellen remained dedicated to her love for Dusty and left J.R.—taking their son with her to live at the Southern Cross Ranch, the home of Dusty’s father, Clayton Farlow
. Sue Ellen divorced J.R. and gained custody of John Ross, but her relationship with Dusty ended when Dusty regained the use of his legs and decided to resume his life’s passion as a rodeo cowboy.
Sue Ellen then moved back to Dallas with her son and entered into another short-lived romance with J.R.’s enemy, Cliff Barnes
. When J.R. got wind of this, he became jealous and courted Sue Ellen himself in an effort to win back custody of his son, and, in the process, obtain his voting shares in Ewing Oil. In 1982, J.R. and Sue Ellen remarried, but their happiness would be short-lived as J.R. quickly returned to his philandering ways and Sue Ellen caught him in bed with Holly Harwood. However, Sue Ellen decided to remain married to J.R., in name only, but moved out of his bedroom.
In 1983, Sue Ellen entered into an affair with college student, Peter Richards, who had been her son’s camp counselor. In 1984, Sue Ellen miscarried a child, but didn’t know if J.R. or Peter was the father. When J.R. learned of Sue Ellen’s affair, he arranged for Peter to be arrested on trumped-up drug charges and blackmailed him to leave Dallas for good.
In 1986, Sue Ellen went into business by buying a partnership interest in a lingerie company. She successfully lured J.R.’s latest mistress, Mandy Winger, away from J.R. by offering her a promising career as model and then as an actress. Sue Ellen and J.R. enjoyed a brief reconciliation, however, J.R.’s desire to regain Ewing Oil by having an affair with Kimberly Cryder destroyed what was left of their marriage.
Sue Ellen decided to leave J.R. for good, but he managed to take John Ross away and put him into hiding in a boarding school. Sue Ellen and her new lover, Nicholas Pearce, confronted J.R. at his penthouse and demanded he tell them where he hid John Ross. A scuffle broke out between J.R. and Nicholas resulting in Nicholas being thrown over the balcony and being killed. In response, Sue Ellen then shot J.R. three times; however, he lived and neither she nor J.R. were indicted for any crimes.
In 1988, Sue Ellen divorced J.R. for a second time. Deciding to get revenge on J.R., Sue Ellen decided to make a feature film expose on her life with J.R. with the help of screenwriter Don Lockwood. She and Don soon became romantically involved and, in 1989, Sue Ellen moved to London with Lockwood, but not before blackmailing J.R. by threatening to release her film expose which would destroy his reputation.
In 1991, J.R. learned that Sue Ellen and Don Lockwood had married. John Ross, her son by J.R., would later join her and Don in London. Sue Ellen did appear in the final episode of the series during J.R.’s dream in which she is a successful actress married to her former love, Nicholas Pearce.
, and Bobby Ewing's adopted son, Christopher Ewing.
run by Caven Enterprises in the Oak Lawn neighborhood, which also operates a bar named J.R.’s in the same area.
In the Hungarian version of the series, Sue Ellen was renamed to Samantha.
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
, played by Linda Gray
Linda Gray
Linda Ann Gray is an American actress, best known for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing on the television prime-time soap opera Dallas.-Career:Prior to acting, Gray began working as a model in the 1960s...
from 1978 to 1989. Sue Ellen was the long-suffering two-time wife of the nefarious J. R. Ewing.
Original Series
Sue Ellen was the eldest of two daughters born and raised in Dallas. Shortly after her younger sister KristinKristin Shepard
Kristin Shepard was a character in the popular American television series Dallas, played most notably by Mary Crosby and briefly played by Colleen Camp...
was born, her alcoholic father deserted the family and died shortly thereafter. Her mother, with a modest income of her own, never remarried and instead brought up her two daughters to attain wealth and position. Sue Ellen became a straight A student in high school with exceptional beauty and social skills. She went on to the University of Texas where her freshman year she was invited to join every social sorority, pledging one and also making varsity cheerleader. Later, at her mother’s urging, she went out for the ultimate beauty prize: representing Texas at the Miss America pageant.
When Sue Ellen won the title of Miss Texas
Miss Texas
The Miss Texas competition was founded in 1936 as a scholarship contest for young women. The winner represents Texas in the Miss America pageant; three winners have gone on to be crowned Miss America ....
1967, she met her future husband J.R., who was a judge for the pageant. After a courtship, they were married on February 15, 1970, but after several years, their marriage deteriorated, due in large part to J.R.’s numerous extramarital affairs and his disinterest in her.
In 1979, a lonely Sue Ellen began an affair with J.R.’s nemesis Cliff Barnes
Cliff Barnes
Clifford "Cliff" Barnes, played by Ken Kercheval, was a character on the popular American television series Dallas. The Barnes family were competitors and sometimes enemies of the Ewing family. Cliff was the son of Willard "Digger" Barnes and Rebecca Barnes Wentworth. J.R. Ewing was Cliff's...
. Shortly thereafter, Sue Ellen found herself pregnant and believed that Cliff was the father because she and J.R. had been married for years without conceiving and by this point, they barely had marital relations.
Sue Ellen believed she loved Cliff, but was unable to leave J.R. To console herself, she started drinking heavily
Alcohol abuse
Alcohol abuse, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the recurring use of alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences. Alcohol abuse eventually progresses to alcoholism, a condition in which an individual becomes dependent on alcoholic beverages in order to avoid...
during her pregnancy. Worried about the safety of her unborn child, J.R. had Sue Ellen committed to a sanitarium in 1979 to gain sobriety. However, Sue Ellen managed to continue drinking and escaped the sanitarium drunk and crashed a car. While in the hospital, she gave birth to a son, John Ross Ewing III
John Ross Ewing III
John Ross Ewing III was a fictional character on the CBS television series Dallas. He was played by Tyler Banks from 1980-1983; and by actor Omri Katz from 1983 until 1991 and in the Dallas: J.R. Returns reunion TV movie in 1996. In the upcoming series continuation he will be played by actor Josh...
.
After her son’s birth, Sue Ellen became severely depressed and showed no interest in the child. She then began an affair with rodeo cowboy Dusty Farlow and entered into psychiatric treatment. Eventually, she gained the strength to connect with her child. After Cliff sued for paternity of the baby, tests revealed that J.R. was in fact the actual biological father. Sue Ellen, meanwhile, made plans to leave J.R. for Dusty, however, Dusty was reportedly killed in a plane crash and this news sent Sue Ellen back to the bottle.
In 1981, Sue Ellen learned that Dusty was in fact alive, but had been horribly crippled as a result of the plane crash. Nonetheless, Sue Ellen remained dedicated to her love for Dusty and left J.R.—taking their son with her to live at the Southern Cross Ranch, the home of Dusty’s father, Clayton Farlow
Clayton Farlow
Clayton Farlow was a main character in the popular American television series Dallas, played by Howard Keel .Clayton Farlow, along with his sister Jessica, were raised on the Southern Cross Ranch in San Angelo, Texas. Jessica was wild in her teenage years and developed a serious violent mental...
. Sue Ellen divorced J.R. and gained custody of John Ross, but her relationship with Dusty ended when Dusty regained the use of his legs and decided to resume his life’s passion as a rodeo cowboy.
Sue Ellen then moved back to Dallas with her son and entered into another short-lived romance with J.R.’s enemy, Cliff Barnes
Cliff Barnes
Clifford "Cliff" Barnes, played by Ken Kercheval, was a character on the popular American television series Dallas. The Barnes family were competitors and sometimes enemies of the Ewing family. Cliff was the son of Willard "Digger" Barnes and Rebecca Barnes Wentworth. J.R. Ewing was Cliff's...
. When J.R. got wind of this, he became jealous and courted Sue Ellen himself in an effort to win back custody of his son, and, in the process, obtain his voting shares in Ewing Oil. In 1982, J.R. and Sue Ellen remarried, but their happiness would be short-lived as J.R. quickly returned to his philandering ways and Sue Ellen caught him in bed with Holly Harwood. However, Sue Ellen decided to remain married to J.R., in name only, but moved out of his bedroom.
In 1983, Sue Ellen entered into an affair with college student, Peter Richards, who had been her son’s camp counselor. In 1984, Sue Ellen miscarried a child, but didn’t know if J.R. or Peter was the father. When J.R. learned of Sue Ellen’s affair, he arranged for Peter to be arrested on trumped-up drug charges and blackmailed him to leave Dallas for good.
In 1986, Sue Ellen went into business by buying a partnership interest in a lingerie company. She successfully lured J.R.’s latest mistress, Mandy Winger, away from J.R. by offering her a promising career as model and then as an actress. Sue Ellen and J.R. enjoyed a brief reconciliation, however, J.R.’s desire to regain Ewing Oil by having an affair with Kimberly Cryder destroyed what was left of their marriage.
Sue Ellen decided to leave J.R. for good, but he managed to take John Ross away and put him into hiding in a boarding school. Sue Ellen and her new lover, Nicholas Pearce, confronted J.R. at his penthouse and demanded he tell them where he hid John Ross. A scuffle broke out between J.R. and Nicholas resulting in Nicholas being thrown over the balcony and being killed. In response, Sue Ellen then shot J.R. three times; however, he lived and neither she nor J.R. were indicted for any crimes.
In 1988, Sue Ellen divorced J.R. for a second time. Deciding to get revenge on J.R., Sue Ellen decided to make a feature film expose on her life with J.R. with the help of screenwriter Don Lockwood. She and Don soon became romantically involved and, in 1989, Sue Ellen moved to London with Lockwood, but not before blackmailing J.R. by threatening to release her film expose which would destroy his reputation.
In 1991, J.R. learned that Sue Ellen and Don Lockwood had married. John Ross, her son by J.R., would later join her and Don in London. Sue Ellen did appear in the final episode of the series during J.R.’s dream in which she is a successful actress married to her former love, Nicholas Pearce.
Reunion movies
In 1996, when her marriage to Don was in trouble, Sue Ellen returned to Dallas with her son when J.R. was reportedly killed in a car accident. When J.R. was discovered alive, Sue Ellen reconciled with him. However, upon learning that J.R. faked his death to manipulate his family, Sue Ellen became partners with Bobby in the family company, Ewing Oil to spite J.R.New Series
Sue Ellen will return in the new version of Dallas set to debut in the summer of 2012. The series will focus on her son with J.R., John Ross Ewing IIIJohn Ross Ewing III
John Ross Ewing III was a fictional character on the CBS television series Dallas. He was played by Tyler Banks from 1980-1983; and by actor Omri Katz from 1983 until 1991 and in the Dallas: J.R. Returns reunion TV movie in 1996. In the upcoming series continuation he will be played by actor Josh...
, and Bobby Ewing's adopted son, Christopher Ewing.
Misc
Sue Ellen’s is the name of a lesbian bar in Dallas, TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
run by Caven Enterprises in the Oak Lawn neighborhood, which also operates a bar named J.R.’s in the same area.
In the Hungarian version of the series, Sue Ellen was renamed to Samantha.