Ally Sheedy

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Ally Sheedy
Birth name Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy
Born June 13, 1962 (age 44)
New York City, NY
Spouse(s) David Lansbury
Notable roles Allison Reynolds in The Breakfast Club
Leslie Hunter in St. Elmo's Fire
Maid to Order (1987) DVD cover
Maid to Order (1987) DVD cover

Alexandra Elizabeth "Ally" Sheedy (born June 13, 1962) is an American screen and stage actress, possibly best known for her roles in the "Brat Pack" films The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Sheedy was born in New York City to John Sheedy, a Manhattan-based advertising executive, and Charlotte Baum, a notable press agent who was involved in women's and civil rights movements. Sheedy's father was Catholic and her mother was Jewish; she was raised mostly Catholic, although she has since also identified as both Buddhist and Jewish. Her parents divorced in 1971 and Sheedy's mother came out as a lesbian in 1980. She has two siblings, Patrick and Meghan.

She attended Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School in New York City, graduating in 1980.

Sheedy started dancing with the American Ballet Theatre at the age of six, and at twelve years old wrote a children's book, She Was Nice to Mice; the book was published by McGraw-Hill and became a best-seller.

In 1975, her mother brought suit against the owners of Zabar's delicatessen for failing to protect her from an attempted sexual assault.[1]

[edit] Career

Sheedy started acting in local stage productions while in her teenage years. After appearing in several made-for-television films in 1981, as well as three episodes of the television series Hill Street Blues, she made her feature film debut in Bad Boys (1983), starring Sean Penn. The 1980s were her most active period, with roles in popular teen films like WarGames, The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, Short Circuit, and Maid to Order.

Throughout most of the 1990s, Sheedy appeared in many television films. 1998's High Art, a well-reviewed independent film about a romance between two women, was an important film in her career. She identified with the character of photographer "Lucy Berliner" so much that she took a plane at her own expense to participate in an audition and has said that this character is the closest one she has played to herself.

In 1999, Sheedy took over the lead role in the off-Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. She was the first female to play the part of the German transsexual "Hedwig". Her run was terminated early amid bad reviews.[2]

She was reunited with Breakfast Club co-star Anthony Michael Hall when she became a special guest star on his television show The Dead Zone, in the second-season episode "Playing God" (2003).

[edit] Personal life

In the 1990s, Sheedy was treated for sleeping pill addiction, an experience on which she drew for her role as a drug-addicted photographer in High Art.[3] She has also battled with bulimia nervosa, which started after a visit to the Ford modeling agency at the dawn of her acting career, after owner Eileen Ford told her to lose 15 pounds if she wanted to be represented by the agency.[citation needed]

Sheedy is married to actor David Lansbury, the nephew of actress Angela Lansbury and son of Edgar Lansbury, the producer of the original production of Godspell. The couple have a daughter, Rebecca, born in 1994.

Sheedy had previously dated actor Eric Stoltz and guitarist Richie Sambora.

[edit] Selected filmography

Year Title Role Other notes
2006 Day Zero Dr. Reynolds
2003 Shelter Island Louise 'Lou' Delamere
1999 I'll Take You There Bernice
1998 High Art Lucy
1993 Man's Best Friend Lori Tanner
1992 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York NY Ticket Agent Cameo
1991 Only the Lonely Theresa Luna
1990 Fear Cayce Bridges
1990 Betsy's Wedding Connie Hopper
1989 Heart of Dixie Maggie
1988 Short Circuit 2 Stephanie (voice) Cameo
1987 Maid to Order Jessie Montgomery
1986 Short Circuit Stephanie Speck
1986 Blue City Annie Rayford
1985 Twice in a Lifetime Helen
1985 St. Elmo's Fire Leslie Hunter
1985 The Breakfast Club Allison Reynolds
1984 Oxford Blues Rona
1983 WarGames Jennifer Katherine Mack
1983 Bad Boys J.C. Walenski
1983 Deadly Lessons Marita Armstrong

[edit] Books

[edit] Awards

[edit] References

  1. ^ The New York Times, Friday, August 1, 1975, The Week In Review, Page 58, by Morris Kaplan
  2. ^ Ally Sheedy Inches Away from "Hedwig" (E! Online, December 17, 1999)
  3. ^ Truth's Ally (interview with actress Ally Sheedy, by Elizabeth Weitzman, August 1998)

[edit] External links

[edit] Web sites

[edit] Interviews

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