Cybill Shepherd

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Cybill Shepherd

As Maddie Hayes in Moonlighting (parody scene of The Taming of the Shrew
Birth name Cybill Lynne Shepherd
Born February 18, 1950 (age 57)
Flag of United States Memphis, Tennessee United States
Notable roles Maddie Hayes in Moonlighting,
Cybill Sheridan in Cybill,
Betsy in Taxi Driver

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

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Shepherd was born in Memphis, Tennessee to William Jennings Shepherd and Patty Shobe. Named after her grandfather Cy and her father Bill, Shepherd won the 1966 "Miss Memphis" contest at age 16, resulting in fashion modeling work through high school and after.

[edit] Career

She quickly made a name for herself as a curvy 'real woman', which was a departure from the trend at the time of Twiggy-type waifs. This led to regular work as a magazine cover girl, and it was a 1970 Glamour magazine cover that caught the eye of film director Peter Bogdanovich. Upon seeing the cover in a supermarket check-out line, Bogdanovich was reported to say "That's Jacy" referring to the role he was casting - and ultimately offered to Shepherd - in The Last Picture Show (1971). Her role as the sexual ingenue would prove to be one of the most explosive and promising debuts of any film actress.

During the filming, the then 21-year-old was required to film a nude scene in a pool. Still photos obtained from that nude scene appeared in Playboy magazine without Shepherd's consent. She sued and ultimately she and Playboy reached an out-of-court settlement, setting a precedent regarding public figures. Also during the filming of The Last Picture Show, Shepherd began an affair with Bogdanovich that would last on and off for eight years. In her autobiography, she also acknowledged that she had affairs with her co-star Jeff Bridges, the screenwriter Larry McMurtry, and with location manager Frank Marshall (movie producer), whom she gives the pseudonym of "Producer."

[edit] First run at fame

Soon, Cybill Shepherd was cast opposite Charles Grodin in The Heartbreak Kid (1972). She played Kelly, the beautiful, sunkissed young woman that Grodin's character falls for while on his honeymoon in Miami. Directed by Elaine May, it was a critical and box office hit, showing off comedic talents.

Robert De Niro as Travis, gets to know Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) in this scene from Taxi Driver.
Robert De Niro as Travis, gets to know Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) in this scene from Taxi Driver.

In 1974, Shepherd again teamed with Peter Bogdanovich for a starring role in Daisy Miller, based on the Henry James novella. The role - a period piece set in Europe - was a challenging one, especially for a relatively inexperienced Shepherd. It proved to be a box office failure. In a 1987 interview, Shepherd shared that she had recently viewed the film again, and said "It's frustrating to watch now because I've learned so much as an actor, and I would have approached that character so differently".[citation needed]Unfortunately, before Daisy Miller was released, filming was already underway on the even bigger Bogdanovich flop At Long Last Love (co-starring Burt Reynolds). The film was a musical in which Bogdanovich filmed all of the songs live while the camera rolled on each scene, as opposed to the conventional studio-recording of songs prior to production on most movie musicals. This approach was unpleasant on film, and it became a career-hampering mis-step for all involved.

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

After a series of less successful roles, including the remake of Hitchcock movie The Lady Vanishes, she left show business in 1978 and moved back to Memphis, saying she was fed up with Hollywood. To this end, she married local auto-parts dealer David Ford in 1978. Their daughter Clementine Ford was born two years later, and they divorced in 1982. After her four year absence, Cybill now felt ready to attempt a comeback in Hollywood.

[edit] Return to Hollywood

Back from Memphis, Shepherd won the role of Colleen Champion in the night-time drama The Yellow Rose (1983), opposite Sam Elliott. Although critically acclaimed, the series lasted only one season.

A year later, Cybill was cast as Maddie Hayes in ABC's Moonlighting (1985-1989), which became the role that would define her career. The producers knew that her role depended on having chemistry with her co-star, and she was involved in the selection of Bruce Willis. They quickly became one of the most celebrated television duos. A lighthearted combination of mystery and comedy, the series won Shepherd two Golden Globe awards. Shepherd married her second husband, chiropractor Bruce Oppenheim, and gave birth to twins Ariel and Zack Oppenheim during the series' fourth season.

In 1990, Shepherd's marriage to Oppenheim ended and she once again became a sought-after film actress. She starred in Chances Are (1989) with Robert Downey Jr. and Ryan O'Neal, receiving excellent reviews. She then reprised her role as Jacy in Texasville (1990), the sequel to The Last Picture Show (1971), as the original cast (including director Peter Bogdanovich) reunited 20 years after filming the original. She also appeared in Woody Allen's Alice (1990), and Once Upon a Crime (1992), as well as several television movies.

In 1997, she won her third Golden Globe award, for CBS' Cybill (1995-1998), a television sitcom, in which the title character - Cybill Sheridan, an actress struggling with hammy parts in B movies and bad soaps - was loosely modeled on herself (including portrayals by actors of her two ex-husbands). As she had on Moonlighting, she was involved in casting another unknown co-star (Christine Baranski) who proved to be an asset to the show's popularity.

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

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

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

[edit] Music

Cybill Shepherd is also an accomplished singer, having made over ten albums, including a jazz offering with Stan Getz in 1978 that was widely praised.[citation needed] Her current CD was recorded at her house and is aptly titled At Home With Cybill. She has toured with her cabaret act in the United States and Europe as recently as 2004.

[edit] Trivia

  • In an interview about The L Word she said more than once that she was "turned on" by the woman-woman sex scenes. "If you look at what we know about men, women and our sexuality, a great majority of people are bisexual. So what's wrong with that?" [1]
  • She said in an interview, "I have wondered about it (lesbianism)... At various times in my life I wanted to be open to the possibility of having a woman as a lover. "I am not actively pursuing it, but it is not over yet." [2]
  • She has confessed to a longtime crush on Salma Hayek and admits she has been smitten with Hayek's looks for years. She said, "I've fantasized about her for years." [3]
  • A popular talk show guest, her most famous appearance was on Late Night With David Letterman in 1989 when she walked out wearing only a white bath towel.
  • Throughout her career, Cybill Shepherd has been an outspoken activist for such issues as gay rights, abortion rights, and other politically relevant topics. She was present at the opening of the National Civil Rights Museum in her hometown of Memphis, for which she lent some financial support. It has been rumored for years that she is interested in running for political office.
  • In 1972, Shepherd posed as a Kodak Girl for the camera manufacturer's once ubiquitous cardboard displays.
  • Annette Bening's character in American Beauty (1999), Carolyn Burnham, was supposedly based on Cybill Shepherd. (Shepherd, in an interview with Larry King, said that she wasn't aware of it, but complimented the film, Bening, and the screenwriter Alan Ball, who had written for her TV show "Cybill.")[1]
  • In her autobiography, Shepherd addressed the rumors as to whether she was jealous that her co-stars Bruce Willis and Christine Baranski won Emmy awards while she hasn't, despite several nominations. She said, "The grain of truth is this: Who doesn't want to win an Emmy?"

[edit] Cultural references

  • In John Waters's 1977 film Desperate Living, one female character says to another who is acting vain: "Who do you think you are? Cybill Shepherd?".[citation needed]
  • In the episode of the popular TV cartoon Family Guy titled "The Fat Guy Strangler", Peter Griffin slays Cybill Shepherd, claiming her to be a dragon.
  • In the episode of the highly popular TV Sitcom Friends titles "The One after the SuperBowl Part 2", Ross (David Schwimmer) asks the trainer of his monkey Marcel for the movie "How big a star Marcel is?". The trainer replies "In Human terms, I'd say Cybill Shepherd".

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Television work

[edit] Sources

1. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0004/06/lkl.00.html

2. http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?mp=v&m=175049

[edit] External links

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