Cybill Shepherd

Cybill Shepherd
Shepherd at 42nd KVIFF, April 2007
Born	Cybill Lynne Shepherd February 18, 1950 (1950-02-18) (age 61) Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Occupation	Actress, singer
Years active	1970–present
Spouse	David Ford (m. 1978–1982) «start: (1978)–end+1: (1983)»"Marriage: David Ford to Cybill Shepherd" Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybill_Shepherd) Bruce Oppenheim (m. 1987–1990) «start: (1987)–end+1: (1991)»"Marriage: Bruce Oppenheim to Cybill Shepherd" Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybill_Shepherd)
Partner	Peter Bogdanovich (1971-1978) Robert Martin (1994-1998)
Website
http://www.cybill.com/

Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L Word.

Early life

Shepherd was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of Patty (née Shobe), a homemaker, and William Jennings Shepherd, who managed a home appliance business.^[1] Named after her grandfather Cy and her father Bill, Shepherd won the 1966 "Miss Teenage Memphis" contest at age 16, and the 1968 "Model of the Year" contest at age 18, making her a fashion star of the 1960s, resulting in fashion modeling work through high school and after.^[2]

Career

According to Shepherd's autobiography, it was a 1970 Glamour magazine cover that caught the eye of film director Peter Bogdanovich. His then-wife Polly Platt, claimed that it was she who upon seeing the cover in a check-out line in a Ralphs grocery store in southern California, said "That's Jacy,"^[3] referring to the role Bogdanovich was casting — and ultimately offered to Shepherd — in The Last Picture Show (1971).

First experience of fame

Shepherd was cast opposite Charles Grodin in The Heartbreak Kid (1972). She played Kelly, the beautiful, sunkissed young woman whom Grodin's character falls for while on his honeymoon in Miami. Directed by Elaine May, it was a critical and box office hit.^[4]

Also in 1972, Shepherd posed as a Kodak Girl for the camera manufacturer's then ubiquitous cardboard displays.^[5]

In 1974, Shepherd again teamed with Peter Bogdanovich for the title role in Daisy Miller, based on the Henry James novella. The film — a period piece set in Europe — proved to be a box office failure. Her next film, At Long Last Love (1975), a musical again directed by Bogdanovich, also flopped.

Shepherd returned with good reviews for her work in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976). According to Shepherd, Scorsese had requested a "Cybill Shepherd type" for the role. She portrayed an ethereal beauty with whom Robert De Niro's character, Travis Bickle, becomes enthralled.

After a series of less successful roles, including The Lady Vanishes, the remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1938 film of the same name, she dropped out of show business from 1978 to 1982.^[6]

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, Shepherd 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. A lighthearted combination of mystery and comedy, the series won Shepherd two Golden Globe awards.^[7]

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 Eugene Levy's Once Upon a Crime (1992), as well as several television films.

In 1997, she won her third Golden Globe award^[7] 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 of her two ex-husbands).

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.^[8]

In 2003, she guest-starred on 8 Simple Rules as Cate Hennessy's (portrayed by Katey Sagal) sister.

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

From 2007, Shepherd has been appearing on the Showtime drama, The L Word as the character Phyllis Kroll. In 2008, she joined the cast of the USA Network television series Psych as Shawn Spencer's mother, Madeleine Spencer.

On November 7, 2008, TV Guide reported that Shepherd will guest-star in a February episode of the CBS drama Criminal Minds.^[9]

In the fall of 2010, Shepherd appeared in an episode of ABC's new show, No Ordinary Family.^[10]

In November 2010, Shepherd guest-starred in an episode of CBS' $h*! My Dad Says.^[11]

Political activism

Throughout her career, Shepherd has been an outspoken activist for issues such as gay rights^[12] and abortion rights.^[13][14] In 2009, Shepherd was honored by the Human Rights Campaign in Atlanta to accept one of two National Ally for Equality awards.^[15] She has been an advocate for same-sex marriage^[16] and parental rights.^{[citation needed]}

She was present at the opening of the National Civil Rights Museum in her hometown of Memphis, for which she lent some financial support.^[17]

Personal life

In her autobiography^[18] she revealed that in 1978 she called her mother, crying, unhappy with the way her life and career were going, to which her mother replied "Cybill, come home." She went home to Memphis where she met and began dating local auto parts dealer and nightclub entertainer David M. Ford. She became pregnant and they married that year. Their daughter Clementine Ford was born in 1979 but the marriage ended in divorce in 1982.

In 1987 she became pregnant by chiropractor Bruce Oppenheim and married him, giving birth to twins Cyrus Zachariah and Molly Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim^[1] during the fourth season of Moonlighting. They were divorced in 1990. By 1996, she was engaged with Bobby Martin, a multi-instrumentalist who played with Frank Zappa.

Sexuality

Shepherd has revealed her sexual curiosity and desire in various interviews about having a physical relationship with a woman. In 2006, 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?"^[19]

She also said in an interview: "I have wondered about 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."^[20] She has confessed to having a longtime crush on Salma Hayek and admits to having fantasized about her.^[21]

Religious beliefs

Shepherd has described her religious beliefs as a matriarchal religion of "goddess-worshipping Christian Pagan Buddhist".^[22]

Autobiography

Shepherd made the following claims in her autobiography:^[18]

• She dated Elvis Presley in the early 1970s and cared for him but could not handle his dependence on drugs and ultimately chose her boyfriend, film director Peter Bogdanovich, over Presley.
• She agreed to a date with actor Jack Nicholson to make Bogdanovich jealous. She later canceled the date and Nicholson would not speak to her again, except to say "hi" at a party many years later.
• She did not like working with Charles Grodin on The Heartbreak Kid (1972), and that it took her several years to like him enough to have a one-night stand with him.
• Robert De Niro asked her out during the filming of Taxi Driver (1976). She turned him down, and he did not speak to her, except in character, for the rest of the filming.
• She had a sexual encounter with co-star Don Johnson during the making of the television miniseries The Long, Hot Summer (1985).
• The jazz musician Stan Getz came on to her during a recording session for her album but she declined and he did not speak to her.
• She and her Moonlighting costar Bruce Willis almost became lovers off-screen but they agreed that it would hurt the series so they chose not to consummate their relationship on a physical level.

Award nominations

Emmy Awards

Nominations:

• 1986 - Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series - Moonlighting
• 1995 - Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series - Cybill
• 1996 - Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series - Cybill
• 1997 - Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series - Cybill

In her autobiography,^[18] Shepherd addressed rumors that she was jealous of her co-stars Bruce Willis and Christine Baranski for winning Emmy awards while she has not: "The grain of truth is this: Who doesn't want to win an Emmy?"

Golden Globe Awards

Wins:

• 1985 - Best Actress in a TV series, Comedy/Musical - Moonlighting
• 1986 - Best Actress in a TV series, Comedy/Musical - Moonlighting
• 1995 - Best Actress in a TV series, Comedy/Musical - Cybill

Nominations:

• 1971 - Most Promising Newcomer (Female) - The Last Picture Show
• 1987 - Best Actress in a TV series, Comedy/Musical - Moonlighting
• 1996 - Best Actress in a TV series, Comedy/Musical - Cybill

Filmography

• The Last Picture Show (1971)
• The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
• Daisy Miller (1974)
• At Long Last Love (1975)
• Taxi Driver (1976)
• Special Delivery (1976)
• Aliens From Spaceship Earth (1977)
• Silver Bears (1978)
• The Lady Vanishes (1979)
• Americathon (1979)
• The Return (1980)
• Chances Are (1989)
• Texasville (1990)
• Alice (1990)
• Picture This: The Times of Peter Bogdanovich in Archer City, Texas (1991) (documentary)
• Married to It (1991)
• Once Upon a Crime... (1992)
• The Last Word (1995)
• The Muse (1999)
• Marine Life (2000)
• Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003) (documentary)
• Signs and Voices (2004) (short subject)
• Open Window (2006)
• Hard Luck (2006)
• Barry Munday (2009)
• Another Harvest Moon (2009)
• Listen to Your Heart (2009)
• 4Chosen (2010)
• Expecting Mary (2010)

Television credits

• A Guide for the Married Woman (1978)
• The Yellow Rose (1983–1984)
• Masquerade (1983) (pilot for a series which Shepherd did not appear in)
• Secrets of a Married Man (1984)
• Moonlighting (1985–1989)
• Seduced (1985)
• The Long Hot Summer (1985)
• Which Way Home (1991)
• Memphis (1992) (also executive producer and writer)
• Stormy Weathers (1992) (also executive producer)
• Telling Secrets (1993)
• There Was a Little Boy (1993)
• Baby Brokers (1994)
• While Justice Sleeps (1994)
• Cybill (1995–1998) (also executive producer)
• Journey of the Heart (1997) (also co-executive producer)
• Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus (2000–2001)
• Due East (2002)
• Martha, Inc.: The Story of Martha Stewart (2003)
• 8 Simple Rules (2003)
• Detective (2005)
• Martha: Behind Bars (2005)
• The L Word (2007) as Phyllis Kroll
• Psych (2008–2010) as Madeleine Spencer
  • Ghosts (3.01)
  • Murder? ... Anyone? ... Anyone? ... Bueller? (3.02)
  • An Evening with Mr. Yang (3.16)
  • Yang 3 in 2D (5.16)
• Samantha Who? (2008)
• Alligator Point
• High Noon (2009)
• Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith (2009)
• Eastwick (2009) as Eleanor Rougement
• The Client List (2010)
• Drop Dead Diva (2010)
• $h*! My Dad Says (2010)
• No Ordinary Family (2010)

References

External links

For the official website, see the Infobox

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cybill Shepherd

• Cybill Shepherd at the Internet Movie Database
• Time Out New York: Interview with Cybill Shepherd, January 4-10, 2007