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Linda Gray
Linda Gray.jpg
Gray at The Heart Truth show in 2011
Born
Linda Ann Gray

September 12, 1940 (1940-09-12) (age 84)
Occupation
  • Actress
  • director
  • producer
  • model (former)
Years active 1963–present
Spouse(s)
Ed Thrasher
(m. 1962; div. 1983)
Children 2

Linda Ann Gray (born September 12, 1940) is an American actress, director, producer, and former model. She is most famous for playing Sue Ellen Ewing on the TV show Dallas. Sue Ellen was the wife of J.R. Ewing, played by Larry Hagman.

The show Dallas was a very popular drama series on CBS from 1978 to 1989. Linda Gray also returned for a new version of Dallas from 2012 to 2014. Her role as Sue Ellen earned her nominations for big awards like the Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards.

Linda Gray started her career in the 1960s by appearing in many TV commercials. In the 1970s, she acted in several TV series before getting her famous role in Dallas in 1978. After Dallas ended, she appeared in movies like Oscar with Sylvester Stallone.

She also starred in the TV drama Models Inc. from 1994 to 1995. Linda Gray played Sue Ellen again in TV movies like Dallas: J.R. Returns (1996) and Dallas: War of the Ewings (1998). She also joined the cast for the new Dallas series on TNT.

Linda Gray has also performed on stage. She played Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate in London in 2001 and on Broadway in 2002. In 2014, she played the Fairy Godmother in a London stage production of Cinderella.

Early Life and First Jobs

Linda Gray was born in 1940 in Santa Monica, California. She grew up in Culver City, California. Her father, Leslie, owned a watch shop there.

Before she became a famous actress, Linda Gray worked as a model in the 1960s. She appeared in almost 400 television commercials! She also had small parts in movies like Under the Yum Yum Tree and Palm Springs Weekend in 1963.

Starting Her Acting Career

Linda Gray began her professional acting career in the 1970s. She had guest roles on many TV shows. These included Marcus Welby, M.D., McCloud, and Switch. She signed with Universal Studios in 1974.

She also appeared in films like The Big Rip-Off (1975) and Dogs (1976). In 1977, she played Linda Murkland in All That Glitters. This show was a comedy that made fun of soap operas.

Becoming a Star in Dallas

Larry Hagman and Linda Gray
Linda Gray with Larry Hagman in 2009

Linda Gray became a huge star for her role as Sue Ellen Ewing in the CBS drama series Dallas. The show ran from 1978 to 1989, and she also appeared in 1991. At first, her role was just a guest part for the first five episodes.

But her character, Sue Ellen, became very popular. So, Linda Gray became a regular cast member in the second season. She stayed with the show until 1989. Critics really liked her performance as Sue Ellen.

She was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and an Primetime Emmy Award for her work on Dallas. She also won many awards from other countries. These included Germany's Bambi Award and Italy's Il Gato. In 1982, she was named Woman of the Year by the Hollywood Radio & Television Society.

Linda Gray 2014 8
Gray speaking at the 2014 Arizona Ultimate Women's Expo

Life After Dallas

After Dallas, Linda Gray starred in the 1991 comedy film Oscar. She acted alongside Sylvester Stallone in this movie. She also made guest appearances on the British drama Lovejoy.

She appeared in several TV movies. These included The Entertainers (1991), Bonanza: The Return (1993), and Moment of Truth: Why My Daughter (1993). In 1994, she had guest roles on the Fox show Melrose Place. She played Hillary Michaels, the mother of Amanda Woodward (Heather Locklear).

She continued this role in the Melrose Place spin-off show, Models Inc.. In this show, her character Hillary ran a modeling agency. However, Models Inc. was canceled after one season. Linda Gray also appeared in the Dallas reunion TV movies: Dallas: J.R. Returns (1996) and Dallas: War of the Ewings (1998).

Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray at PaleyFest 2013
Gray and Patrick Duffy at the PaleyFest 2013 forum for Dallas

In 2001, Linda Gray played Mrs. Robinson in the West End theatre production of The Graduate. This was special because her legs were used in the famous poster for the 1967 movie version of The Graduate. She also briefly played the role on Broadway in 2002.

Linda Gray also started directing plays. Her first play as a director was Murder in the First. She has also acted in other stage plays like Terms of Endearment, Agnes of God, and Love Letters.

Recent Work

In 2004, Linda Gray returned to TV as a guest star. She appeared in five episodes of the daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. She played a character named Priscilla Kelly.

She also acted in several independent films. These included the drama Reflections of a Life (2006) and Expecting Mary (2010). Other films were The Flight of the Swan (2011) and Hidden Moon (2012).

In 2008, Linda Gray appeared in The CW series 90210. This show was a spin-off from Beverly Hills, 90210. She has now been in three shows from this TV series family.

In 2012, Linda Gray played Sue Ellen Ewing again in the new Dallas series on TNT. This show continued the story of the original series. In 2013, she was named one of the fifty best-dressed people over 50 by The Guardian newspaper. People magazine also included her in their Most Beautiful Woman list.

For Christmas 2014, she performed in a pantomime show in London. She played the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. In 2015, she starred in the Hallmark Channel film A Perfect Wedding. She also played a grandmother in The CW comedy series Significant Mother.

Linda Gray 2015
Gray at the 2015 Texas Book Festival

In 2016, it was announced that Linda Gray would join the cast of the British soap opera Hollyoaks. She played Tabitha Maxwell-Brown, the mother of a character named Marnie Nightingale. Linda Gray appeared in Hollyoaks in November 2016 and returned again in February 2017.

In 2017, Gray joined the cast of the Amazon Studios drama series Hand of God. She acted alongside Ron Perlman and Dana Delany.

In 2023, it was announced that Linda Gray would be in the Lifetime film Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas. This movie is about five soap opera stars who try to play matchmakers during Christmas. The cast also includes Loni Anderson, Morgan Fairchild, Donna Mills, and Nicollette Sheridan.

Personal Life

Linda Gray was married to Ed Thrasher from 1962 to 1983. Ed Thrasher was an art director and photographer. They had two children together: Jeff Thrasher and Kehly Sloane. Kehly Sloane is an actress who even appeared on the original Dallas. Sadly, Jeff passed away from leukemia in November 2020.

Linda Gray has two grandsons. Her younger sister, Betty, died from breast cancer in 1989. Linda Gray lives in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1963 Palm Springs Weekend Girl at Pool with Yellow Swimsuit Uncredited
1967 The Graduate Cover poster leg model Uncredited
1975 The Big Rip-Off Television film
1976 Dogs Miss Engle
1977 Murder in Peyton Place Carla Cord Television film
1978 The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank Leslie Corliss Television film
1979 The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan Elizabeth Harrington Television film
1980 Haywire Nan Television film
1980 The Wild and the Free Linda Television film
1982 Not in Front of the Children Nancy Carruthers Television film
1987 The Gambler III: The Legend Continues Mary Collins Television film
1991 The Entertainers Laura
1991 Oscar Roxanne
1992 Highway Heartbreaker Catherine Television film
1993 Moment of Truth: Why My Daughter? Gayle Moffitt Television film
1993 Bonanza: The Return Abigail 'Laredo' Stimmons Television film
1994 To My Daughter with Love Eleanor Monroe Television film
1994 Accidental Meeting Jennifer Parris Television film
1994 Moment of Truth: Broken Pledges Eileen Stevens Television film
1996 Dallas: J.R. Returns Sue Ellen Ewing Television film
1997 When the Cradle Falls Helen Sawyer Television film
1998 Dallas: War of the Ewings Sue Ellen Ewing Television film
1998 Star of Jaipur Linda Trask
2005 McBride: It's Murder, Madam Victoria Sawyer Television film
2006 Reflections of a Life Linda Short film
2010 Expecting Mary Darnella
2011 The Flight of the Swan Alexi's mother
2012 Hidden Moon Eva Brighton
2015 Perfect Match Gabby Television film
2016 Wally's Will Wally Short film
2019 Prescience Kathlyn Smith
2019 Grand-Daddy Day Care Blanche
2023 Ladies of the '80s: A Divas Christmas Lauren Ewing Television film

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1974 Marcus Welby, M.D. Patsy Grey Episode: "The Resident"
1976 McCloud Cindy Yates/Kate O'Hannah Episodes: "Our Man in the Harem" and "Twas the Fight Before Christmas..."
1977 Switch Alison Episode: "Camera Angles"
1977 All That Glitters Linda Murkland Series regular, 65 episodes
1977 Big Hawaii Annie Quinlan Episode: "Pipeline"
1976–1978 Emergency! Evelyn Davis/Judy Episodes: "That Time of Year" and "The Steel Inferno"
1978–1989, 1991 Dallas Sue Ellen Ewing Series regular, 308 episodes
1991 Lovejoy Cassandra Lynch Episodes: "Riding in Rollers" and "The Black Virgin of Vladimir"
1994 Melrose Place Hillary Michaels Special guest star, 4 episodes
1994 Mighty Max Kali (voice) Episode: "Good Golly Ms. Kali"
1994–1995 Models Inc. Hillary Michaels Series regular, 29 episodes
1996 Touched by an Angel Marian Campbell Episode: "The Portrait of Mrs. Campbell"
2004–2005 The Bold and the Beautiful Priscilla Kelly Special guest star, 5 episodes
2006 Pepper Dennis Barbara Meryl Episode: "Heiress Bridenapped: Film at Eleven"
2008 90210 Victoria Brewer Episode: "The Jet Set"
2012–2014 Dallas Sue Ellen Ewing Series regular, 40 episodes
2015 Significant Mother Gammy Episode: "Suffering & Succotash"
2015 Winterthorne Joanna Winterthorne Special guest star, 4 episodes
2015 Studio 10 Herself - Guest TV series Australia, 1 episode
2015 Studio 10 Herself - Guest with Patrick Duffy TV series Australia, 1 episode
2016–2017 Hollyoaks Tabitha Maxwell-Brown Recurring role, 5 episodes
2017 Hand of God Aunt Val Recurring role, 3 episodes
2018 Hilton Head Island Eloise Beckenridge Recurring role, 5 episodes
2022 Tara Tremendous Dr. Sabine Montgomery Voice role, 1 episode

Awards and Nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
1981 Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama Dallas Nominated
Emmy Award Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Nominated
Il Gato Best Actress on Television Won
1982 Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama Nominated
Bambi Award Best Actress on international series Won
1983 Hollywood Radio & Television Society Woman of the Year Won
1986 Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role on a Prime Time Serial Nominated
Soap Opera Digest Award Favorite Super Couple on a Prime Time Serial Nominated
1986 Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role: Prime Time Nominated
Soap Opera Digest Award Favorite Super Couple on a Prime Time Serial Nominated
2006 TV Land Award Pop Culture Award Won
2014 USA Film Festival Award Special Award Won

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Linda Gray para niños

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