Sharon Gless facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sharon Gless
Gless in 1998
Born	Sharon Marguerite Gless (1943-05-31) May 31, 1943 (age 82) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1970–present
Known for	Switch Cagney & Lacey The Trials of Rosie O'Neill Queer as Folk Burn Notice Hannah Free
Spouse(s)	Barney Rosenzweig ​ (m. 1991)​

Sharon Marguerite Gless (born May 31, 1943) is an American actress. She is famous for her many roles on television. You might know her as Maggie Philbin in Switch (1975–78). She also played Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police drama Cagney & Lacey (1982–88). Later, she starred as Rosie O'Neill in The Trials of Rosie O'Neill (1990–92).

Sharon Gless also played Debbie Novotny in the TV series Queer as Folk (2000–2005). And she was Madeline Westen on Burn Notice (2007–2013). She has been nominated for many awards. She won a Golden Globe in 1986 and Emmys in 1986 and 1987 for Cagney & Lacey. She won another Golden Globe in 1991 for The Trials of Rosie O'Neill. In 1995, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

About Sharon Gless

Sharon Gless was born in Los Angeles, California. Her family had lived in California for five generations. Her father, Dennis J. Gless, worked in sportswear. Her mother was Marjorie McCarthy. Sharon has two brothers, Michael and Arick. Her parents divorced when she was a teenager.

Her grandfather, Neil McCarthy, was a well-known lawyer in Los Angeles. He worked for famous people like Howard Hughes. When Sharon first told him she wanted to act, he told her to stay away from it. But later, he changed his mind and even gave her money for acting classes.

Before becoming an actress, Sharon worked as a secretary. She worked for advertising companies and movie production companies. She also studied acting with a coach named Estelle Harman. In 1972, she signed a special contract with Universal Studios. This contract lasted for seven years. She was one of the last actors to be part of this old Hollywood system where actors were paid a regular salary.

Sharon Gless is also the cousin of actress Elizabeth Baur.

Becoming a TV Star

From left: Arthur Hill, Michael Witney, Gless, John Davidson and Louise Sorel on ABC's Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (1972)

Early in her career, Sharon Gless appeared in many TV shows and movies made for television. She was in shows like Adam-12 and Emergency!. She also had a small part in Marcus Welby, M.D. for a few years.

One of her first big roles was as Maggie Philbin in Switch. She played a classy young secretary alongside Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner. She got along very well with them. When the show ended, she thanked them for helping her career.

While still with Universal, she starred in a sitcom called Turnabout in 1979. This show was about a husband and wife who switched bodies. It wasn't a big hit. She also briefly joined the sitcom House Calls.

Cagney & Lacey and Beyond

Sharon Gless became very famous for her role as police detective Christine Cagney in Cagney & Lacey. She joined the show after a few other actresses had played the part. The show's producer, Barney Rosenzweig, really wanted Sharon for the role from the start. In 1991, Sharon married Barney Rosenzweig.

Gless at the Emmy Awards 1991

For her work on Cagney & Lacey, Sharon won two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. After Cagney & Lacey, Barney Rosenzweig created another show for her called The Trials of Rosie O'Neill. She won another Golden Globe for this show.

In the 1990s, Sharon Gless and her co-star Tyne Daly reunited for four Cagney & Lacey TV movies. They jokingly called these movies "The Menopause Years." In 1998, Sharon narrated a documentary film called Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life.

From 2000 to 2005, Sharon Gless played Debbie Novotny in the TV series Queer as Folk. This was a very important role for her. In 2006, she starred in the BBC show The State Within. The next year, she joined the cast of Burn Notice as Madeline Westen, the mother of the main character. She also appeared in a few episodes of Nip/Tuck.

In 2009, Sharon Gless starred in the movie Hannah Free. This was her first time playing a main character who was lesbian. The movie is about a lifelong love story. In 2017, she appeared in the British medical drama Casualty as a surgeon. She even flew to the UK to film the role!

Stage Performances

Sharon Gless has also performed in plays. Her first stage role was in Watch on the Rhine. She performed in London's West End twice. In 1993, she played Annie Wilkes in the stage version of Stephen King's Misery. In 1996, she starred with Tom Conti in Neil Simon's Chapter Two.

She also performed in Chicago in a play called Cahoots. Her most recent stage role was as Jane Juska in A Round-Heeled Woman. This play was based on a book. She performed it in San Francisco, Miami, and London.

Personal Life

In 1991, Sharon Gless married Barney Rosenzweig. He was the producer of her famous show Cagney & Lacey.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Sharon Gless para niños