Nicollette Sheridan (born November 21, 1963) is an English television and film actress, best known for playing Edie Britt on the ABC dramedy series Desperate Housewives (2004-2009) and as Paige Matheson of the CBS primetime soap opera Knots Landing (1986–1993). In film, she is known for her roles in The Sure Thing (1985), Noises Off (1992), Spy Hard (1996) and Beverly Hills Ninja (1997).

Early life[link]

Sheridan was born in Worthing, Sussex, England, the daughter of actress Sally Sheridan (née Adams).^[1] She attended school at Millfield in Somerset.^{[citation needed]} In 1969, her mother was working alongside Greek-American actor Telly Savalas on the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The couple started an affair, and after completion of shooting Savalas moved the entire family to the United States.^[1] Her mother gave birth to a son, Nicholas Savalas, on February 24, 1973.^{[citation needed]} Telly Savalas and Sally Sheridan separated in 1977, and the family split their time between the United States and England.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

Nicollette Sheridan made her debut in the US primetime soap opera Paper Dolls in 1984,^{[citation needed]} but her breakthrough came in 1986, when she joined the cast of the CBS primetime soap Knots Landing as "Paige Matheson".^{[citation needed]} She started out in a recurring role but was a series regular by the 1988-89 season. For her performance in the role, she won the 1990 Soap Opera Digest Award for "Outstanding Lead Actress: Prime Time" and the 1991 Soap Opera Digest Award for "Outstanding Heroine: Prime Time".^[2] The same year, she was named one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People".^[3] She appeared in several made-for-TV films and the films Spy Hard and Beverly Hills Ninja, and auditioned for the role of Grace Adler on Will & Grace (on which she would later guest-star).^[3]

In 2004, Sheridan's role as Edie Britt in ABC's Desperate Housewives brought her renewed media attention. On November 15, 2004, Sheridan, who at the time co-starred on the popular ABC-TV series Desperate Housewives appeared with NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens, who was wearing a Philadelphia Eagles uniform, in character as DH character Edie Britt, in an introductory skit which opened that evening's Monday Night Football telecast, in which Owens and the Eagles played the Cowboys at Texas Stadium. Some observers (especially then-Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy) condemned the skit as being sexually suggestive because of Sheridan removing a towel (see video^[4]), and ABC later apologized for airing it. However, on March 14, 2005, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that the skit did not violate decency standards, because it contained no outright nudity or foul language. She was nominated for a 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and was named #48 on Maxim's 2006 List.^[5] Sheridan reprised her regular role as Edie in Season 5 of Desperate Housewives, still a series regular, now married to Neal McDonough's character, Dave Williams.^[6] In February 2009, Sheridan announced her departure from Desperate Housewives. Her exit episode aired in April 2009 when Edie Britt was killed off in the series.^[7][8]

In 2010, Sheridan was set to star in an CBS comedy pilot as a mother who battles with her British ex-husband to get her teenaged daughter to stardom,^[9][10][11] but the series was not picked up for the autumn season by CBS.^[12] In September 2010, Sheridan made a Hallmark Channel film, Honeymoon for One, in Ireland, playing Eve Parker. The film premiered on August 13, 2011 on the Hallmark Channel.^[13]

Personal life[link]

Relationships[link]

From 1979 to 1985, Sheridan dated singer and actor Leif Garrett.^[14] Two decades later, Garrett credited Sheridan for helping him at the start of his career, and said of her "She's a special person in my life."^[15]

Sheridan was married to actor Harry Hamlin from 1991 to 1993.^[16]

She began seeing Swedish personal trainer Nicklas Söderblom in 2004 and became engaged to him on New Year's Eve 2004; the pair called off the engagement in October 2005.^[17][18]

After their break-up, Sheridan returned to ex-boyfriend Michael Bolton, whom she had originally met in 1991.^{[citation needed]} Bolton proposed on holiday in the Bahamas in March 2006.^{[citation needed]} In 2006, Sheridan and Bolton sang a duet, "The Second Time Around", for the album Bolton Swings Sinatra.^[19] In March 2008, Sheridan posed naked for a London Fog charity ad which also featured Bolton.^[20] Sheridan and Bolton broke off the engagement later that year.^{[citation needed]} She later dated professional skater Dorien Walker.^[21]

Lawsuit[link]

On April 5, 2010, Sheridan filed a $20 million lawsuit against Desperate Housewives creator and producer Marc Cherry and ABC, alleging that she was assaulted by Cherry on the set of the show and was wrongfully sacked when she reported the alleged abuse to the network. In her lawsuit, Sheridan claimed wrongful termination, assault and battery, gender violence, discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and age, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She also claimed that Cherry was abusive to other cast members and writers. ABC responded in a statement saying that while they were unaware of this particular complaint, they had investigated similar claims made by Sheridan and reportedly found them to be without merit.^[22]

The stars of Desperate Housewives (Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross and Eva Longoria) have pledged their support to help Marc Cherry in his battle against assault allegations made by Sheridan.^[23][24][25] At the end of 2010, she removed abuse claims from the suit.^[26][27]

In February 2011, a judge ruled that Sheridan does not have to give further testimony about conversations with a lawyer she consulted in relation to the case.^[28] However, at a May 3, 2011 hearing, the judge granted permission for the case to continue to trial, but threw out Sheridan's claims of harrassment.^[29][30][31] The judge also limited damages the actress may recoup if she wins at trial to just one year's pay rather than pay for the remainder of the show's run (which would have been three years after her character was killed off). The judge also forbade Sheridan and her attorney from trying to claim that Cherry was rude to other castmembers on the show, and also urged both parties to settle the case out of court due to the costs likely to be incurred.^[32] However, the parties failed to settle.

The case finally went to court on February 27, 2012.^[33] Sheridan's lawyer reiterated their claim that she was fired from the show after Cherry struck her across her head and she complained to ABC executives about the incident. Cherry claims that the alleged striking was in fact a tap to the head with his fingers, done in rehearsals when he was demonstrating to Sheridan how she should play a physical gag in a scene. He also stated that the decision to kill off her character was already approved in May 2008 (several months before the alleged hitting incident in September 2008) due, in part, to the need to reduce the show's budget. He also cited Sheridan's unprofessional on-set behavior (such as habitual lateness, not learning her lines, and feuding with her co-stars), and the fact that her character had simply "run its course" as other reasons for the decision.^[34] Sheridan was the first to take the stand, and was instructed to "calm down" by the judge after an angry outburst towards Cherry's lawyer on March 2, 2012.^[35] Cherry has also taken the stand, as has Desperate Housewives actor James Denton as well as various show producers, writers and ABC executives.

On March 13, 2012, the judge dismissed the battery charge against Marc Cherry due to lack of evidence, and Cherry is no longer a defendant in the lawsuit which will now focus solely on Sheridan's alleged wrongful termination by ABC.^[36] Closing arguments were heard in the case on March 14, 2012 and the jury began their deliberations. By March 19, 2012, the twelve members of the jury had failed to reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared. A retrial is scheduled to begin on September 10, 2012.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nicollette Sheridan at the Internet Movie Database
• Nicollette Sheridan at AllRovi
• Nicollette Sheridan at Rotten Tomatoes