Dana Delany
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Dana Welles Delany (born March 13, 1956) is an American film, stage, and television actress. Known especially for her two-time Emmy Award winning performance as Colleen McMurphy on the ABC television show China Beach (1988–91) and for her role as Katherine Mayfair on Desperate Housewives (2007-). Delany has been active in film, television, and stage since the late 1970s.
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[edit] Biography
Delany was born in New York City. After growing up in Stamford, Connecticut, she attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, then Wesleyan University.
She was cast as Colleen McMurphy on China Beach, airing from 1988 to 1991, which brought intense media attention to the actress. This role not only garnered two Emmy Awards, but two other Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations.
Leveraging this newfound fame, she appeared in feature films such as Light Sleeper (1992), Housesitter (1992), Tombstone (1993), and Fly Away Home (1996), plus TV movies such as Promise to Keep (1991) and Wild Palms (1993).
She took on controversial roles, such as Margaret Sanger in the TV movie Choices of the Heart (1995), Mistress Lisa in the 1994 feature film Exit to Eden (adapted from the Anne Rice book), and an Emmy-nominated role as a gun-owning mother in an episode of the TV series Family Law (1999) (which was not rerun, due to sponsorship withdrawal).
Delany provided voiceover work as Andrea Beaumont in the 1993 animated feature Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Lois Lane in the Warner Bros. animated production of Superman: The Animated Series, starting in the mid-1990s and continuing through 2005. She was also mentioned by name in the theme song of Animaniacs, another Warner Bros. production.
During the latter part of the 1990s and early 2000s, she focused on roles in TV series, such as the short-lived Pasadena (2001) and Presidio Med (2002); TV movies like True Women (1997), Resurrection (1999), A Time to Remember (2003), and Baby for Sale (2004); and feature films by indie film producers, such as The Outfitters (1999), Mother Ghost (2002), and Spin (2003).
During this period, she found time to get back to the stage, on and off Broadway, in Translations (1995, Broadway), Dinner With Friends (2000, New York City, Los Angeles, Boston), and Much Ado About Nothing (2003, San Diego).
From 2004 to 2006, Delany played many guest roles on TV shows, such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Boston Legal, Kojak, Related, The L Word, and Battlestar Galactica. Dana also starred in the short-lived TV series Kidnapped (2006).
In 2007, Delany took parts in the films A Beautiful Life, Camp Hope, and Multiple Sarcasms. She then joined the cast of the TV series Desperate Housewivesfor the 2007-08 season. (Delany had previously turned down an offer to play Desperate Housewives character Bree Hodge, saying it was too similar to her role on Pasadena.
[edit] Personal and public life
Since the mid-1990s, Delany has served on the board of the Scleroderma Research Foundation, and with her friend Sharon Monsky, she helped campaign for support in finding a cure for scleroderma. Working with director Bob Saget, Dana starred in the TV movie For Hope (1996), based on Saget's sister Gay, who had died as a result of the disease.
Since the mid-1990s, she has had a notable World Wide Web presence. She has participated in several online chat events promoting various projects. Her Official Web Site, online since 1996, includes a guestbook in which she participates.
[edit] Trivia
Her grandfather invented the Delany valve, a flushing device still use in today's toilets.
Had a brief romance with Treat Williams and Don Henley.
1991: Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.
Attended and graduated from Wesleyan University.
She was the voice of two superheroes' girlfriends: Andrea Beaumount, girlfriend of Bruce Wayne, in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), and Lois Lane in "Superman" (1996).
Although she is from New York City and is a stage-trained actress, she admitted in an interview that she prefers film and television work to stage work.
Measurments: 34C-25-36 (on Exit to Eden (1994) set) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).
Attended Phillips Academy Andover for high school.
Attended Stamford, Connecticut, public schools until her senior year in high school.
3/18/81: Her father, who was her biggest fan, died from pancreatic cancer.
Shares a birthday with her True Women (1997) (TV) co-star Annabeth Gish.
Has an older brother, Sean Delany, and a younger sister, Corey Delany.
Dated Henry Czerny for 4 years.
When she moved to New York City in the 1970s, she worked as a cocktail waitress while waiting for her big break.
Friend of Arleen Sorkin and Bob Saget.
Her first and last names are quoted in the final rhyme to the "Animaniacs" (1993) theme song.
Original choice for the role of "Bree" on "Desperate Housewives" (2004). Role went to her friend, Marcia Cross. They both appeared on "Cheers" (1982), but on different episodes.
Favorite TV shows are "Mad Men" (2007) and "30 Rock" (2006).
Her mother is related to Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of Navy, Gibson Welles.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1979-80 | Love of Life (Television) | Amy Russell |
| 1981 | The Fan (Film) | Saleswoman in record store |
| 1981 | As the World Turns (Television) | Hayley Wilson Hollister |
| 1984 | The Streets (Television Film) | Jeannie |
| 1984 | Threesome (Television Film) | Laura Shaper |
| 1985 | Almost You (Film) | Susan McCall |
| 1984 | Moonlighting (Television) | Jillian Armstrong |
| 1986 | A Winner Never Quits (Television Film) | Nora |
| 1986 | Liberty (Television Film) | Moya Trevor |
| 1986 | Where the River Runs Black (Film) | Sister Ana |
| 1986-87 | Magnum P.I. (Television) | Cynthia Farrell |
| 1987 | Sweet Surrender (Television) | Georgia Holden |
| 1988 | thirtysomething (Television) | Eve |
| 1988 | Masquerade (Film) | Anne Briscoe |
| 1988 | Moon over Parador (Film) | Jenny |
| 1988 | Patty Hearst (Film) | Gelina |
| 1990 | A Promise to Keep (Television Film) | Jane Goodrich |
| 1988-91 | China Beach (Television) | Nurse Colleen Murphy |
| 1992 | Light Sleeper (Film) | Marianne Jost |
| 1992 | Housesitter (Film) | Becky Metcalf |
| 1992 | Cheers (Television) | Susan Methany |
| 1993 | Wild Palms (Television Mini Series) | Grace Wyckoff |
| 1993 | Donato and Daughter (Television Film) | Lt. Dena Donato |
| 1993 | Tombstone (Film) | Josephine Marcus |
| 1993 | Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (Film) | Andrea Beaumont/The Phantasm (voice) |
| 1994 | The Enemy Within (Television Film) | Betsy Corcoran |
| 1988 | Texan (Television Film) | Anne Williams |
| 1994 | Exit to Eden (Film) | Lisa Emerson |
| 1995 | Fallen Angels (Film) | Helen Fiske |
| 1995 | Choices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story (Television Film) | Margaret Sanger |
| 1995 | Live Nude Girls (Film) | Jill |
| 1996 | Fly Away Home (Film) | Susan Barnes |
| 1996 | Superman: The Last son of Krypton (Television Film) | Lois Lane (voice) |
| 1996 | For Hope (Film) | Hope Altman |
| 1996 | Wing Commander Academy (Television) | Gwen 'Archer' Bowman |
| 1997 | Duckman: Private Dick/ Family Man (Television) | Dr. Susan Fox (voice) |
| 1997 | True Women (Television Film) | Sarah Ashby McClure |
| 1997 | Spy Game (Television) | Honey Trapp |
| 1998 | Dead Man's Curve (Film) | Dr. Ashley |
| 1998 | Wide Awake (Film) | Mrs. Beal |
| 1998 | The Patron Saint of Liars (Film) | Rose Cleardon Abbott |
| 1998 | Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Couples (Film) | Johtje Vos |
| 1998 | The Batman/ Superman Movie (Television Film) | Lois Lane (voice) |
| 1999 | Outfitters (Film) | Cat Bonfaim |
| 1999 | Resurrection (Television Film) | Clare Miller |
| 1996-99 | Superman (Television) | Lois Lane (voice) |
| 1999 | Sirens (Television Film) | Sally Rawlings |
| 1999 | Shake, Rattle, and Roll: An American Love Story (Television Film) | Elaine Gunn |
| 2000 | The Right Temptation (Film) | Anthea Farrow-Smith |
| 2001 | Family Law (Television) | Mary Sullivan |
| 2001 | Final Jeopardy (Television Film) | Alexandra Cooper |
| 2000-01 | Pasadena (Television) | Catherine McAllister |
| 2002 | Mother Ghost (Film) | Karen Bennett |
| 2002 | Superman: Shadow of Apokolips (Video Game) | Lois Lane (Voice) |
| 2002 | Presidio Med (Television) | Dr. Rae Brennan |
| 2002 | Conviction (Television Film) | Martha |
| 2004 | Spin (Film) | Margaret Swift-Bejarano |
| 2004 | A Time To Remember (Television Film) | Britt Calhoun |
| 2004 | Baby for Sale (Film) | Nathalie Johnson |
| 2004 | Law & Order: Special Victums Unit (Television) | Carolyn Spencer |
| 2004 | Boston Legal (Television) | Samantha Flemming |
| 2005 | Getting to Know You (Film) | Marla |
| 2005 | Kojak (Television) | Kate McNeill |
| 2003-05 | Justice League (Television) | Lois Lane/ Loana (voice) |
| 2006 | The L Word (Television) | Senator Barbara Grisham |
| 2006 | Battlestar Galactica (Television) | Sesha Abinell |
| 2005 | Related (Television) | Francesca Sorelli |
| 2006 | Superman: Brainiac Attacks (Film) | Lois Lane (voice) |
| 2005 | Drunkboat (Film) | Eline |
| 2006-07 | Kidnapped (Television) | Ellie Cain |
| 2007 | The Batman (Television) | Lois Lane (voice) |
| 2007-present | Desperate Housewives (Television) | Katherine Mayfair |
| 2008 | Multiple Sarcasms (Film) | Annie |
| 2008 | A Beautiful Life (Film) | Anne |
| 2008 | Camp Hope (Film) | Patricia |
| 2008 | Route 30 (Film) | Amish Martha |
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| Current Main Cast |
Marcia Cross ·
Eva Longoria ·
Felicity Huffman ·
Teri Hatcher ·
Nicollette Sheridan · | |||
