A talented, poised and pretty young performer of film and TV since the late 1980s, Sheila Kelley turned to acting after a congenital hip condition dimmed her hopes for a career as a professional dancer. Spontaneous yet disciplined, Kelley has received good notices in both comedies and dramas. She was widely seen in a recurring role as cunning legal secretary Gwen Taylor late in the run of the popular legal drama "L.A. Law" (NBC, 1990-93). For the final season of the NBC drama "Sisters" (NBC, 1995-96), Kelley assumed the role of Charley from actress Jo Anderson.
Kelley first registered on screen in "Some Girls" (1988) as the eldest of three beautiful sisters who get intimate with Patrick Dempsey. She soon followed with a small part in "Staying Together" (1989), actor-director Lee Grant's comedy-drama of small-town family life. Substantial supporting roles followed in Bill Forsyth's quirky Burt Reynolds vehicle "Breaking In" (1989), as the poetic call girl/girlfriend ("What would I do with your balls were they mine?") of Casey Siemaszko, and in John Boorman's underrated "Where the Heart Is" (1990), as a grad student going for a masters in paranormal religion. Kelley also fared well amid the bright young ensemble of "Singles" (1993), as a lovelorn woman.
- Born:
October 9, 1963 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, USA
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Job Titles:
Actor, Dancer, Producer, Screenwriter
Family
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Daughter: Ruby Schiff. born in August 2000; father, Richard Schiff
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Father: J H Kelley. worked in the mining industry; moved family every two years until his youngest daughter Sheila was 11
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Mother: Catherine Jane Holway Kelley.
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Son: Augustus Kelley Schiff. born in November 1994
Education
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New York University, New York, New York, film, acting and dance, BFA
Milestones
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1963 Born in Greenberg, Pennsylvania
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1979 Moved to NYC at age 16 (date approximate)
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1987 Feature debut, a small part in the British teen comedy Wish You Were Here
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1987 TV-movie debut, Tonight s the Night , an ABC comedy-drama about one weekend in a singles bar
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1988 Moved to Los Angeles
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1988 North American film debut, Some Girls , a Canadian co-production
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1989 First TV guest shot, thirtysomething
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1989 First feature lead, Bill Forsyth s Breaking In
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1989 US film debut, Lee Grant s Staying Together
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1990 Played secretary Gwen Taylor, a recurring character on L.A. Law often involved with Corbin Bernsen s Arnie Becker
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1994 First starring role in a TV-movie, Deconstructing Sarah , a USA mystery
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1996 Appeared in supporting role in One Fine Day
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1999 Acted in the ABC adapation of John Sandford s Mind Prey
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2000 Seen briefly in the comedy Nurse Betty
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2000 Was one of the producers of the film Dancing at the Blue Iguana , featuring Darryl Hannah and directed by Michael Radford
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Danced solo with the Westmoreland Ballet Company in Pennsylvania
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Endured a period of extreme melancholia
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Formed her own theater company, The Elephant Group, based in NYC
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Frustrated by the teaching methods of the acting program, transferred to the film school
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Lived in Philadelphia with family
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Moved to the Alleghenies with family
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Moved to the Appalachians with family
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Played Charley Reed (replacing Jo Anderson) on Sisters (NBC)
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Relocated to the New Jersey shore with family
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Returned to NYU s Tisch School of the Arts to study acting
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Stage debut, The Elephant Group production of Chekhov s The Seagull
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Studied dance for a year at NYU until a congenital hip condition forced her to stop
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With the Group, appeared on stage in Lovers , Winners , The Taming of the Shrew , and Am I Blue ; also wrote and directed several small films
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Won a dance competition; accepted into the dance program at NYU s Tisch School of the Arts