Born:
September 12, 1940
in
Santa Monica, California
Best Known For:
Playing Sue Ellen in Dallas.
Early-life:
Born Linda Ann Gray on September 12, 1940, in Santa Monica, California. Her father Leslie was a watchmaker, her mother came from Bucharest and later married a Romanian prince. Linda's younger sister, Betty, died from breast cancer in 1989. She also has a stepsister called Maria. The acting bug bit when Linda was still a child, and she regularly organised plays involving her friends, but she started out as a model before becoming an actress.
Career:
Gray's first screen appearance came in Palm Springs Weekend in 1963, but she had an 11-year break from film and TV before landing a role in a Marcus Welby, MD episode. One-off parts in various drama series followed before she had regular stints in All That Glitters, Murder in Peyton Place and Emergency! She was an original member of the Dallas cast, and played JR's long-suffering wife Sue Ellen from 1978 until the series' end in 1991; she returned to the glossy soap when it was revamped in 2012. Other projects include Lovejoy, Melrose Place, Models Inc and The Bold and the Beautiful. She's also tackled theatre roles, even appearing nude in a West End version of The Graduate in 2001.
Quote:
On Dallas: "I think people love entertainment like that. If you do it right and the writing is well done, I think people will tune in. Desperate Housewives had humour, a little satire going on... Sue Ellen was the original desperate housewife."
Trivia:
She was fired during the 8th season of Dallas (1978) after she asked producers to let her direct a few episodes of the series. Her job was spared when Larry Hagman threatened to walk out in protest.