Gail O'Grady
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Pretty, blonde, full-figured actor of TV and several feature films who, after ending up on the editing room floor in her first feature, "Three Amigos" (1986), enjoyed the attention she received as the woman in a series of Diet Pepsi ads for whom Michael J. Fox almost literally goes through hell and high water. O'Grady kept busy in guest spots on a variety of TV shows including "Matlock," "Cheers" and "China Beach" (dueting on "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" with fellow guest star Nancy Sinatra) and played Chad Lowe's leading lady in the cross-dressing teen comedy, "Nobody's Perfect" (1989). TV-movies such as "Parker Kane" (1990) and "The Hit Man" (1991) began to come her way, and O'Grady got a break when she joined the cast of the controversial police drama series, "NYPD Blue" (1993-96) during its first season. Her warm-hearted secretary Donna eventually began an affair with Det. Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) and managed to avoid being pigeonholed as a stereotypical dumb blonde.
O'Grady enjoyed reliable television and film roles after her stint on "NYPD Blue" ended, appearing in such diverse films as the popular comedy "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" (1999) and the TV movie drama "Another Woman's Husband" (2000). In 2002, O'Grady was cast in the promising NBC 1960's drama "American Dreams," as the mother of a 15 year old daughter whose dream is to appear on American Bandstand.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1986
Moved to Los Angeles
1986
Earliest TV appearances, "Matlock" (NBC)
1986
First role in the "Three Amigos" was cut out of the film
1987
Appeared in series of widely-seen Diet Pepsi commercials starring Michael J. Fox
1987
First TV miniseries, "The Billionaire Boys Club" (NBC)
1988
First actual feature film appearance, "She's Having a Baby"
1988
First feature lead, "Blackout"
1991
First leading role in a TV-movie, "The Hit Man"
1991
Portrayed Grace Kelly in the HBO biopic, "The Josephine Baker Story" opposite Lynn Whitfield in the title role
1993
Played Donna Abandando, the big-haired squad secretary on the ABC series, "NYPD Blue"; received three consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress
1996
Appeared in the comedy feature "Celtic Pride"; co-scripted by Judd Apatow and Colin Quinn
1996
Filmed a pilot for her own sitcom, "The Gail O'Grady Project"; show never picked up by any of the networks
1997
Co-starred with Bette Midler and Dennis Farina in Carl Reiner's "That Old Feeling"
1999
Had supporting role in the comedy "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo"
2000
Played a singer with stage fright in the VH-1 movie "Out of Sync"
2001
Starred opposite Michael Bowen in the USA Network movie "Hostage Negotiator"
2002
Played the mother, Helen Pryor, in the NBC television series "American Dreams"
2005
Cast in the short-lived ABC sitcom "Hot Properties"
2007
Had a recurring role on ABC's "Boston Legal" as Gloria Weldon, a judge in a personal relationship with attorney Alan Shore
2008
Joined the fifth season of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" as a recurring character
Companions
