Marcia Cross Biography

Marcia Anne Cross (born March 25, 1962) is an American television actress, best known for her roles as Dr. Kimberly Shaw on Fox soap opera Melrose Place (1992"1997), and Bree Van de Kamp on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives (2004"2012).

Early life

Cross was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts. She is one of three daughters of Janet, a teacher, and Mark Cross, a personnel manager. Cross was raised Catholic, and attended Marlborough High School, from where she graduated in 1980. Upon graduating high school, Cross received a half-scholarship to Juilliard, and graduated in 1984 with a B.F.A. in Acting. Cross returned to school in 1997 to earn a master's degree in psychology, which she received from Antioch University Los Angeles in 2003.

Career

Cross began her television career in 1984 on the soap opera The Edge of Night, playing the recurring role of Liz Correll. Afterwards, she relocated from New York to Los Angeles, and soon landed roles in television movies such as The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James, co-starring with Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. In 1986, she joined the cast of the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live, where she played the role of Kate Sanders, until 1987. She followed this with guest-starring roles on primetime shows such as Who's the Boss?, Quantum Leap, Knots Landing and Cheers.

In 1992, Cross won the role Dr. Kimberly Shaw on the FOX's primetime soap opera Melrose Place. Initially cast for one episode, she so impressed the producers that they kept bringing her back. By the second season, her character was emerging as the mentally unbalanced antagonist of the show. She left in the fifth season. She also appeared on the episodes of sitcoms, such as Seinfeld, Boy Meets World, Ally McBeal, Spin City and King of Queens. Her dramatic roles include appearances on CSI, Strong Medicine, Profiler and Touched by an Angel. Her film credits include independent movies Bad Influence (1990), Always Say Goodbye (1996), Just Peck (2009) and Bringing Up Bobby (2011). In 2003, Cross spent a season co-starring as Linda Abbott on WB's series Everwood.

In 2004, Cross won the role Bree Van de Kamp on Desperate Housewives. The show was the breakout hit of the 2004"05 television season, and Cross was nominated for several awards for her role, including an Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and five Screen Actors Guild Awards (winning two with cast). She also received a Satellite Award for her performance in the show's second season. The series ran for eight seasons until it concluded in 2012 and Cross took a break from acting to focus on motherhood.

Personal life

Cross was the long-time companion of actor Richard Jordan, who was 25 years her senior. Jordan died from a brain tumor in 1993. She later married stockbroker Tom Mahoney in 2006. Cross underwent in vitro fertilization soon after their wedding, which was successful. In February 2007, Cross gave birth to fraternal twin daughters, Eden and Savannah, shortly before her 45th birthday. In 2009, it was announced that Mahoney had been diagnosed with cancer, but he is now in remission.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	'	Liz Correll	Soap opera
1985	Brass	Victoria Willis	Television film
1986	Pros & Cons	Lynn Erskine	Television film
1986	Tales from the Darkside	Marie Alcott	1 episode
1986	'	Sarah Hite	Television film
1986	Another World	Tanya	Soap opera
1986"1987	One Life to Live	Kate Sanders	Soap opera
1988	Almost Grown	Lesley Foley	1 episode
1989	Cheers	Susan Howe	1 episode
1989	Just Temporary	Amy	Television pilot
1990	Storm and Sorrow	Marty Hoy	Television film
1990	Quantum Leap	Stephanie Heywood	1 episode
1991"1992	Knots Landing	Victoria Broyelard	7 episodes
1992	Murder, She Wrote	Marci Bowman	1 episode
1992"1997	Melrose Place	Kimberly Shaw	114 episodes
1996	All She Ever Wanted	Rachel Stockman	Television film
1997	Seinfeld	Dr. Sara Sitarides	1 episode
1997	Ned and Stacey	Diana Huntley	4 episodes
1998	Target Earth	Karen Mackaphe	Television film
1999	Touched by an Angel	Lauren	episode 124
1999	Boy Meets World	Rhiannon Lawrence	4 episodes
1999	The Outer Limits	Kate Woods	1 episode
2000	Dancing in September	Lydia Gleason	Television film, Supporting role
2000	Profiler	Pamela Martin	1 episode
2000	Spin City	Joan	Season 5 episode 1
2001	Living in Fear	Rebecca Hausman	Television film
2001	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Julia Fairmont	1 episode
2002	Eastwick	Jane Spofford	TV pilot
2002	King of Queens	Debi	2 episodes in season 5
2003"2004	Everwood	Dr. Linda Abbott	18 episodes
2004"2012	Desperate Housewives	Bree Van de Kamp	Main cast, 180 episodes (appeared in 173) Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy (2006) Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2005, 2006) Nominated " Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series (2005) Nominated " Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Television Series Musical or Comedy (2005"2007) Nominated " Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2007"2009) Nominated " Television Critics Association Award (Individual Achievement in Comedy) (2005) Nominated " Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy (2005) Nominated " Prism Award for Best Performance in a Comedy Series (2005, 2007, 2009)

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Bad Influence	Ruth Fielding	Supporting role
1996	Ripple	Ali	Short film
1996	Always Say Goodbye	Anne Kidwell	Lead role
1996	Female Perversions	Beth Stephens	Small role
2009	Just Peck	Cheryl Peck	Supporting role
2011	Bringing Up Bobby	Mary	Supporting role