Brenda Strong Biography

Brenda Lee Strong (born March 25, 1960) is an American actress and yoga instructor, best known for her role as Mary Alice Young on the ABC television comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives (2004"2012), for which she was nominated for two Emmy Awards. She also is known for role as Sally Sasser on the ABC comedy-drama Sports Night (1998"2000) and currently starring as Ann Ewing on the TNT drama series Dallas.

Early life

Strong was born in Brightwood, Oregon, and grew up near Portland, Oregon, graduating in 1978 from Sandy Union High School in Sandy, Oregon. She later moved to Arizona to attend college, and graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Music in musical theater. Strong was crowned Miss Arizona in 1980; she is 6'0" (1.83 m) tall.

Career

Her first break after college was a spot in Billy Crystal's 1984 music video You Look Marvelous. Her first television appearances came in 1985 with brief stints on St. Elsewhere, MacGyver, and Cheers. She also made guest appearances on Matlock, Murphy Brown, Herman's Head, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Blossom, and had a brief role on the cult favorite Twin Peaks.

By the mid-1990s she was a regular guest player on dozens of series, with prominent recurring roles on 3rd Rock from the Sun and Party of Five. Strong also appeared on ER, Picket Fences, Silk Stalkings, and Dawson's Creek. She played Captain Deladier in the 1997 science fiction movie Starship Troopers.

One of Strong's most prominent roles during the 1990s was a recurring stint as Elaine's nemesis Sue Ellen Mischke, the "bra-less wonder" and "Oh Henry!" candy bar heiress, on several episodes of Seinfeld.

She is well known for her recurring role on Sports Night as Sally Sasser, the nemesis of Felicity Huffman's Dana Whitaker. She also guest-starred on The WB's popular 7th Heaven, Gilmore Girls,and Everwood. While working for The WB, she also had guest appearances on Ally McBeal, Nip/Tuck, CSI, Malcolm in the Middle and the short-lived The Lyon's Den. She also starred on the short-lived series Scorch (1992) and The Help (2004).

Strong appeared in movies such as The Craft, Spaceballs, The Deep End of the Ocean, Red Dragon, Black Dog, Exposed, Starship Troopers and Starship Troopers 2 (her character died in the original, but she returned in a different role in the second movie). More recently, she could be seen in the dramatic Lifetime movie Family in Hiding, which premiered on August 6, 2006, as well as Curb Your Enthusiasm, where she plays a love interest of Larry David. Strong also appeared in the 2009 movie Ocean of Pearls.

Between 2004 and 2006, she costarred in the motion picture trilogy The Work and the Glory, based on a bestselling nine-volume series of the same name by Gerald N. Lund. Strong made an appearance on Boston Legal as a judge presiding over a murder trial in 2008.

Desperate Housewives

Strong starred, mostly off-screen, on Desperate Housewives, opposite Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria and Teri Hatcher from 2004 to 2012, during the show's run. She plays the deceased Mary Alice Young, who narrates the events of her friends' and neighbors' lives from beyond the grave. Her narrations yielded an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 2011 and 2012.

Strong's character has narrated all but two episodes of the series. One of the two exceptions is the Season 3 episode narrated by Steven Culp, after his character, Rex Van de Kamp, is killed by George Williams and he observes the lives of the men on the street. The other episode is narrated by Nicollette Sheridan, in which her character, Edie Britt, dies.

Strong has appeared several times in flashbacks and in a dream episode in which Lynette struggles to understand why she could not stop Mary Alice's suicide. She played another deceased wife on the television series Everwood, appearing mainly in flashback sequences as the late Julia Brown. Coincidentally, Marcia Cross played Dr. Linda Abbott, a love interest for Brown's widower, during the second season of Everwood. Both Strong and Cross appear in Season 9 of Seinfeld (episodes 9 and 8 respectively).

Dallas

In 2012, Strong began starring as Ann Ryland Ewing on the TNT original drama series Dallas. The series is a continuation of the original series of the same name that aired on CBS from 1978 to 1991. The show premiered on June 13, 2012.

Personal life

A certified yoga instructor and fertility expert, Strong has experience teaching at UCLA's Mind/Body Institute. She is working on a book about yoga and the woman's journey.

Strong married Tom Henri in July 1989; they have a child, Zakery Henri. She filed for divorce on January 14, 2011.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Weekend Warriors	Danielle
1987	Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues	Desiree	Television movie
1987	Spaceballs	Nurse
1989	Skin Deep	Real Estate Agent	Uncredited
1990	People Like Us	Brenda Primrose	Television movie
1992	Stepfather III	Lauren Sutliffe	Television movie
1993	My Life	Laura
1993	Malice	Claudia
1994	Island City	Dr. Sammy Helding	Television movie
1996	The Craft	Doctor
1997	Starship Troopers	Captain Deladier
1998	Get a Job	Emily LaCrosse
1998	Black Dog	Melanie
1998	Undercurrent	Renee Rivera
1999	The Deep End of the Ocean	Ellen
2000	Terror Tract	Dr. Helen Corey
2002	Teddy Bears' Picnic	Jackie Sloane Chevron
2002	Red Dragon	Dinner Guest
2003	Missing Brendan	Joyce Calden
2003	Exposed	Susan Andrews
2004	Going to the Mat	Patty Newfield	Television movie
2004	The Work and the Glory	Mary Ann Steed
2004	Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation	Sgt. Dede Rake
2005	The Work and the Glory II: American Zion	Mary Ann Steed
2005	The Kid & I	Bonnie Roman
2006	Family in Hiding	Carol Peterson	Television movie
2006	The Work and the Glory III: A House Divided	Mary Ann Steed
2007	A Plumm Summer	Viv
2008	Ocean of Pearls	Mary Stewart
2009	You	Paula
2010	Privileged	Mrs. Carrington

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	St. Elsewhere	Nadine Aurora	(TV series, 1 episode: "The Naked and the Dead")
1985	Misfits of Science	Miss Speedway	(TV series, 1 episode: "Twin Engines")
1985	Shadow Chasers	Angela Taylor	(TV series, 1 episode: "The Many Lies of Johnathan")
1986	MacGyver	Lila	(TV series, 1 episode: "The Assassin")
1986	Cheers	Vicki	(TV series, 1 episode: "The Cape Cad")
1986	Sledge Hammer!	Miss Hotchkins	(TV series, 1 episode: "Miss of the Spiderwoman")
1987	Dallas	Cliff's One Night Stand	(TV series, 1 episode: "Cat and Mouse")
1987	Hotel	Hilary Sinclair	(TV series, 1 episode: "Revelations")
1988	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Rashella	(TV series, 1 episode: "When the Bough Breaks")
1989	Midnight Caller	Kristen	(TV series, 1 episode: "No Exit")
1989	Hooperman	Nun	(TV series, 1 episode: "The Nun and I")
1989	Matlock	Jan Sinclair	(TV series, 1 episode: "The Model")
1990	Father Dowling Mysteries	Miss Cantrell/O'Grady	(TV series, 1 episode: "The Perfect Cover Mystery")
1991	Anything but Love	Unknown	(TV series, 1 episode: "My New Best Friend")
1991	Twin Peaks	Jones	(TV series, 4 episodes)
1991-1992	Blossom	Diane	(TV series, 2 episodes)
1991	Murphy Brown	Janine	(TV series, 1 episode: "Eldin Inmates Life")
1992	Rachel Gunn, R.N.	Sheila	(TV series, 1 episode: "I Dream of Squidhead")
1992	Scorch	Allison King	(TV series, 6 episodes)
1992	Sibs	Unknown	(TV series, 1 episode: "Warren and the Married Woman")
1992	Grapevine	Allison	(TV series, 1 episode: "The Allison and Ken Story")
1992	Dark Justice	Jessica Sadler	(TV series, 1 episode: "Happy Mothers Day")
1992-1993	Herman's Head	Dr. Holland	(TV series, 2 episodes)
1993	The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles	Beatrice Kaufman	(TV series, 1 episode: "Young Indian Jones and the Scandal of 1920")
1993	The Second Half	Heather	(TV series, 1 episode: "Guess Who's Channeling Dinner?")
1993	Picket Fences	Sarah Evans	(TV series, 1 episode: "Unlawful Entries")
1993	Silk Stalkings	Candy Grayson	(TV series, 1 episode: "Ladies Night Out")
1994	ER	Sally Niemeyer	(TV series, 1 episode: "Into that Good Night")
1996	Murphy Brown	Tara Baker	(TV series, 1 episode: "Casa Nova")
1996	The John Larroquette Show	Christine Taylor	(TV series, 1 episode: "The Master Class")
1996	Party of Five	Kathleen Isley	(TV series, 6 episodes)
1996-1997	3rd Rock from the Sun	Miss Frost	(TV series, 2 episodes)
1996-1997	Seinfeld	Sue Ellen	(TV series, 4 episodes)
1997	Roar	Megan	(TV series, 1 episode: "Traps")
1997	Chicago Sons	Nina	(TV series, 1 episode: "Infrequent Flyers")
1998-2000	Sports Night	Sally Sasser	(TV series, 7 episodes)
1998	The Closer	Susan Bend	(TV series, 1 episode: "The Rebound")
1999	Odd Man Out	Kasey Morton	(TV series, 1 episode: "Good Will Hunting")
1999	Any Day Now	Jana Durham	(TV series, 1 episode: "It's Not You, It's Me")
1999	Safe Harbor	Marilyn Conray	(TV series, 1 episode: "Older Women, Younger Men")
2000	Get Real	Olivia Clark	(TV series, 1 episode: "Guilt")
2000	The Michael Richards Show	Beth	(TV series, 1 episode: "Discrimination")
2000-2002	7th Heaven	Mrs. Carmen Mackoul	(TV series, 8 episodes)
2001	Ally McBeal	Jerry Hill	(TV series, 1 episode: "Mr. Bo")
2001	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Dr. Leigh Sapien	(TV series, 1 episode: "Overload")
2001	Thieves	Loretta	(TV series, 1 episode: "Liver Let Die")
2001	Gilmore Girls	Eva	(TV series, 1 episode: "Like Mother, Like Daughter")
2001	Dawson's Creek	Kay Liddell	(TV series, 1 episode: "High Anxiety")
2002	Bram and Alice	Theresa	(TV series, 1 episode: "Scribbling Rivalry")
2002	The Court	Marsha Palmer	(TV series, 4 episodes)
2002	Malcolm in the Middle	Amelia	(TV series, 1 episode: "Family Reunion")
2002-2005	Everwood	Julia Brown	(TV series, 5 episodes)
2003	A.U.S.A.	Judge Kimberly Flynn	(TV series, 1 episode: "The Joint Report...A Love Story")
2003	Nip/Tuck	Irish	(TV series, 2 episodes)
2003	The Lyon's Den	Rebecca McCandless	(TV series, 1 episode: "Things She Said")
2004	The Help	Arlene Ridgeway, the Rich Lady	(TV series, 7 episodes)
2004-2012	Desperate Housewives	Mary Alice Young	Narrator (179 episodes) Guest Actress (17 episodes) Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2005-2006) Nominated-Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2007-2009) Nominated-Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance (2011-2012)
2006	Just Legal	Liza Lynch	(TV series, 1 episode: "The Bar")
2006-2007	Help Me Help You	Linda	(TV series, 4 episodes)
2007	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Dr. Flomm	(TV series, 1 episode: "The N Word")
2007	Shark	Olivia Hartnell	(TV series, 1 episode: "In Absentia")
2008	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Kathy Jarrow	(TV series, 1 episode: "Betrayed")
2008	Boston Legal	Judge Judy Beacon	(TV series, 1 episode: "True Love")
2010	Scoundrels	Penny Priest	(TV series, 1 episode: "Birds of a Feather Flock Together")
2010	Rizzoli & Isles	Mel Gaynor-Randle	(TV series, 1 episode: "I Kissed a Girl")
2012-present	Dallas	Ann Ewing	(TV series, 25+ episodes)
2013	Scandal	Joan Reston	(TV series, 1 episode: "All Roads Lead to Fitz")