Joanna Cassidy Biography

Joanna Cassidy (born August 2, 1945) is an American film and television actress. She is known for her role as the replicant Zhora in Ridley Scott's film Blade Runner (1982). She has won a Golden Globe Award, was nominated for three Emmy Awards and also was nominated for Saturn Award and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Cassidy also has starred in films such as Under Fire, The Fourth Protocol, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Package, Where the Heart Is and Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, Vampire in Brooklyn and Ghosts of Mars. From 2001 to 2005, she played Margaret Chenowith on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under. From 2011 to 2013, she played Joan Hunt on the ABC series Body of Proof.

Life and career

Early years

Cassidy was born Joanna Virginia Caskey in Haddonfield, New Jersey, the daughter of Virginia and Joe Caskey. She attended Haddonfield Memorial High School, where she described herself as being "a rowdy kid".

At an early age, Cassidy was involved in painting and sculpture and went on to major in art at Syracuse University in New York. During her time there, she married Kennard C. Kobrin in 1964, a doctor in residency, and found work as a fashion model. The couple moved to San Francisco, where her husband set up a psychiatric practice while Cassidy continued modeling. In 1968, she landed a bit part in Bullitt. Following her divorce in 1974, Cassidy decided to move to Los Angeles in a bid for an acting career. The reasons for which she changed her family name from "Caskey" to "Cassidy" for professional reasons are unknown.

Career

Joanna started her career with some screen legends. The movie was called "The Outfit" (1973) which starred Robert Ryan, Robert Duvall (his first leading role) and Joe Don Baker. Cassidy later appeared in a 1973 Smokey the Bear public service announcement (PSA), and television series such as Mission: Impossible, Starsky & Hutch and Taxi. She had a small role in the 1976 film Stay Hungry, an offbeat film about bodybuilding that featured a young Arnold Schwarzenegger. She co-starred in the 1978 film Our Winning Season. Her first regular role was as sheriff's pilot Morgan Wainwright in the 1979 action-adventure series 240-Robert, though the series only lasted for two abbreviated seasons. Afterwards, Cassidy continued to appear in guest roles in series such as Dallas, Falcon Crest, as well as a regular role in the short-lived 1983 sitcom Buffalo Bill (for which she earned a Golden Globe Award). She also starred in the short-lived 1985 NBC television series Code Name: Foxfire.

In 1982, Cassidy had her first major feature film role as the replicant Zhora in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. The following year, she co-starred in Under Fire with Gene Hackman and Nick Nolte. She continued to appear in both films and television, and co-starred in the television miniseries Hollywood Wives (1985), The Fourth Protocol (1987), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), The Package (1989), Where the Heart Is (1990), and Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991). In 1993, she co-starred with Dudley Moore in the sitcom Dudley, but the series only lasted for six episodes. She also appeared opposite James Garner, playing his ex-wife, in the 1994 television movie The Rockford Files: I Still Love L.A. Her other screen credits from this era include Barbarians at the Gate (1993), the 1993 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's The Tommyknockers, and Wes Craven's Vampire in Brooklyn (1995). Cassidy also provided the voice of Inspector Maggie Sawyer in the WB's series Superman: The Animated Series, and had recurring guest roles on television shows such as L.A. Law, Melrose Place, Diagnosis: Murder and The District.

Since 2000, Cassidy has appeared in the 2001 film Ghosts of Mars directed by John Carpenter, and had a recurring role as Margaret Chenowith on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under for which she received an Emmy Award nomination. In 2004, she also guest-starred in two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise as T'Les (the Vulcan mother of Enterprise crewmember T'Pol) and she also had a recurring role as Beverly Bridge on the series Boston Legal in 2006. She also voiced the villainess, Hecubah, in the computer game Nox (2000) as well as once again voicing the character of Maggie Sawyer in the 2002 video game Superman: Shadow of Apokolips.

In the spring of 2007, Cassidy donned Zhora's costume once more, 25 years after the release of Blade Runner, in order to recreate a climactic scene from the film for the fall 2007 Final Cut release of the film. In the original 1982 release, a stunt performer played out Zhora's death scene, with the physical differences between the performer and Cassidy very evident (including the stuntwoman wearing a different wig). For the Final Cut, Cassidy's head was digitally transposed onto footage of the stunt performer, making the death scene fit continuity. According to the DVD featurette, All Our Variant Futures, it was Cassidy herself who suggested this be done; she is captured on video making the suggestion during filming of a retrospective interview related to Blade Runner.

In the second season of the NBC series Heroes, she is seen in a photo of the twelve senior members of the show's mysterious company. Beyond appearances in photographs, the actress first appeared as Victoria Pratt in the tenth episode of season two, "Truth & Consequences", during which her character was killed off.

In 2008"2009, Cassidy appeared in episodes of Ghost Whisperer, Desperate Housewives, Law & Order: UK, and was also seen in the recurring guest role of Amanda Hawthorne, the mother-in-law of Jada Pinkett Smith's eponymous character in the medical drama HawthoRNe.

In 2011, Cassidy began to appear in a recurring role on the ABC series Body of Proof as Judge Joan Hunt, the mother of Megan Hunt, Dana Delany's character in the show. The series was canceled by ABC after three seasons in May 2013.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	'	Rita Mailer
1973	'	Monica
1974	Bank Shot	Eleonora
1975	'	Joanna Morgan
1976	Stay Hungry	Zoe Miller
1977	American Raspberry	Lisa Allen
1977	'	Laura Birdwell
1977	Stunts	Patti Johnson
1978	Our Winning Season	Sheila
1979	'	Sheila Michaels
1980	Night Games	Julie Miller
1982	Blade Runner	Zhora
1983	Under Fire	Claire
1984	Invitation to Hell	Patricia "Pat" Winslow
1986	Club Paradise	Terry Hamlin
1987	'	Irina Vassilievna
1988	Who Framed Roger Rabbit	Dolores
1988	1969	Ev Karr
1989	'	Eileen Gallagher
1990	Where the Heart Is	Jean McBain
1991	Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead'	Rose Lindsey
1991	Lonely Hearts	Erin Randall
1991	All-American Murder	Erica Darby	Video
1992	Landslide	Lucy Matterson
1995	Vampire in Brooklyn	Capt. Dewey
1996	Chain Reaction	Maggie McDermott
1997	Loved	Elenore Amerson
1998	Dangerous Beauty	Laura Venier
2000	Moonglow	Ginny
2000	'	Maryanne
2001	Ghosts of Mars	Whitlock
2001	Anthrax	Jackie Potter
2004	Intermission	Love	Short film
2005	Witches of the Caribbean	Prof. Avebury	Video
2006	'	Eve
2006	Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector	Lily Micelli
2007	Kiss the Bride	Evelyn Golski
2008	'	Ann Jennings
2008	'	Rose
2009	Stolen	Lea Adkins
2009	For Sale by Owner	Linda Flannery
2010	Flying Lessons	Totty Kuspert
2010	Anderson's Cross	Mrs. McCarthy
2011	Carjacked	Betty
2013	Heaven's Door	Ruth
2013	Zugzwang	Nancy Williams	Filming
2013	Too Late		Filming
2014	Night Vet	Kelly	Short film, completed

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	'	Selma "Books" Cassidy	Main role
1978	Taxi	Beverly	Episode: "High School Reunion"
1978	Starsky and Hutch	Harry / Monique	Episode: "The Avenger"
1979-1980	240-Robert	Deputy Morgan Wainwright	Main role (13 episodes)
1980	Insight	Lucy	Episode: "Resurrection"
1980	Reunion	Peggy Sager	TV film
1980	Dallas	Sally Bullock	Episodes: "The Fourth Son", "The Venezuelan Connection"
1980	Trapper John, M.D.	Dr. Carson Whitaker	Episode: "Warning: I May Be Hazardous to Your Health"
1981	Trapper John, M.D.	Maggie Holtz	Episode: "C.O.D."
1981	Charlie's Angels	Stacy	Episode: "Hula Angels"
1981	Hart to Hart	Belle	Episode: "Slow Boat to Murder"
1981	Flo	Billy June	Episode: "Footsie"
1982	Strike Force	Eve Murphy	Episode: "Turnabout"
1982	Lou Grant	Barbara Costigan	Episode: "Charlie"
1982	Falcon Crest	Katherine Demery	Recurring role (5 episodes)
1983	'	Elizabeth Nichols	Episode: "1.2"
1983	Fantasy Island	Christine Donovan	Episode: "Nurses Night Out"
1983-1984	Buffalo Bill	Jo Jo White	Main role (26 episodes)
1985	Hollywood Wives	Marilee Gray	TV miniseries
1986	Pleasures	Lillian Benton	TV film
1988	Nightmare at Bittercreek	Allison Shapiro	TV film
1990	'	Gene Stratton-Porter	TV film
1990	Wheels of Terror	Laura	TV film
1992	Northern Exposure	Solvang Planey	Episode: "The Three Amigos"
1992	'	Lavinia	Episode: "The Lonely One"
1993	Barbarians at the Gate	Linda Robinson	TV film
1993	'	Sheriff Ruth Merrill	TV miniseries
1993	Dudley	Laraine Bristol	Main role (5 episodes)
1993	CBS Schoolbreak Special	Linda Jurgenson	Episode: "Other Mothers"
1993	L.A. Law	Judge Carolyn Walker	Episode: "Eli's Gumming"
1994	L.A. Law	Judge Carolyn Walker	Episodes: "He Ain't Guilty, He's My Brother", "Whistle Stop"
1994	Burke's Law	Liz Charles	Episode: "Who Killed the Beauty Queen?"
1994	Murder, She Wrote	Willie Greenwood	Episode: "Roadkill"
1994	Hotel Malibu	Eleanor "Ellie" Mayfield	Main role (6 episodes)
1995	Eye of the Stalker	Judge Martha Knowlton	TV film
1997	'	Helena Newman	TV film
1997	Melrose Place	Kate Reilly	Recurring role (3 episodes)
1997-1998	Superman: The Animated Series	Maggie Sawyer (voice)	Recurring role (8 episodes)
1998	Rude Awakening	Colleen Woods	Episode: "TV Mom"
1998	'	Grace Wallace	Episode: "The Other Woman"
1999	Twice in a Lifetime	Christine Esposito / Meg McCleary	Episode: "Quality of Mercy"
1999-2000	Diagnosis: Murder	Madison Wesley	Recurring role (8 episodes)
2000	Rude Awakening	Colleen Woods	Episode: "Star 80 Proof"
2001	Philly	Marian Marshall	Episode: "Pilot"
2001	'	Teddy Reed	Episodes: "Lost and Found", "Night Shift"
2001-2005	Six Feet Under	Margaret Chenowith	Recurring role (21 episodes)
2002	'	Teddy Reed	Episode: "The Greenhouse Effect"
2003	Everwood	Evelyn Rowser	Episode: "The Price of Fame"
2004	Star Trek: Enterprise	T'Les	Episodes: "Home", "Awakening"
2005	'	Diana Weston	TV film
2006	Boston Legal	Beverly Bridge	Recurring role (5 episodes)
2007	Heroes	Victoria Pratt	Episode: "Truth & Consequences"
2008	In Plain Sight	Deandra Bevins	Episode: "Never the Bride"
2008	Ghost Whisperer	Faith Clancy	Episode: "Threshold"
2009	Desperate Housewives	Melina Cominis	Episode: "Home Is the Place"
2009	Hawthorne	Amanda Hawthorne	Recurring role (4 episodes)
2010	Notes from the Underbelly	Kay	Episode: "The Circle of Life"
2010-2012	Call Me Fitz	Elaine Fitzpatrick	Recurring role (7 episodes)
2011-2013	Body of Proof	Joan Hunt	Recurring role (14 episodes)
2012	Franklin & Bash	Captain Gina Vaughn	Episode: "Summer Girls"
2013	Bones	Marianne Booth	Episode: "The Party in the Pants"
2013	Living the Dream	Claire	TV film, completed