|
Birth name: Heather Deen
Locklear
Born: September 25, 1961
Birthplace: Canoga Park, California, United States
Education:
Newbury Park High School in Newbury Park, California
University of California, Los Angeles, (Majoring in psychology.)
That name does look familiar, where might i have seen Heather Locklear?
She is probably best known for her television work, her most notable roles
being Sammy Jo Carrington on the 1980s soap opera Dynasty, and for her roles
as William Shatner's sexy, young partner and Richard Herd's daughter, Off.
Stacy Sheridan, in the in the 1980s cop drama T.J. Hooker, Amanda Woodward
on the 1990s soap opera Melrose Place, and Caitlin Moore on the sitcom Spin
City.
Early life:
Heather Locklear was born Heather Deen Locklear in 1961 to parents Bill and
Diane Locklear.
Bill was director of the career placement office at UCLA and Diane was a
homemaker and is now an administrative assistant at Disney
Heather Locklear was the youngest of four children, she has two sisters,
Laurie and Colleen and one brother, Mark. She was raised in the Los Angeles
suburb of Thousand Oaks.
While attending the University of California, Los Angeles, she caught the
eye of a casting director and was persuaded to take a commercial acting
class. She started to model for the school store, then got her first role in
a TV movie in 1979 appearing in Tales of the Unexpected.
After auditioning with 450 actresses, Locklear won the role of vixen Sammy
Jo on the saucy primetime soap Dynasty. She was originally signed for 12
episodes, she got released early, then re-signed when producers had a change
of heart. It would be the beginning of a highly successful long-term
collaboration with Spelling who, the following year, cast her in the cop
show T.J. Hooker with William Shatner. Until the mid 1980s, Locklear would
appear as a series regular on T.J. Hooker whilst being a cast member on
Dynasty until its cancellation in 1989.
Career:
Heather Locklear had her first movie role in Firestarter, a 1984 film
starring Drew Barrymore. But landed her first leading movie role in the
mutant comedy The Return of the Swamp Thing, playing Abby Arcane, the love
interest of the creature from the deep muck. In the 1990s, after the failed
sitcom Going Places and the 3 hour mini-series Dynasty The Reunion, Locklear
went on to play another of her best known roles, that of scheming vixen
Amanda Woodward on the primetime soap opera Melrose Place. She was
originally brought in as a guest star in an attempt to boost the ratings,
and her billing in the credits reflected this. Despite eventually becoming a
regular cast member in 1993, she continued to be listed as a "Special Guest
Star" throughout the entire run of the series until its cancellation in
1999..She did make nearly twice as much as her costars (reportedly $40,000
per episode) when she joined the show full-time. And why not? The series
jumped from No. 94 to No. 50 in the ratings after her arrival. Amanda was
the character audiences loved to hate, while Heather was the woman every
woman wanted to hate, but couldn't. It was clear that critics loved her, as
Heather was nominated for Best Actress in a TV Drama for 4 consecutive
years, for her work on Melrose Place.Locklear also won First Americans in
the Arts: Best Actress in a TV series for her role on Melrose Place. After
the show ended, she was immediately cast on the TV sitcom, Spin City,
opposite Michael J. Fox in the Fall of 1999. The chemistry between Michael
J. Fox and Heather made the show a hit, and as Caitlin Moore, Heather proved
that once again, she was TV star material. Locklear boosted the shows
ratings and demonstrated her facility with ensemble comedy. In 2003, she
signed on to star in her own NBC sitcom, One Around the Park, playing a
single mom with two kids, but the show never really got off the ground.
Locklear returned to television the next year with LAX, a drama set in an
airport. Again she faced disappointment. The show did not do well in the
ratings and ended after 13 episodes.
Locklear received raves for her 2005 guest appearance on Boston Legal as a
man-eating widow. Locklear has broadened her horizons beyond television
recently with leading roles in a few films. She starred in Uptown Girls
(2003) and The Perfect Man (2005) with Hillary Duff and Chris Noth.
Personal life:
Locklear has dated Tom Cruise and Scott Baio as for her married life,
Heather and Tommy Lee got divorced in 1992, and in the tradition of falling
for rock 'n' rollers, Heather married Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora in
Paris, in 1994. The couple welcomed their first daughter, Ava Elizabeth,
into the world in 1997. Locklear's representative announced on February 2,
2006 that divorce papers had been filed to dissolve the couple's marriage.
In further papers filed by Sambora, it has been revealed that the couple has
been separated since December 26, 2005, and that Sambora will be seeking
joint custody of Ava. After filing for divorce, Sambora became romantically
involved with Denise Richards, ending their friendship least in terms of
media coverage. In May 2007, Locklear and fellow Melrose Place alum Jack
Wagner confirmed their new romance at a charity golf event.
  |