Who is Sharon Lawrence?
American actress and movie producer Sharon Elizabeth Lawrence was born in Charlotte, North Carolina USA, on 29 June 1961, making her zodiac sign Cancer. She’s had roles in over 110 movies and TV series, and is probably still best known for her playing of A. D. A. Sylvia Costas (1993-1999) in the mystery crime drama “NYPD Blue”, which David Milch and Steven Bochco created, and which starred Gordon Clapp, Jimmy Smits and Dennis Franz. It follows a group of detectives as they’re solving crimes in New York City, the series aired from 1993 to 2005 and won 108 of its 311 award nominations.
Education and early life
Sharon and her brother Mark Lawrence were raised in Charlotte by their father Tom and mother Earlyn Lawrence; not a lot is known about her family, because she’s respective of their privacy, while it’s known that her father Tom worked as a reporter and news anchor at WRAL-TV.
Sharon and her family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina when she was 16, and she thus transferred from a local high school in Charlotte to Needham B. Broughton High School; some of the activities in which Sharon enjoyed taking part in during her time there were acting with the school’s drama club, singing and dancing.
She matriculated in 1979, and then enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism four years later.
Sharon was a popular theatre actress prior to launching her career on TV, and her two most notable performances were perhaps in the 1987 Broadway production of “Cabaret”, and the 1990 production of “Fiddler on the Roof”.
Roles in TV series
Sharon’s debut TV series role was in the 1992 episode “Drone of Arc” of the drama “Civil Wars”, and she could then have been seen appearing in an episode of the romantic drama “Beverly Hills, 90210”, the comedy drama “Cheers”, and the action science fiction adventure “Star Trek: Voyager”.
In 1997 and 1998, she portrayed Gwen Leonard in the comedy “Fired Up”, and from 1999 to 2001, Sharon starred as Donna Stiles in the comedy “Ladies Man”, created by Chris Thompson, and which also starred Alfred Molina and Betty White. It follows Jimmy and Donna as they’re raising their daughter Wendy, while Jimmy also has a daughter Bonnie with his former wife Claire; the series was nominated for four awards.
Sharon could then have been seen playing supporting characters in the horror “Wolf Lake”, the mystery crime drama “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and the mystery comedy drama “Desperate Housewives”.
In 2007, she played Tess Wiatt in the romantic mystery drama “Hidden Palms”, created by Kevin Williamson, and which starred Michael Cassidy, Taylor Handley and Amber Heard; it tells the story of a teenager who’s just moved to Palm Springs with his family. A couple of Sharon’s roles in the remainder of the 2000s were in the biographical crime drama “The Capture of the Green River Killer”, the crime comedy drama “Monk”, and the fantasy drama “Ghost Whisperer”.
Between 2009 and 2013, she played Bobbie Dobkins in the comedy drama “Drop Dead Diva”, created by Josh Berman, and which starred Brooke Elliott, Margaret Cho and Kate Levering. It follows an aspiring model who died in a car accident, and who’s now been resurrected as an overweight attorney; the movie won eight of its 20 award nominations.
Sharon’s also known for her playing of Diana Stockman in the 2016 drama “Game of Silence”, created by David Hudgins, and which starred David Lyons, Michael Raymond-James and Larenz Tate; it follows a lawyer whose childhood ‘friends’ are threatening to expose dark secrets from his past.
Sharon’s three most recent TV series roles have been in eight episodes of the drama “Dynasty” since 2018, the 2022 episode “Soothing Electric Vibration” of the drama “Queen Sugar” and 11 episodes of the 2022 western drama “Joe Pickett”.
Roles in movies
Sharon’s debut film appearance was in the 1994 action “Bloodfist V: Human Target”, while a couple of her following roles were in the action thriller drama “In the Line of Duty: The Price of Vengeance”, the drama “Someone She Knows”, and the family fantasy comedy “The Shaggy Dog”, all released in 1994.
She gained recognition in 1997, when cast to play Joleen Quillet in the romantic drama “The Only Thrill”, directed by Peter Masterson, and which starred Diane Keaton, Sam Shepard and Diane Lane; it follows owner of a used-clothing store Reece McHenry and his lover Carol Fitzsimmons who’s working in it.
The first half of the 2000s saw Sharon appear in the 2002 action science fiction drama “Atomic Twister”, the 2003 drama “Word of Honor”, and the 2004 romantic comedy drama “Little Black Book”, while what marked the decade for her was perhaps her playing of Judith Hatch in the 2006 romantic comedy drama “Lies and Alibis”, directed by Matt Checkowski and Kurt Mattila, and which starred Jerry O’Connell, Jon Polito and Deborah Kara Unger. It tells the story of a man who’s the owner of an alibi service for unfaithful husbands.
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A couple of Sharon’s following roles were in the 2009 drama “Buzz”, the 2010 comedy “Hitched” and the 2014 drama “Grace”.
She portrayed Katherine Palmer in the 2018 family drama “Poinsettias for Christmas”, directed by Christie Will Wolf, and which starred Bethany Joy Lenz, Marcus Rosner and John Schneider. It follows Ellie who’s returned home for Christmas to help her family with their poinsettia farm, and the film was nominated for a Leo Award for Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Television Movie (Rhonda Dent).
Sharon’s three most recent film roles have been in the 2020 short drama “A Small Family Affair”, the 2021 horror “Grave Intentions”, and the 2021 romantic drama “The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls”.
Other credits
Sharon produced the 1997 crime thriller movie “Five Desperate Hours”, but it failed to attract any attention.
She received special thanks for the 2005 documentary movie “’NYPD Blue’: A Final Tribute”, the 2005 romantic comedy film “Nearing Grace”, and the 2009 short drama movie “I Have It”.
Sharon’s made a guest appearance in talk-shows “The Actor’s Choice”, “Home & Family” and “Celebrity Page”, amongst others.
Awards and nominations
Sharon’s won four of her 22 award nominations, with some of her wins including a 1995 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, for her and her colleagues’ performance in “NYPD Blue”, a 2007 Method Fest Award for Best Actress, for her performance in “Fool Me Once”, and a 2017 USA Film Festival Jury Award for Performance, for “Home”.
Love life and husband
Sharon’s quite secretive when it comes to speaking about her love life in public, but it’s still widely known that she’s today a married woman. She wed American non-celebrity Dr. Tom Apostle on 31 May 2002, in a private ceremony held in Los Angeles, California at the Saint Sophia Green Orthodox church; it was at the same church that Sharon’s character in the series “NYPD Blue” married the character Andy Sipowicz.
Prior to meeting Tom, Sharon was in a relationship with American actor, producer and director Thomas Colbert Carter.
She hasn’t mentioned other men whom she’s perhaps dated, and Sharon’s married to Dr. Tom Apostle as of October 2022, they don’t have children.
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Interesting facts and hobbies
Sharon’s passionate about dancing, and began taking lessons at the age of four; she’s revealed that she believes all dancers to be athletes. She’s also a talented singer.
Sharon was once the Chair of the Women in Film Foundation, which aims to help women complete their movies via Netflix grants.
She’s quite active on Instagram, and there are nearly 40,000 people following her on the social media network today, while Sharon’s posted more than 3,300 pictures and videos onto her account.
She’s into all kinds of art, with sculpting and painting being her two favorites.
Sharon enjoys visiting historical and cultural locations all around the world, and her favorite city to travel to is Cusco, Peru.
Her favorite actresses are Cate Blanchett and France McDormand, and some of her favorite movies include “Where’d You Go, Bernadette”, “Nightmare Alley”, and “Blue Jasmine”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Sharon’s age is 61. She has light blue eyes and long blonde hair, her weight is about 120lbs (55kgs), and she’s 5ft 5ins (1.65m) tall.
Sharon’s net worth’s been estimated at over $6 million, as of October 2022.
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