Sharon Gless

Los Angeles, California, USA

Biography

Sharon Gless is an American actress known for her iconic TV roles, including Sgt. Christine Cagney in Cagney & Lacey, Debbie Novotny in Queer as Folk, and Madeline Westen in Burn Notice. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and two Emmy Awards for her performances. Gless began her career as a secretary before transitioning to acting and has also appeared in stage productions like Misery and The Vagina Monologues.

Movies

The Trials of Rosie O'Neill is an American television drama series, which aired on CBS from 1990 to 1992. The show stars Sharon Gless as Fiona Rose "Rosie" O'Neill, a lawyer working in the public defender's office for the City of Los Angeles. The show marked the return of Gless to series television after her Emmy-winning run on Cagney & Lacey. "Rosie" was produced by Cagney & Lacey producer Barney Rosenzweig, whom Gless married in 1991. Despite the show's brilliant writing and production, it did not sustain a sizable audience, and was canceled by CBS in 1992. Each episode opens with Rosie talking with her therapist, whose face was never seen on camera. Rosie had been at the receiving end of an unwanted divorce, after her attorney husband had an affair. The advertisement for the series which appeared in TV Guide the night the series debuted told the story as follows: "I'm 43 and divorced. He got our law practice, the Mercedes, and the dog. It's only fair that I should be angry. I really liked that dog." The show's cast also included Dorian Harewood, Ron Rifkin, Georgann Johnson, Lisa Rieffel, and Robert Wagner. Season 2 saw two new cast additions: Ed Asner joined the cast as the cantankerous Kovac, a retired cop hired by Rosie's law firm as one of their investigators. David Rasche was cast in a recurring dramatic role as Patrick Ginty, Rosie's ex-husband who was often referred to but never seen in the first season. Adding Asner to the regular cast squeezed out Dorian Harewood, who was billed as "Special Guest Star" in all season 2 episodes.

More info
The Trials of Rosie O'Neill
1990