Sharon Marguerite Gless (born May 31, 1943) is an American actress,
who is known for her television roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch
(1975â€"78), Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama
series Cagney & Lacey (1982â€"88), the title role in The Trials of
Rosie O'Neill (1990â€"92), Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable
television series Queer as Folk (2000â€"2005), and Madeline Westen on
Burn Notice (2007â€"2013).A 10-time Emmy Award nominee and seven-time
Golden Globe Award nominee, she won a Golden Globe in 1986 and Emmys
in 1986 and 1987 for Cagney & Lacey, and a second Golden Globe in 1991
for The Trials of Rosie O'Neill. Gless received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995.A fifth-generation Californian, Sharon
Gless was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Marjorie (McCarthy) and
sportswear manufacturing executive Dennis J. Gless. She was raised
Catholic. She has two brothers, Michael and Aric; and her parents
divorced when she was in her teens. Her maternal grandfather was Neil
McCarthy, a prominent Los Angeles attorney for Howard Hughes, who also
had a large clientele of major film studio executives and actors.
Wanting to become an actress, she sought her grandfather's advice and
he told her, "Stay out of it, it's a filthy business!" A few years
later, though, when she spoke to him again about acting, he encouraged
her, and gave her money for acting classes.
who is known for her television roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch
(1975â€"78), Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama
series Cagney & Lacey (1982â€"88), the title role in The Trials of
Rosie O'Neill (1990â€"92), Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable
television series Queer as Folk (2000â€"2005), and Madeline Westen on
Burn Notice (2007â€"2013).A 10-time Emmy Award nominee and seven-time
Golden Globe Award nominee, she won a Golden Globe in 1986 and Emmys
in 1986 and 1987 for Cagney & Lacey, and a second Golden Globe in 1991
for The Trials of Rosie O'Neill. Gless received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995.A fifth-generation Californian, Sharon
Gless was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Marjorie (McCarthy) and
sportswear manufacturing executive Dennis J. Gless. She was raised
Catholic. She has two brothers, Michael and Aric; and her parents
divorced when she was in her teens. Her maternal grandfather was Neil
McCarthy, a prominent Los Angeles attorney for Howard Hughes, who also
had a large clientele of major film studio executives and actors.
Wanting to become an actress, she sought her grandfather's advice and
he told her, "Stay out of it, it's a filthy business!" A few years
later, though, when she spoke to him again about acting, he encouraged
her, and gave her money for acting classes.
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