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Leann Hunley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 25, 1955 Forks, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Known for | |
| Spouse | Bill Sheridan (m. 1980–2001) |
| Awards | Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series |
Leann Hunley (born February 25, 1955 [1] ) is an American television actress. Although she has worked in numerous productions, she is perhaps best known for portraying Anna DiMera on NBC's Days of Our Lives and Dana Waring on the ABC primetime soap opera, Dynasty .
Hunley was born in Forks, Washington. Her father was a commercial fisherman and her mother a beautician. She is the youngest of four siblings. Her previous occupation is an answering service operator. Leann has worked as a model and won second runner up in the Miss Hawaii pageant in 1977. [2]
Hunley's first television appearance was on Hawaii Five-O , in which she played separate characters in two different episodes during the series' 10th season, 1977-78. After appearing as an unnamed female Colonial Warrior in four episodes of Battlestar Galactica , Hunley guest-starred on Mrs. Columbo and B. J. and the Bear before becoming a regular on the latter's spinoff The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo . Her role as Anna DiMera on Days of Our Lives from 1982 [3] to 1986 won her an Emmy Award at the 13th Daytime Emmy Awards for best supporting actress in 1986. For three seasons of Dynasty , Hunley portrayed Dana Waring, Adam Carrington's wife. She appeared on Aaron Spelling's short-lived Models, Inc. . In the first season of Dawson's Creek (1998) she was Tamara Jacobs, a high school English teacher who has a tempestuous affair with her student Pacey Witter. She also played Shira Huntzberger on Gilmore Girls in 2005, and has guest-starred in various comedy and drama series such as Just Shoot Me! , Strong Medicine , Raising Hope , NCIS , and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit .
After a 21-year absence from playing the role, Hunley returned to Days of Our Lives as Anna on June 21, 2007, recurring on the series until mid-2010. She again returned to play the role of Anna DiMera for a story arc beginning in January 2017, and has continued to make appearances on the NBC daytime serial as of September 2022, while also playing the same character in the spinoff series Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem airing on the Peacock streaming service since 2021.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | The Beverly Hillbillies | Miss Arlington | |
| 1995 | Cops n Roberts | N/A | |
| 2001 | Your Guardian | Tanna Hildegard | |
| 2012 | Blissful Lies | Addison Hamilton |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Hawaii Five-O | Longworth's Secretary | Episode: "The Cop on the Cover" |
| 1978 | Hawaii Five-O | Lucy Sutherland | Episode: "Frozen Assets" |
| 1978 | The Islander | Mac's Wife | Television film |
| 1978–1979 | Battlestar Galactica | 1st Girl Warrior | 4 episodes |
| 1979 | B. J. and the Bear | Dr. Winters | Episode: "Crackers" |
| 1979 | Mrs. Columbo | Judy | Episode: "The Valley Strangler" |
| 1979–1980 | The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo | Sarah Cumberland | Main role |
| 1982 | Fantasy Island | Secretary | Episode: "The Curse of the Moreaus/My Man Friday" |
| 1982–1986, 2007–2010, 2017–present | Days of Our Lives | Anna DiMera | Regular role |
| 1983 | Hart to Hart | Diane | Episode: "As the Hart Turns" |
| 1984 | Airwolf | Meryl | Episode: "One Way Express" |
| 1985 | Amazing Stories | Woman | Episode: "Remote Control Man" |
| 1986 | Knight Rider | Liz Preston | Episode: "Fright Knight" |
| 1986 | Hotel | Catherine | Episode: "Opening Moves" |
| 1986-1988 | Dynasty | Dana Waring Carrington | Main role (seasons 7–8); guest role (season 9) |
| 1988 | Highway to Heaven | Jennifer | Episode: "We Have Forever: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1988 | Murder, She Wrote | Shannon McBride | Episode: "A Little Night Work" |
| 1988 | Simon & Simon | Violet Harlowe / R.J. Simmons | Episode: "Play It Again, Simon" |
| 1989 | The Last Word | Herself | Game show pilot |
| 1989 | Who's the Boss? | Lisa | Episode: "Winter Break" |
| 1989 | Wolf | N/A | Television film |
| 1990 | Designing Women | Gaby Langford | Episode: "The Mistress" |
| 1990 | Matlock | Leanne Wilson | Episode: "The Talk Show" |
| 1990 | Murder, She Wrote | Dana Darren | Episode: "Murder: According to Maggie" |
| 1990 | Lucky Chances | Eden | TV miniseries |
| 1990 | L.A. Law | Maura Fitzgerald | Episode: "New Kidney on the Block" |
| 1991 | Gabriel's Fire | Gwen Kidder | Episode: "Postcards from the Faultline" |
| 1991 | Princesses | Andrea Sussman | Episode: Pilot |
| 1992 | Coopersmith | Laraine Sands | Television film |
| 1993 | Silent Victim | Chrissy Lee | Television film |
| 1993 | Daddy Dearest | Pam | Episodes: "The Tortoise and the Scare", "Thanks, But No Thanks" |
| 1994 | The Nanny | Bobbi Jo | Episode: "I Don't Remember Mama" |
| 1994 | Models Inc. | Marcia Carson | 4 episodes |
| 1994 | Heaven Help Us | Sarah Barnett | Episode: "A Match Made in Heaven" |
| 1994 | Murder, She Wrote | Lydia De Kooning | Episode: "Amsterdam Kill" |
| 1995 | Murphy Brown | Linda | Episode: "Rumble in the Alley" |
| 1995 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Joan | Episode: "As the Will Turns" |
| 1995 | Burke's Law | Leslie Livingston | Episode: "Who Killed the Centerfold?" |
| 1996 | Hudson Street | Elizabeth Owens | Episode: "One for the Monet" |
| 1996 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Emily Channing | Episode: "Swear to God, This Time We're Not Kidding" |
| 1997 | 7th Heaven | Rachel Grewe | Episode: "Say Good-Bye" |
| 1998 | Dawson's Creek | Tamara Jacobs | Recurring role (seasons 1–2), 9 episodes |
| 1999 | Pensacola: Wings of Gold | Lauren Wells | Episode: "Mishap" |
| 1999 | Horse Sense | Jacy Woods | Television film |
| 2003 | Strong Medicine | Renee Van Dyke | Episode: "Blocked Lines" |
| 2003 | Just Shoot Me! | Binnie | Episode: "Strange Bedfellows" |
| 2005 | Gilmore Girls | Shira Huntzberger | Episodes: "But I'm a Gilmore!", "We've Got Magic to Do" |
| 2009 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Joyce Shepard | Episode: "Sugar" |
| 2010 | NCIS | Young Joann Fielding | Episode: "Mother's Day" |
| 2012 | Raising Hope | Francine | Episode: "The Walk for the Runs" |
| 2021 | Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem | Anna DiMera | Miniseries |
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(May 2023) |
| Year | Award | Category | Production | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Days of Our Lives | Won |
| 1986 | Soap Opera Digest Awards | Outstanding Comic Relief Role on a Daytime Serial | Days of Our Lives | Nominated |
| 1989 | Soap Opera Digest Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role: Prime Time | Dynasty | Nominated |
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