Shannon Whirry

Last updated
Shannon Whirry
Born
Shannon Meta Whirry

1964/1965 [1]
OccupationActress
Years active1991–present

Shannon Meta Whirry (born 1964/1965) [1] is an American actress.

Contents

Early life

Shannon Meta Whirry [1] was born in Green Lake, Wisconsin, the daughter of Sherrill ( née  Giese) [2] and Russell Clyde Whirry [3] (1943–1988). [4]

Career

A native of Green Lake, Wisconsin, where she was the salutatorian of her 1983 high school graduating class, [5] in 1985 Whirry was accepted to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, one of only 365 accepted out of 3,000 applicants and one of only 65 to graduate the 2-year program. [6] While attempting to establish her career in New York, Whirry worked as a bartender, took a number of small bit roles and appeared in a commercial for FedEx; the latter work finally allowed her to join the Screen Actors Guild. [3] Her first film role was in the action film Out for Justice starring Steven Seagal. [6]

She thereafter began to work in a number of direct-to-video erotic B-movies and unrated thrillers, [3] concurrent with Tanya Roberts, Maria Ford, and Shannon Tweed who appeared in the same kinds of films at the time. She starred in Gregory Hippolyte's productions of Animal Instincts I and II, Body of Influence, and Mirror Images II. [3] Entertainment Weekly referred to Whirry and Hippolyte as "the Dietrich and Von Sternberg of the soft-core set" [7] Other films at the time included Private Obsession and Playback, a Playboy production.

In the late-1990s, she transitioned from erotic thrillers into a series of roles on mainstream network television and films, including action, sci-fi and horror genres. She had a recurring role as Mike Hammer's secretary Velda in the television series Mike Hammer, Private Eye and made guest appearances on such shows as ER , Felicity , Seinfeld , V.I.P. , Murphy Brown , Malcolm in the Middle and Nash Bridges . She also had a small role in the Jim Carrey film Me, Myself & Irene (2000).

In 2007, she appeared on a BBC TV miniseries, Nuclear Secrets , playing Kitty Oppenheimer, the wife of Robert Oppenheimer.

She occasionally performs with theater companies in Arizona, where she lives [8] and has continued appearing in small roles in films, including independent film Raising Buchanan in 2019.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991 Out for Justice Terry Malloy
1992 Animal Instincts Joanna ColeVideo
1993 Body of Influence Laura/LanaVideo
Sliver Woman Looking In Mirror
Mirror Images 2 Carrie/TerrieVideo
1994Animal Instincts 2Joanna ColeVideo
The Gift Sitting WomanTV movie
Lady in WaitingLori
1995Texas JusticeRebeccaTV movie
Private Obsession Emmanuelle GriffithVideo
The Granny Kelly GargoliVideo
Dangerous PreyRobin
Fatal PursuitJill
1996PlaybackKaren
ExitDianeVideo
Omega Doom Zed, Droid LeaderVideo
RingerKristin/Tracy
1997 Retroactive Rayanne Lloyd
1999Active StealthGina MurphyVideo
2000The Prophet's GameBarb
Me, Myself & Irene Beautiful Mom
2001 Mach 2 Shannon Carpenter
Lying in WaitLori
OutlawLiz
2008 Jolene Teacher
2009IngeniousLydia
Middle MenScreaming Mother
2010 Everything Must Go Nurse
Dead WestSarah Dust
2012Out of FocusDetective Jessie JohnstonShort
2019 Raising Buchanan Parnella Monroe

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1992 Santa Barbara LolaEpisode: "Episode #1.2094"
1993 Down the Shore SueEpisode: "The Last Temptation of Eddie: Part 1 & 2"
EdenLauren's FriendEpisode: "Eden 6"
Silk Stalkings Karen DanielsEpisode: "Look the Other Way"
1997 Murder One Deborah CummingsEpisode: "Chapter Ten, Year Two"
Murphy Brown AmberEpisode: "Blind Date"
Nash Bridges SuzanneEpisode: "Moving Target"
Pacific Blue Kay McNeilEpisode: "Ties That Bind"
Seinfeld Cute GirlEpisode: "The Butter Shave"
1997-98 Mike Hammer, Private Eye VeldaMain Cast
1998 Silk Stalkings Victoria TremainEpisode: "Passion and the Palm Beach Detectives"
1999 Air America Dr. Veronica BradyEpisode: "Fear of Flying"
Sons of Thunder SabrinaEpisode: "Daddy's Girl"
V.I.P. Katherine JohnsonEpisode: "Why 2 Kay"
2000 City of Angels GinaRecurring Cast: Season 2
2001 Malcolm in the Middle Beautiful WomanEpisode: "Evacuation"
Black Scorpion Vox PopuliEpisode: "Face the Music"
Felicity Barb JonesEpisode: "Boooz"
2002FlatlandGinaEpisode: "Aurora" & "Triptych"
2003 ER Doreen BrantEpisode: "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished"
2007 Nuclear Secrets Kitty Oppenheimer Episode: "Superspy" & "Superbomb"

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "One will become Miss Oshkosh 1983". Oshkosh Northwestern . February 27, 1983. Retrieved July 24, 2023 via newspapers.com.
  2. "Engagements Announced: Giese, McConnell". Oshkosh Northwestern . October 22, 1977. Retrieved July 23, 2023 via newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Wolff, Patricia (February 9, 1995). "Former Green Lake Woman Has Role in TV Miniseries". Oshkosh Northwestern . Retrieved July 23, 2023 via newspapers.com.
  4. "Obituary for Russell Clyde Whirry". The Fox Lake Representative. December 22, 1988. Retrieved July 23, 2023 via newspapers.com.
  5. "Green Lake Top Graduates Named". Oshkosh Northwestern . May 23, 1983. Retrieved July 23, 2023 via newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 Madden, Amy T. (April 11, 1991). "From Green Lake to Hollywood: Actress debuts in first film". Oshkosh Northwestern . p. 15.
  7. Kenny, Glenn (1994-08-19). "Shannon Whirry: Video's reigning vixen". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 2017-03-26. Whirry and Hippolyte are fast becoming the Dietrich and Von Sternberg of the soft-core set, with four titles — Animal Instincts, Body of Influence, Mirror Images II, and the latest, Animal Instincts II, due out next week — under their belts.
  8. Lengel, Kerry (2008-01-20). "Valley actress never bored on the boards". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved 2017-03-26.