Shannon Whirry | |
---|---|
Born | Shannon Meta Whirry 1964or1965(age 59–60) [1] Green Lake, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1991–present |
Shannon Meta Whirry (born 1964/1965) [1] is an American actress.
Shannon Meta Whirry [1] was born in Green Lake, Wisconsin, United States, the daughter of Sherril Jean "Sherry" ( née Kemnitz; [2] 1944–2016) [3] and Russell Clyde Whirry [4] (1943–1988). [5]
A native of Green Lake, Wisconsin, where she was the salutatorian of her 1983 high school graduating class, [6] 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. [7] 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. [4] Her first film role was in the action film Out for Justice starring Steven Seagal. [7]
She thereafter began to work in a number of direct-to-video erotic B-movies and unrated thrillers, [4] 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. [4] Entertainment Weekly referred to Whirry and Hippolyte as "the Dietrich and Von Sternberg of the soft-core set" [8] 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 [9] and has continued appearing in small roles in films, including independent film Raising Buchanan in 2019.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | Out for Justice | Terry Malloy | |
1992 | Animal Instincts | Joanna Cole | Video |
1993 | Body of Influence | Laura/Lana | Video |
Sliver | Woman Looking In Mirror | ||
Mirror Images 2 | Carrie/Terrie | Video | |
1994 | Animal Instincts 2 | Joanna Cole | Video |
The Gift | Sitting Woman | TV movie | |
Lady in Waiting | Lori | ||
1995 | Texas Justice | Rebecca | TV movie |
Private Obsession | Emmanuelle Griffith | Video | |
The Granny | Kelly Gargoli | Video | |
Dangerous Prey | Robin | ||
Fatal Pursuit | Jill | ||
1996 | Playback | Karen | |
Exit | Diane | Video | |
Omega Doom | Zed, Droid Leader | Video | |
Ringer | Kristin / Tracy | ||
1997 | Retroactive | Rayanne Lloyd | |
1999 | Active Stealth | Gina Murphy | Video |
2000 | The Prophet's Game | Barbara "Barb" | |
Me, Myself & Irene | Beautiful Mom | ||
2001 | Mach 2 | Shannon Carpenter | |
Lying in Wait | Lori | ||
Outlaw | Liz | ||
2008 | Jolene | Teacher | |
2009 | Ingenious | Lydia | |
Middle Men | Screaming Mother | ||
2010 | Everything Must Go | Nurse | |
Dead West | Sarah Dust | ||
2012 | Out of Focus | Detective Jessie Johnston | Short |
2019 | Raising Buchanan | Parnella Monroe |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | Santa Barbara | Lola | Episode: "Episode #1.2094" |
1993 | Down the Shore | Sue | Episode: "The Last Temptation of Eddie: Part 1 & 2" |
Eden | Lauren's Friend | Episode: "Eden 6" | |
Silk Stalkings | Karen Daniels | Episode: "Look the Other Way" | |
1997 | Murder One | Deborah Cummings | Episode: "Chapter Ten, Year Two" |
Murphy Brown | Amber | Episode: "Blind Date" | |
Nash Bridges | Suzanne | Episode: "Moving Target" | |
Pacific Blue | Kay McNeil | Episode: "Ties That Bind" | |
Seinfeld | Cute Girl | Episode: "The Butter Shave" | |
1997-1998 | Mike Hammer, Private Eye | Velda | Main Cast |
1998 | Silk Stalkings | Victoria Tremain | Episode: "Passion and the Palm Beach Detectives" |
1999 | Air America | Dr. Veronica Brady | Episode: "Fear of Flying" |
Sons of Thunder | Sabrina | Episode: "Daddy's Girl" | |
V.I.P. | Katherine Johnson | Episode: "Why 2 Kay" | |
2000 | City of Angels | Gina | Recurring Cast: Season 2 |
2001 | Malcolm in the Middle | Beautiful Woman | Episode: "Evacuation" |
Black Scorpion | Vox Populi | Episode: "Face the Music" | |
Felicity | Barbara "Barb" Jones | Episode: "Boooz" | |
2002 | Flatland | Gina | Episode: "Aurora" & "Triptych" |
2003 | ER | Doreen Brant | Episode: "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" |
2007 | Nuclear Secrets | Kitty Oppenheimer | Episode: "Superspy" & "Superbomb" |
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