Sheila Wills | |
---|---|
Born | [1] | August 11, 1947
Nationality | American |
Other names | Sheila DeWindt [1] |
Alma mater | Occidental College [3] |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1975–present |
Notable credit(s) | Role as Angie on NBC-TV series B. J. and the Bear , numerous TV series guest or recurring appearances |
Spouse | Hal DeWindt (1977-1981) [2] [3] |
Partner | Philip Michael Thomas (1982-?) [3] [4] |
Children | Melody Thomas India Thomas [3] |
Relatives | Deborah Lacey (sister) [5] |
Sheila Wills (born August 11, 1947 [1] ) is an American actress, also known as Sheila DeWindt. She is known for her regular role on the television series B. J. and the Bear , and recurring roles on series including Days of Our Lives , Battlestar Galactica , and Generations . [6] [7]
Wills was born in Louisiana and raised in Los Angeles, California. [2] She started working at a young age, stating in 1982, "I've had a job since I was 11 - it might have been waiting tables or cleaning houses... but it helped me attain a goal". [8] Wills graduated from Occidental College, where she later became an assistant dean of admissions. [3] She had always wanted to be an actress, and quit her job in education shortly after attending an actor's workshop in Los Angeles in 1975. [8]
Before landing the role of Angie on B.J. and the Bear, Wills made guest appearances on a number of television series, including Baretta , Kojak , Quincy , and The Six Million Dollar Man . [2] Later television appearances included McClain's Law , The Jeffersons , and The A-Team . [8] [5] Wills has also modeled and appeared in commercials and films, including Goldengirl , Youngblood , and The Concorde... Airport '79 . [8] [4]
The actor's workshop Wills attended in 1975 was run by producer/director/actor Hal DeWindt. Wills and DeWindt married two years later. [2] The couple divorced in 1981, [2] and the actress returned to using the name Wills some years later. [7] Following her divorce, Wills had a relationship with actor Philip Michael Thomas. Wills and Thomas had two children together, Melody and India. [3] [9]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1979 | The Concorde... Airport '79 | Young Girl | |
1979 | Goldengirl | Debbie | |
1978 | Youngblood | Joan | |
1978 | A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich | Admissions Clerk | |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | NCIS: Los Angeles [10] | Thelma | One episode |
2022–present | All American | Ms. Maritta | Two episodes |
2003 | Scrubs | Wife | Episode: My Friend the Doctor |
1997 | 7th Heaven | Teacher | Episode: Dangerous Liaisons: Part 2 |
1996 | Sweet Temptation | Lawyer | TV movie |
1995 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Professor Helen Kincaid | Episode: Breast Side Up |
1995 | Tyson | Ruth Roper | TV movie |
1994 | Jack Reed: A Search for Justice | Mary Alice | TV movie |
1994 | I Spy Returns | Lily Scott | TV movie |
1992 | Swamp Thing | Daphne Scott | Episode: Dead and Married |
1990 | Shannon's Deal | Liz Washington | Episode: Custody |
1989 | Knots Landing | Ticket Taker | Episode: Road Trip |
1989 | Hunter | Donna Carlisle | Episode: Teen Dreams |
1989 | Generations | Rita Barton | |
1988 | Cagney & Lacey | Stacey | Episode: "Amends" |
1988 | The Bold and the Beautiful | Beverly Murdock | Three episodes |
1986 | The A-Team | Deborah Duke | Episode: The Duke of Whispering Pines |
1985 | Stir Crazy | Angela | Episode: The Ping Pong Caper |
1984 | Webster | Ms. Oliver | Episode: Dreamland |
1983–1984 | Days of Our Lives | Joan Hopkins | Two episodes |
1983 | The Powers of Matthew Star | Kerry | Episode: Brain Drain |
1982 | The Jeffersons | Dede Sanderson | Episode: Appointment in 8-B |
1982 | The New Odd Couple | Episode: That Was No Lady | |
1981 | McClain's Law | Episode: A Time of Peril | |
1981 | B. J. and the Bear | Angie | Fifteen episodes |
1980 | Galactica 1980 | Stewardess | Episode: The Night the Cylons Landed: Part 1 |
1980 | Quincy, M.E. | Katya Hester | Episode: T.K.O. |
1979 | Buck Rogers in the 25th Century | Major Fields | Episode: Planet of the Slave Girls |
1978 | Battlestar Galactica | Lieutenant Deitra | Two episodes |
1978 | Switch | Cleo Johnson | Episode: Photo Finish |
1978 | Baretta | Minnie | Episode: The Bundle |
1977 | Kojak | Leilah | Episode: The Summer of '69: Part 1 |
1976–1977 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Rhonda/Saleslady | Two episodes |
1975 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Clerk | Episode: The Medea Factor |
Lilakoi Moon, known professionally as Lisa Bonet, is an American actress. She portrayed Denise Huxtable on the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992), for which she earned widespread acclaim and a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1986; she reprised the role of Denise in the first season of the spinoff series A Different World.
Nell Carter was an American actress and singer.
Dyan Cannon is an American actress, filmmaker and editor. Her accolades include a Saturn Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Academy Award nominations and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was named Female Star of the Year by the National Association of Theatre Owners in 1973 and the Hollywood Women's Press Club in 1979.
Diahann Carroll was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. Carroll was the recipient of numerous stage and screen nominations and awards, including her Tony Award in 1962, Golden Globe Award in 1968, and five Emmy Award nominations.
Sheila McCarthy is a Canadian actress and singer. She has worked in film, television, and on stage. McCarthy is one of Canada's most honoured actors, having won two Genie Awards (film), two Gemini Awards (television), an ACTRA Award, and two Dora Awards (theatre), along with multiple nominations.
Jeannette Theresa Dubois, known professionally as Ja'Net DuBois, Ja'net DuBois, and Ja'Net Du Bois, was an American actress and singer. She was best known for her portrayal of Willona Woods, the neighborhood gossip maven and a friend of the Evans family on the CBS sitcom Good Times, which aired from 1974 to 1979. DuBois additionally cowrote and sang the theme song "Movin' On Up" for The Jeffersons, which aired from 1975 until 1985. After beginning her career on the stage in the early 1960s, DuBois appeared on television shows and in films into the mid-2010s.
Julie Bowen is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom Modern Family (2009–2020), for which she received widespread critical acclaim. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011 and 2012.
Keshia Knight Pulliam is an American actress. She began her career as a child actor. She landed her breakthrough role as Rudy Huxtable, on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992), and became the youngest person to be nominated for an Emmy Award, when she earned a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in A Comedy Series at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards. She later reprised the character on the spin-off series A Different World (1987–88). Pulliam is also known for her portrayal of Miranda Lucas-Payne on the TBS comedy drama Tyler Perry's House of Payne (2007–present).
Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock is an English actress, singer, and author. She has performed in both plays and musicals in London’s theatre scene, and her Broadway debut in Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1966) earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Play.
Tisha Michelle Campbell is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut appearing in the 1986 rock musical comedy film Little Shop of Horrors, and later starred on the NBC musical comedy drama Rags to Riches (1987–1988). She has appeared in films including School Daze (1988), Rooftops (1989), Another 48 Hrs. (1990), Boomerang (1992), and Sprung (1997). She received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for playing Sidney in the comedy film House Party (1990). She reprises the role of Sidney in the sequels House Party 2 (1991) and House Party 3 (1994).
Sydney Tamiia Poitier is an American-Canadian television and film actress.
Vernee Christell Johnson is an American actress, author, and acting coach. Watson-Johnson is known for her recurring roles as Vernajean Williams on Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979), as Viola "Vy" Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–1996), playing the mother of Will Smith's character and head nurse Gloria Tyler on Bob Hearts Abishola (2019–2024). She is often featured in guest or recurring roles as a nurse. Since 2017 she has played Stella Henry on General Hospital.
Betty Jean Ward is an American actress. She is the creator and the star of Stand-Up Opera, a musical one-woman show.
Shari Headley is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lisa McDowell in the 1988 box-office hit romantic comedy film Coming to America and its sequel Coming 2 America (2021). Headley also has appeared in films The Preacher's Wife (1996) and Johnson Family Vacation (2004).
Monica Calhoun is an American film and television actress. Calhoun is best known for her roles in the films Bagdad Cafe (1987), The Players Club (1998), The Salon (2005), The Best Man (1999), and its sequel The Best Man Holiday (2013). She has also appeared in the films Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) and Love & Basketball (2000). Calhoun has been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award and one NAACP Image Award.
Denise Donna Nicholas is an American actress. Nicholas played high-school guidance counselor Liz McIntyre on the ABC comedy-drama series Room 222 and Councilwoman Harriet DeLong on the NBC/CBS drama series In the Heat of the Night.
Kathleen Nolan is an American actress and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. From 1957 to 1962, she played Kate McCoy, a housewife, on the television series The Real McCoys.
Aisling Sinead Katie Loftus is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress and first gained prominence through her roles in the BBC dramas Five Daughters (2010) and Dive (2010), the play Spur of the Moment, and the film Death of a Superhero (2011).
Brenda Sykes is a former American actress who made a number of films and appeared in television series in the 1970s. She was discovered on The Dating Game.
Harold "Hal" DeWindt was an American producer, director, actor, and model. He worked to increase opportunities for African Americans in the arts.