Heidi Cheryl Shepard (born 5 February 1966 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

) is an American actress based in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. She gained fame through her role in German

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

'' Hinter Gittern – Der Frauenknast'' ("Behind Bars - the Women's Prison") between 1997 and 2000. From 2003 to 2015, she appeared in hospital drama ''

In aller Freundschaft (''In all friendship'') is a German television soap opera that began airing in 1998 every Tuesday. The series follows the staff of the fictional Sachsenklinik hospital in the city of Leipzig. The series is produced by Degeto (a subsidiary of ...

'' ("In All Friendliness").

Life and career

Shepard's family moved to Switzerland when she was four years old, where she grew up in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...

, Bern and

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...

. She attended

drama school A drama school, stage school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution (such as the Drama section at the Juilliard School); which specializes in the p ...

in Zürich, graduating in 1986. She gained stage experience at the

Staatstheater Stuttgart The Staatstheater Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Theatre) is a theatre with three locations, Oper Stuttgart (Opera Stuttgart), Stuttgarter Ballett (Stuttgart Ballet), and Schauspiel Stuttgart (Stuttgart Drama Theatre), in Stuttgart, Germany. The ...

and the

Nationaltheater Mannheim The Mannheim National Theatre (german: Nationaltheater Mannheim) is a theatre and opera company in Mannheim, Germany, with a variety of performance spaces. It was founded in 1779 and is one of the oldest theatres in Germany. History In the 18 ...

. In 1990, she moved to the

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lak ...

area, where she oriented herself more towards film and television. She moved to

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

in 2007, where she still lives. In 1997, she played her first major role in a television series, appearing in 80

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning ...

s of ''Hinter Gittern – Der Frauenknast'', playing Susanne Teubner, a character who killed her husband in a

crime of passion A crime of passion (French: ''crime passionnel''), in popular usage, refers to a violent crime, especially homicide, in which the perpetrator commits the act against someone because of sudden strong impulse such as anger rather than as a premed ...

. From 2003 to 2015, she played

plastic surgeon Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes cranio ...

and

urologist Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and '' -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary-tract system and the reproductive org ...

Dr Elena Eichhorn in ''In aller Freundschaft''. Following that, she struggled to find new roles and filed for bankruptcy. On 31 July 2015, she opened a

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

, ''Cheryl's Café'', in Leipzig, but she had already closed the business by April 2016. Between May 2016 and April 2017, she played a leading role in the 13th season of

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ( ...

Rote Rosen ''Rote Rosen'' (Red Roses) is a German telenovela produced by Studio Hamburg Serienwerft Lüneburg and broadcast by Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasti ...

'' ("Red Roses"). She supports causes advocating cultural awareness and is an active member of the charity ''Hand in Hand International e.V. – Verein für Begegnung und Zusammenarbeit''. Shepard has been married to German actor Nikolaus Okonkwo since 2006. They have a biological son and two adopted children. She also has two adult daughters from her first marriage.

Selected filmography

* 1990: Mit Leib und Seele (TV series, episode 2x05) * 1997: Freunde fürs Leben (TV series) * 1997: Der Mordsfilm (TV series, 3 episodes) * 1997–2000: Hinter Gittern – Der Frauenknast (TV series, 80 episodes) * 2001: Ein Vater zum Verlieben (TV film) * 2002:

Nesthocker – Familie zu verschenken is a German television series. See also * List of German television series External links * 1999 German television series debuts 2002 German television series endings German-language television shows ZDF original programming {{Ge ...

(TV series, episodes 3x04–3x05) * 2002: Sternenfänger (TV series, 26 episodes) * 2003: * 2003–2015:

(TV series, 483 episodes) * 2008: Der Arzt vom Wörthersee (TV series, episodes 1x03–1x04) * 2010: Stuttgart Homicide (TV series, episode 1x06) * 2011: (feature film) * 2015: Blauwasserleben (TV film) * 2016–2017:

(telenovela, 199 episodes)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Cheryl American actresses American expatriate actresses in Germany American expatriates in Germany 1966 births Living people 21st-century American women