Sheila Kelley (born October 9, 1963) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Gwen Taylor on '' L.A. Law'' as Dr. Charlotte "Charley" Bennett Hayes on ''

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

'' and as Debbie Wexler on '' The Good Doctor.''

Early life

Kelley was raised in

Greensburg, Pennsylvania Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city lies within the Laurel Highlands and the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau. The city is ...

, the youngest child in a household of six daughters and three sons. The two eldest were children of Leonard and Kate Thom; following Thom's 1950 death in a train accident, Kate married mining engineer and inventor Jay Kelley, with whom she had seven children including Sheila. Kelley studied ballet, anatomy and movement physiology at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

. One day during the months immediately following her freshman year, Kelley began suffering from the effects of congenital

hip dysplasia Hip dysplasia is an abnormality of the hip joint where the socket portion does not fully cover the ball portion, resulting in an increased risk for joint dislocation. Hip dysplasia may occur at birth or develop in early life. Regardless, it doe ...

, which ended her hopes of a dance career. Kelley switched to taking acting classes, and graduated from New York University with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachel ...

degree. After working in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

, she acquired a

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or sp ...

, began performing in plays, and with friends formed an Off-Off-Broadway theater troupe, The Elephant Company.

Career

Kelley began her acting career in the 1980s in television, with her first credited TV role in 1987. Her first film was ''

Some Girls ''Some Girls'' is the 14th UK and 16th US album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 9 June 1978 by Rolling Stones Records. It was recorded in sessions held between October 1977 and February 1978 at Pathé Marconi Studios in ...

'' in 1988. She played the character Gwen Taylor in the legal drama '' L.A. Law'' from 1990 to 1993. Most of her work has been in guest roles on American TV series, although she notably played a stripper and performed a seductive dance routine onscreen in the 2000 feature film ''

Dancing at the Blue Iguana ''Dancing at the Blue Iguana'' is a 2000 American erotic drama film, released September 14, 2000, directed by Michael Radford about the lives of strippers at a gentlemen's club. The film was based on an improvisational workshop involving the lea ...

''. Kelley was cast in a recurring role in the final season of ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

'' in 2010, playing Zoe. From 2011 to 2012, she played Carol Rhodes on ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

''.

Personal life

Kelley and actor

Richard Schiff Richard Schiff (born May 27, 1955) is an American actor and director. He is best known for playing Toby Ziegler on ''The West Wing'', a role for which he received an Emmy Award. Schiff made his directorial debut with ''The West Wing'', directing ...

married in 1996. Kelley was cast to play his love interest, and later his wife, on ''The Good Doctor''. They have a son, Gus, born in 1994, and a daughter, Ruby, born in August 2000. Following her role as a stripper in the film ''

'' (2000), Kelley became a fan of

pole dancing Pole dance combines dance and acrobatics centered on a vertical pole. This performance art form takes place not only in gentleman's clubs as erotic dance, but also as a mainstream form of fitness, practiced in gyms and dedicated dance studios ...

, and built a national chain of exercise studios around her "S Factor" exercise method, including her book, ''S Factor: Strip Workouts for Every Woman'', DVDs, and inspirational monthly editorials at the "S Factor" website. Her fitness program incorporates Pilates,

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

, stretching and pole dance routines.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Sheila Kelley's S FactorSheila Kelley – Let’s Get Naked: A Talk About Men, Women and the Erotic CreatureSheila Kelley Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Sheila 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Pennsylvania American film actresses American television actresses Living people People from Greensburg, Pennsylvania 1963 births