Elizabeth Ward Gracen (born Elizabeth Grace Ward, April 3, 1961) is an American actress and beauty pageant contestant who won the title of Miss America in 1982.

Early life and education

Elizabeth Grace Ward was born on April 3, 1961, in Ozark,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, the daughter of Patricia Hampe, a nurse, and Jimmy Young Ward, a poultry worker. She was raised in Booneville, Arkansas. The family later moved to Russellville, Arkansas, where Ward dated University of Arkansas trainer Mike Walker and graduated from Russellville High School in 1979. She was a junior accounting major at Arkansas Tech University at the time she entered the Miss America contest. Instead of returning to Arkansas Tech, she used her Miss America scholarship money to study acting at HB Studios in New York City.

Career

Pageants and modeling

Gracen won the titles of Miss Arkansas in 1981 and Miss America in 1982. After her yearlong work as Miss America, she enrolled in acting classes then relocated to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to pursue a film and television career. Gracen posed nude for '' Playboy'' magazine's May 1992 issue.

Acting

Gracen made her professional feature film debut in ''Three For The Road'' with

Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He is known as a leading man in film and television. Sheen has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award as well as ...

. Her film credits also include a featured role in '' Marked for Death'', opposite Steven Seagal, ''Pass The Ammo'' with Tim Curry, and the CBS feature ''83 Hours Till Dawn'' with Peter Strauss and Robert Urich. Gracen starred in '' Lower Level'' and ''Discretion Assured'' with Michael York. On television, Gracen has appeared in Shelley Duvall's '' Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', Sidney Sheldon's '' The Sands of Time,'' and ''The'' ''Death of the Incredible Hulk''. She also appeared with a starring role in the series ''Extreme'' for NBC and the syndicated series '' Renegade'' and '' Queen of Swords''. Gracen's best-known acting role has been as the recurring character Amanda, a 1,200-year-old immortal, in the series '' Highlander: The Series'' and its spin-off series '' Highlander: The Raven''. Elizabeth Gracen by Gage Skidmore

In December 1999, Gracen filed for bankruptcy protection. After few television guest roles, and a supporting role in the made-for-television movie ''Interceptor Force 2'', she took a long leave of absence from acting, beginning in 2002. Gracen began doing voiceover work for Blue Hours Productions, which has revived the classic radio anthology '' Suspense'', which airs on Sirius XM. In 2012, Gracen did a character voice-over in the Malaysian animated science fiction film '' War of the Worlds: Goliath''.

Directing, producing, and writing

In 2012, Gracen formed Flapper Films. In 2014, she starred in ''Coherence'', a sci-fi indie thriller. In January 2016, Gracen established Flapper Press and self-published ''Shalilly'', a young adult fantasy novel. Gracen made her directorial debut with a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

short, "The Damn Deal," about three young drag queens from Arkansas who compete in female impersonator beauty pageants.

Personal life

Marriages and family

Gracen married Jon Birmingham in 1982, and they divorced in 1984. In 1989, while filming '' Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat'', she met actor Brendan Hughes, and they married soon after. They divorced in 1994. Gracen married Adam Murphy, and they have a daughter.

Affair with Bill Clinton

According to Gracen, some time in 1983, she had a one-night stand with future President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

when he was

Governor of Arkansas The governor of Arkansas is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of the Politics and government of Arkansas, Arkansas government a ...

. She was married at the time, as was he. In 1992, rumors swirled that Gracen had had an affair with Clinton. At first, Gracen dismissed this claim (as requested by Clinton's campaign manager Mickey Kantor); however, in spring 1998 Gracen recanted her six-year-old denial and stated she had a one-night stand with Clinton in 1983. Gracen stated that "What I did was wrong, and I feel very, very bad about it now. My behavior was inappropriate -- that's just the bottom line" and publicly apologized to

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

. After her claim, Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, who was investigating Clinton in the Paula Jones lawsuit, issued a subpoena to have her testify to her claim in court. However, Gracen eluded the subpoena and was at one point able to avoid it because '' Highlander: The Raven'' was being filmed outside of the US. Paula Jones's legal team was also unable to track down Gracen because she had made unscheduled trips to Las Vegas and the Caribbean.

Filmography

* '' Three for the Road'' (1987) Nadine * '' Pass the Ammo'' (1988) Christie Lynn * '' The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (1989) * '' Lisa'' (1989) Mary * '' The Death of the Incredible Hulk'' (1990) Jasmin * '' Marked for Death'' (1990) Melissa * '' The Flash'' (1990 TV Series) 1 episode - Celia Wayne * ''83 Hours 'Til Dawn'' (1990) Maria Ranfield * '' Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat'' (1991) Alice * '' Lower Level'' (1992) Hillary * ''The Sands of Time'' (1992) * ''Final Mission'' (1993) Caitlin Cole * '' Time Trax'' episode 7 (1993) Sydney * ''Discretion Assured'' (1993) Miranda * '' Highlander: The Series'' (1992–1998) Amanda * '' Renegade: The Series'' (1992–1997) Rikki Yeager * '' Murder, She Wrote'' (1994) Michelle Scarlotti * '' The Expert'' (1995) Liz Pierce * '' Extreme'' (1995) Callie Manners * '' Kounterfeit'' (1996) Bridgette * '' Highlander: The Raven'' (1998–1999) Amanda * '' Queen of Swords'' "Counterfeit Queen" (2000) Carlotta * '' Charmed'' "Bite Me" (2002) Vampire Queen * '' Interceptor Force 2'' (2002) Adriana Sikes * '' War of the Worlds: Goliath'' (2012) Lt. Jennifer Carter (voice) * '' Coherence'' (2013) Beth

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gracen, Elizabeth 1961 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers Actresses from Arkansas American fantasy writers American women science fiction and fantasy writers Novelists from Arkansas American television actresses Miss America 1980s delegates Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners Miss America winners People from Booneville, Arkansas People from Ozark, Arkansas People from Pope County, Arkansas Bill Clinton controversies