Julianne Phillips (born May 6, 1960) is an American former

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

and actress. She began her career as a model in the early 1980s before moving on to acting. She first attracted attention as the first wife of

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

and later for her role as Francesca "Frankie" Reed on the television drama series ''

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent 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 r ...

'' (1991–1996).

Biography

Phillips was born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, the youngest of six children in a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

family. She is the daughter of William Phillips, an

insurance broker An insurance broker is an intermediary who sells, solicits, or negotiates insurance on behalf of a client for compensation. An insurance broker is distinct from an insurance agent in that a broker typically acts on behalf of a client by negoti ...

and executive, and his wife, Ann. She has five siblings: four older brothers and one older sister. Phillips's family relocated to

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

in her early years, settling in the affluent Portland suburb of

Lake Oswego Lake Oswego ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, with small portions extending into neighboring Multnomah County, Oregon, Multnomah and Washington County, Oregon, Washington counties ...

, where she was raised. Phillips graduated from Lake Oswego High School and attended Brooks College in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

Early career

After graduating from college, Phillips returned to Oregon and began appearing in local community theater productions. This led to her being signed by Elite Modeling Agency in 1982, who characterized her as a "perfect-ten package," earning as much as $2,000 a day. After modeling in New York City, Phillips moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where she appeared in the .38 Special

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song "If I'd Been the One." This led to Phillips' acting roles in 1984's made-for-TV movies ''His Mistress'', in which she co-starred with

Robert Urich Robert Michael Urich (December 19, 1946 – April 16, 2002) was an American film, television, and stage actor and television producer. Over the course of his 30-year career, he starred in a record 15 television series. Urich began his car ...

, and ''Summer Fantasy''. She also appeared at the end of then-husband

's music video " Glory Days."

Marriage and divorce

Phillips garnered publicity as the girlfriend and, later, the first wife of musician

. The two met in October 1984 and were subsequently married in her native Lake Oswego shortly after midnight on Monday, May 13, 1985, surrounded by intense media Citing irreconcilable differences, she filed for divorce in August 1988, which was finalized the following Since the divorce, neither party has commented publicly on their relationship.

Acting career

Phillips continued her acting career during and after the marriage. She appeared in '' Odd Jobs'' (1986), '' Sweet Lies'' (1988), and '' Seven Hours to Judgment'' (1988), and starred opposite

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...

in '' Fletch Lives'' and

John Ritter Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American comedian and actor. He was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason Ritter, Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is best known for ...

in '' Skin Deep'' both in 1989. Two years later, she accepted the role of Frankie Reed, the business-oriented character on ''

''; it became her best-known role. She left the show at the end of its fifth season in 1995, returning for its final episode in 1996. She then briefly returned to movies, appearing in '' Big Bully'' (1996), '' Colin Fitz Lives!'' (1997), '' Allie & Me'' (1997), and the made-for-TV disaster film '' Tidal Wave: No Escape'' (1997).

1997–present

Phillips stopped acting in 1997 and has rarely been in the public eye since. In 2001, she was interviewed on an episode of the biographical documentary series '' Intimate Portrait'' that profiled her ''Sisters'' co-star Sela Ward. In 2014, she reunited with Ward and her other ''Sisters'' co-stars,

Swoosie Kurtz Swoosie Kurtz ( ; born September 6, 1944) is an American actress. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award and two Tony Awards. Kurtz made her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of '' Ah, Wilderness''. She has received five Tony Award nomination ...

and Patricia Kalember, for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

''. The reunion was documented on ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Julianne 1960 births Living people Actresses from Chicago Actresses from Oregon American film actresses American television actresses Springsteen family Catholics from Oregon Female models from Oregon Lake Oswego High School alumni Actors from Lake Oswego, Oregon 20th-century American actresses