Sharon Gless was born on 31st May of 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was groomed by her wealthy, conservative family to be a debutante and society wife. Like a good Catholic girl, Sharon went to college at a Jesuit university. But she had other plans. Sharon says always loved the movies. In fact, they had a screening room in the Hancock Park home she grew up in and she used to love watching those movies and knew one day she'd have a screening room of her own. She used to imagine she was one of the people up on the screen. Her grandfather was a powerful entertainment attorney; her cousin is actress Elizabeth Baur, who got her start playing Fran Belding on Ironsides; and her uncle was Jack Baur, head of casting at Twentieth Century Fox for over 20 years.
For giggles, she took an acting class, and a friend suggested she meet Monique James. Monique James was head of casting at Universal, who left in 1980 after 30 years to manage Sharon's career. Monique and Sharon worked together for over twenty years. Sharon credits Monique with everything about her career--"she was the reason." Sharon said once. Monique James signed Sharon on as a contract player at Universal, and she was one of the last actors in that old contract system. She landed guest spots and regular roles on shows such as Marcus Welby. M.D. (her very first ever), Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law and with Robert Wagner on Switch.
But Sharon's big breakthrough came in 1982, when she was cast alongside in the groundbreaking women cop show Cagney & Lacey. She portrayal of a single, driven, impetuous woman won her accolades as well as an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1986. "Cagney & Lacey" was a boon for Gless's career but a mixed bag in terms of her personal life. Cagney & Lacey was a show that everyone I knew rearranged their lives for, while the show itself changed their lives. It featured two women detectives in a New York City police department: work partners, smart, friends, good at what they did. Cagney was the sexy, blonde single and Lacey the dark-haired wife and mother. Together they represented Women in America, at least straight white women in America. But we all knew: Chris Cagney, that fireball, was a dyke at heart. Where Mary Beth was absorbed with hubby Harvey and the kids, Chris was out there alone, struggling with her alcoholic dad and dysfunctional relationships.
She fell in love with the show's executive producer Barney Rosenzweig, both married on March 4, 1991. After "Cagney & Lacey" was canceled in 1988, Gless stepped into her second starring role on a TV series, portraying a divorced Beverly Hills attorney in The Trials of Rosie O'Neill. The charming series lasted two years and featured guest appearances by Robert Wagner, Tyne Daly and Sharon's own niece, Bridget. It also earned Gless two more best actress nominations. After reuniting for four "Cagney & Lacey" TV movies, Sharon and co-star Tyne Daly were enshrined in pop culture when each actress received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995. After three decades in show business, Sharon left la-la land, moving to a Miami suburb with her retired husband. However, she continues to work, both on the London stage and on the cable TV show Queer as Folk, and she still impresses audiences with her raw, believable portrayals of complex women.
Some parts taken from The Queer Folk's Sweetheart - Sharon Gless Get To The Heart Of Things written by Deidre Strohm from Lesbian News (Issue January 2002).