Wendy Phillips (born January 2, 1952) is an American actress, known for her roles on television series including Falcon Crest, Homefront and Promised Land.

Early years Phillips was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Wendell K. Phillips, was an actor who performed primarily in theaters in New York. Her mother, Jean Shelton, was an actress. Her parents separated after her father was unable to obtain jobs because he was blacklisted for being a member of the Communist Party. Phillips lived with her grandmother in Atlanta for two years. Shelton and the couple's five children moved to Berkeley, California, after the separation. She worked as a legal secretary, and Phillips recalled, "At one point, she was on welfare and food stamps." Shelton also had a relationship with actor Robert Ross; Phillips said that neither he nor her father provided child support. The family's situation improved when Shelton began teaching acting classes, an effort that eventually developed into a school with 200 students. Phillips initially veered away from the family's acting tradition to study pre-law at the University of California at Berkeley. She found legal preparation less appealing than "great summations", however, so she went into acting as a profession.

Career Phillips made her screen debut in the 1975 NBC Movie of the Week, Death Be Not Proud. Two years later, Phillips made her big screen debut in the drama film Fraternity Row. On television, she starred alongside Mitchell Ryan in the CBS drama series, Executive Suite from 1976 to 1977, and later on the NBC series The Eddie Capra Mysteries (1978–79). She later guest-starred on Lou Grant, Trapper John, M.D., Taxi, St. Elsewhere, The Twilight Zone, and Murder, She Wrote

During the 1980s, Phillips appeared in films Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) and Midnight Run (1988), as well as a number of made-for-television movies, notably Paper Dolls (1982), the NBC miniseries A Year in the Life (1986), and its sequel series from 1987 to 1988. In 1989, she was a regular cast member in the ABC sitcom The Robert Guillaume Show, and from 1989 to 1990 starred as David Selby's character's last wife, Lauren Daniels, during the final season of CBS prime time soap opera, Falcon Crest. In 1991, she played title character's ex-wife in the biographical film Bugsy.

From 1991 to 1993, Phillips starred in the ABC award-winning drama series, Homefront. She later played Gerald McRaney's wife, Claire Greene, on the CBS series Touched by an Angel (1994–98) and Promised Land (1996–99). The following years, Phillips guest-starred on Charmed, ER, The Closer, Shameless, and had recurring roles on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006) and Big Love (2006–2011).

Phillips has been teaching scene study and acting for the camera privately since 2001, and in later years she has been an adjunct professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Personal life Phillips married actor Scott Paulin, and they have a daughter.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes1977Fraternity RowBetty Ann1982Airplane II: The SequelMary1988Midnight RunGail1988From Hollywood to DeadwoodMonolith Secretary1989Christine Bateman1991Hard Time Romance1991BugsyEsta Siegel2001I Am SamMiss Wright2002My Femme LadyMomShort film2004Marty and SvenTherapistShort film2006Friends with MoneyFundraiser Host2007RenditionSamantha2009Vocabular DelectationsMuse MarthaShort film

Television Year Title Role Notes1975Death Be Not ProudMary WilsonTV movie1975One of Our OwnDebbie HinshawTV movie1976–1977Executive SuiteStacey Walling18 episodes1978–1979Lacey Brown10 episodes1979ParisDina NovotnyEpisode: "Pawn"1979Lou GrantNell WheelerEpisode: "Frame-Up"1979SandyEpisode: "Girlfriends"1980B. J. and the BearOfficer Tracy McBainEpisode: "The 18-Wheel Rip-Off"1980Lisa Del MonteTV movie1981CHiPsJoanneEpisode: "The Killer Indy"1982Trapper John, M.D.Laura JohnsonEpisode: "42"1982TaxiHeatherEpisode: "The Road Not Taken: Part 1"1982Paper DollsTV movie1984Partners in CrimeShirley HamnerEpisode: "The Hottest Guy in Town"1984Shattered VowsTV movie1984St. ElsewhereDiane HassettEpisode: "Fade to White"1984Mrs. RobertsEpisode: "Thanksgiving Day"1985MomEpisode: "The Uncle Devil Show"1986Amazing StoriesBarbara LynnEpisode: "The Sitter"1986FuzzbucketMomTV movie1986Anne Gardner-MaxwellTV miniseries1987MatlockPaula CampbellEpisode: "The Court-Martial: Part 1"Episode: "The Court-Martial: Part 2"1987Murder, She WroteNancy DaltonEpisode: "Murder, She Spoke"1987Baby Girl ScottTV movie1987–1988Anne Gardner-Maxwell22 episodes1989Sarah GrantTV movie1989Ann Sherr12 episodes1989–1990Falcon CrestLauren Sharpe Daniels Channing20 episodes1990AppearancesMarie DanzigTV movie1990LifestoriesMrs. HawkinsEpisode: "The Hawkins Family"1991–1993HomefrontAnne Metcalf42 episodes1994MacShayne: Winner Takes AllHannah FossTV movie1994MacShayne: The Final Roll of the DiceHannah FossTV movie1994Lisa HullEpisode: "The Plague"1994Diagnosis: MurderDr. Karen FielderEpisode: "Murder Most Vial"1994Touched by an AngelRuth Ann RussellEpisode: "The Southbound Bus"1995Emily ShermanEpisode: "The Johnny Club"1995Picket FencesJanine BarrettEpisode: "The Song of Rome"1995Fast CompanyPaula StoneTV movie1996Heroine of HellMargaretTV movie1996SavannahLucille Richards9 episodes1996Babs HoneywellTV movie1996Luanne UtleyTV movie1996ABC Afterschool SpecialsKarenEpisode: "Too Soon for Jeff"1996–1998Touched by an AngelClaire Greene6 episodes1996–1999Promised Land67 episodes2000Family LawRuth CrowleyEpisode: "Are You My Father?"2000TV movie2000Strong MedicineMichelle FreidEpisode: "Brainchild"2001CharmedSister AgnesEpisode: "Charmed Again: Part 2"2002For the PeopleAlice BenedictEpisode "Pilot"2002MDsMrs. FarrellEpisode: "Cruel and Unusual"2003Presidio MedLouise AltmanEpisode: "Breathless"2003Joan of ArcadiaBrenda JamesonEpisode: "Touch Move"2003ERMrs. LambrightEpisode: "Missing"2004Life on Liberty StreetLucy ZaneTV movie2005-2006Ghost WhispererDiane Shields2 Episodes: "Homecoming" + "The Vanishing"2006Studio 60 on the Sunset StripShelley Green4 episodes2006–2011Big LovePeg Embry15 episodes2008Patricia SimmonsEpisode: "Speed Bump"2009BonesAbby ChevaleerEpisode: "The Goop on the Girl"2018SEAL TeamLinda HayesEpisodes: "The Worst of Conditions", "All That Matters"2020The George Lucas Talk ShowHerselfStu-D2 1138 on the Binary Sunset Sith (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip marathon)

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