# Dana Wheeler-Nicholson

Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (born October 9, 1960) is an American actress and singer best known for her roles in the films Fletch (1985), Tombstone (1993), Fast Food Nation (2006) and Parkland (2013). She is also known for her roles on television series such as Friday Night Lights, Seinfeld and Nashville.

## Personal life

Wheeler-Nicholson was born in New York City, the daughter of Joan (née Weitemeyer) and Douglas Wheeler-Nicholson. She is the granddaughter of pioneering American comic book publisher Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, who founded DC Comics under the original company name National Allied Publications. Wheeler-Nicholson has been married to film director Alex Smith since 2011 and lives in Austin, Texas.

## Career

Sometimes credited as Dana Wheeler Nicholson, she has appeared in numerous feature films, but is perhaps best known for her role in Fletch (1985) as Gail Stanwyk, the love interest of the title character. She is well known for her performance in Tombstone (1993) as Mattie Earp. Wheeler-Nicholson has also appeared in the films Bye Bye Love (1995), Denise Calls Up (1995), Fast Food Nation (2006), and Parkland (2013).
On television, Wheeler-Nicholson has guest-starred in Seinfeld, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The X-Files, Sex and the City, Boston Public, and Boston Legal. She starred in the short-lived comedy Beverly Hills Buntz from 1987 to 1988, and in 2001 was cast on the daytime soap opera All My Children. In the mid-2000s, Wheeler-Nicholson moved from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas. From 2007 to 2011, she had a recurring role in the television drama Friday Night Lights as Angela Collette. In 2014, Wheeler-Nicholson played the role of character Scarlett O'Connor's abusive mother on the musical drama series Nashville. In 2015, she had a supporting role in the independent drama film 6 Years.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1984 | The Little Drummer Girl | Katrin | |
| 1984 | Mrs. Soffel | Jessie Bodyne | |
| 1985 | Fletch | Gail Stanwyk | |
| 1990 | Circuitry Man | Lori | |
| 1993 | My Life's in Turnaround | Rachel | |
| 1993 | The Night We Never Met | Inga | |
| 1993 | Tombstone | Mattie Blaylock Earp | |
| 1995 | Bye Bye Love | Heidi Schmidt | |
| 1995 | Frank and Jesse | Annie Ralston | |
| 1995 | Denise Calls Up | Gail Donelly | |
| 1995 | The Pompatus of Love | Kathryn | |
| 1997 | Nick and Jane | Jane Whitmore | |
| 1997 | Living in Peril | Linda Woods | |
| 1997 | Jamaica Beat | Lori Peterson | |
| 2001 | Sam the Man | Woman | |
| 2001 | What's the Worst That Could Happen? | Gallery Hostess | Uncredited |
| 2003 | The Battle of Shaker Heights | Mathilda Bowland | |
| 2006 | Fast Food Nation | Debi Anderson | |
| 2010 | Dance with the One | Mary | |
| 2011 | 5 Time Champion | Danielle | |
| 2011 | Blacktino | Moon | |
| 2011 | Dadgum, Texas | Bettie Crawley Magee | |
| 2013 | Angels Sing | Maggie | |
| 2013 | Winter in the Blood | Malvina | |
| 2013 | Parkland | Lillian Zapruder | |
| 2015 | 6 Years | Joanne Mercer | |
| 2018 | Miss Arizona | Maybelle | |
| 2020 | On the Line | Tricia Bisbee | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986–87 | Crime Story | Marilyn Stewart | 2 episodes |
| 1987 | The Hitchhiker | Belinda Haskell | Episode: "Secret Ingredient" |
| 1987–88 | Beverly Hills Buntz | Rebecca Giswold | 13 episodes |
| 1991 | N.Y.P.D. Mounted | Donna Lee Wellington | TV film |
| 1991 | Palace Guard | Apache | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1994 | Fortune Hunter | Cristina | Episode: "The Frostfire Intercept" |
| 1995 | Seinfeld | Shelly | Episode: "The Doodle" |
| 1996 | The X-Files | Det. Angela White | Episode: "Syzygy" |
| 1997 | The Single Guy | Erika | Episode: "Like Father..." |
| 1998 | Sex and the City | Laney Berlin | Episode: "The Baby Shower" |
| 2000 | NYPD Blue | Jenny Peters | Episode: "The Man with Two Right Shoes" |
| 2000 | Law & Order | Maggie Callister | Episode: "Mega" |
| 2001 | Big Apple | Joan Kellogg | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | All My Children | Ilene Pringle | 9 episodes |
| 2002 | Without a Trace | Sarah Pritchard | Episode: "Midnight Sun" |
| 2003 | Boston Public | FBI Agent Monica Price | Episode: "Chapter Seventy-Four" |
| 2005 | Grounded for Life | Arianna | Episode: "Tom Sawyer" |
| 2005 | Boston Legal | Stephanie Rogers | Episode: "It Girls and Beyond" |
| 2005 | McBride: Anybody Here Murder Marty? | Victoria Caine | TV film |
| 2006, 2008 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Hilary Marsden, Tara Black | Episodes: "Slither", "Reunion" |
| 2010 | The Deep End | Judge Reyes | Episode: "White Lies, Black Ties" |
| 2010 | The Good Guys | Meredith | Episode: "Old Dogs" |
| 2007–11 | Friday Night Lights | Angela Collette | 22 episodes |
| 2012 | A Gifted Man | Jayne Reinhart | Episode: "In Case of (Re)Birth" |
| 2014–15 | Nashville | Beverly O'Connor | 12 episodes |
| 2014 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Donna Evans | Episode: "Producers Backend" |
| 2019 | Chicago Med | Chicago Med | Episode: "Can't Unring That Bell" |
| 2019 | Emergence | Vanessa Cox | Episode: "American Chestnut" |
| 2020 | Grey's Anatomy | Dana Hamilton | Episode: "Sing It Again" |
| 2021 | Walker | Joy Caldwell | Episode: "Four Stones In Hand" |
| 2022 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Lilah Jones | Episode: "Mirror Effect" |