# Tricia O'Neil

Tricia O'Neil (born Patricia Lou O'Neil; March 11, 1945) is an American actress.

## Early life

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, she is the daughter of James Weldon O'Neil and Mary Jane Marter. The family lived in El Paso, Texas, from 1952 to 1959 and in 1963. O'Neil attended elementary and intermediate schools in El Paso and graduated from McAllen High School. In 1968, she graduated from Baylor University, where she studied with singer Miklos Bencze.

## Career

In 1965, while attending Baylor, O'Neil performed on two locally produced TV specials, both of them airing on KCEN-TV. First, on May 14, she was one of 18—and one of three Baylor students—selected to appear on Talent '65. Sponsored by Southwestern Bell and produced by KHOU-TV for the purpose of showcasing statewide talent, it was hosted by John Hambrick. Accompanying herself on guitar, O'Neil performed "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" (Anne Bredon's composition, popularized in 1962 by Joan Baez). On December 24 and 25, she and the Baylor University Religious Hour Choir were featured on Christmas: Old and New, an hour-long special which was heard in Dallas on WFAA (AM) on Christmas Eve and seen on KCEN on Christmas Day.
Following her graduation from Baylor, O'Neil sang in supper clubs in Texas and California for two years before an opportunity to act on Broadway arose. By that time, O'Neil had already dropped "Patti" in favor of "Tricia", after discovering there was already a Patti O'Neil registered at Actors Equity.
In 1970, O'Neil made her professional theatrical debut in the Broadway musical Two by Two. Although the show received mixed reviews, O'Neil earned a Theatre World Award for her performance. Newsweek's Jack Kroll, in particular, singles out O'Neil, amidst his otherwise blistering critique of the show itself:
   There is only one delight in 'Two by Two'—Tricia O'Neil as Rachel, Noah's daughter-in-law who marries the wrong son. Miss O'Neil is a stunning girl with a full sweet voice and the grace of an Assyrian lioness. She is the only Biblical thing in the show, bearing the wheat of Zion in her hair, the loyalty of Ruth in her eyes, the determination of Judith in her arms, the sensuality of the Song of Solomon in her throat and the curve of her thigh.
O'Neil made her film debut in the 1972 film The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972). Other film appearances include The Gumball Rally (1976), Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night (1977), Are You in the House Alone? (1978), The Kid from Left Field (1979), Brave New World (1980), Piranha II: The Spawning (1982), Ted & Venus (1991) and Titanic (1997).
O'Neil made her television debut in the 1973 television movie Duty Bound. She appeared in a number of guest roles on various television series, including a dog trainer in a 1978 episode of Columbo titled "How to Dial a Murder", nightclub singer Julie Heller in the episode "Murder! Murder!" of The Eddie Capra Mysteries (1978), as Dorothy Fulton in Hart to Hart (1979), as a police photographer in back-to-back episodes of Barney Miller (1980), as female stunt woman "Charlie" in the episode of the same name in the first season of The Fall Guy (1981), in Remington Steele (1982), as conniving "other woman" Ashley Vickers in the pilot episode of Murder, She Wrote (1984), as a pushy reporter in the second-season episode "Catch of the Day" in Riptide (1984), as the owner of a travelling Wild West rodeo show in the third-season Airwolf episode "Annie Oakley" (1985), and separate roles in three episodes of Matlock from 1989 to 1994. She appeared in the television miniseries Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls (1981) and in two episodes of The A-Team, playing Dr. Maggie "Mo" Sullivan in the season one episode "Black Day at Bad Rock" and the season two episode "Deadly Maneuvers".
O'Neil made a number of appearances in popular science fiction television series during the 1980s and 1990s. She portrayed Captain Rachel Garrett of the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701-C) in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Yesterday's Enterprise", returning to that series with a role as the Klingon Kurak in the episode "Suspicions". Later she guest-starred on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Cardassian Korinas in the episode "Defiant". O'Neil guest-starred in the Babylon 5 season-one episode "Believers" (1994) as "M'ola". Later, she played the Earth Alliance president in the Babylon 5 TV movie Babylon 5: In the Beginning (1998).
In 1991, O'Neil filmed her scenes in the role of Hoelun for the never-released film Genghis Khan. Efforts in 2010 to repackage the material as a miniseries, tentatively named Genghis Khan: The Story of a Lifetime, never came to fruition.
O'Neil's last screen appearance was on the television series JAG, playing Dr. Beth Salluci in the 2001 episode "Redemption".

## Personal life

On August 6, 1966, O'Neil married opera singer James Irving Van Valkenburg.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1972 | The Legend of Black Charley | Sarah Lyons | Blaxploitation Western film |
| 1976 | The Gumball Rally | Angie - Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow | comedy film |
| 1982 | Piranha II: The Spawning | Anne Kimbrough | Horror film |
| 1991 | Ted & Venus | Judge Katherine Notch | Black comedy film |
| 1997 | Titanic | Woman | Disaster film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1973 | Duty Bound | Glenn's Wife | television film |
| 1975 | How to Survive a Marriage | Joan Willis | soap opera |
| 1976 | Ellery Queen | Yvonne Danello | Episode: "The Adventure of the Wary Witness" |
| 1976 | Serpico | Grace | Episode: "The Indian" |
| 1976 | Sirota's Court | Sugar Hills | Episode: "Sirota's Car" |
| 1977 | Delvecchio | Sharon Nicholson | Episode: "The Madness Within: Part 1" Episode: "The Madness Within: Part 2" |
| 1977 | Charlie Cobb: Nice Night for a Hanging | Angelica | Television film |
| 1977 | Big Hawaii | Dr. Ericka Bergen | Episode: "Sun Children" |
| 1977 | Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night | Dr. Angela Buccieri | Television film |
| 1977 | Eight Is Enough | Ellen Manning | Episode: "Double Trouble" |
| 1978 | Columbo | Miss Cochran - the dog trainer | Episode: "How to Dial a Murder" |
| 1978 | Are You in the House Alone? | Jessica hirsch | Television horror film |
| 1978 | The Eddie Capra Mysteries | Julie Heller | Episode: "Murder, Murder" |
| 1979 | The Kid from Left Field | Marion Fowler | Television baseball comedy film |
| 1979 | Hawaii Five-O | Dilys Conover Lisa / Christine Ames | Episode: "The Bark and the Bite" Episode: "Labyrinth" |
| 1980 | Brave New World | Maoina Krupps | Television film |
| 1980 | Charlie's Angels | Anne Moore (as Tricia O'Neill) | Episode: "Toni's Boys" |
| 1980 | Barney Miller | Alex Kramer (as Tricia O'Neill) | Episode: "Homicide: Part 1" Episode: "Homicide: Part 2" |
| 1981 | The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo | Sheila McKnight | Episode: "Macho Man" |
| 1981 | Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls | Enid Marshall | TV Mini Series |
| 1982 | Palms Precinct | Jeanine Monasco | Television film |
| 1982 | Hart to Hart | Dorothy Fulton | Episode: "The Harts Strike Out" |
| 1982 | The Powers of Matthew Star | Fortune Teller | Episode: "Mother" |
| 1982 | Voyagers! | Annie Brown | Episode: "Old Hickory and the Pirate" |
| 1982–1983 | The Fall Guy | Charlie Agent Eve Peterson | Episode: "Charlie" Episode: "The Last Drive" |
| 1983 | Whiz Kids | Kathy Fairgate | Episode: "Deadly Access" |
| 1983 | Hardcastle and McCormick | Pamela Peterson | Episode: "Once Again with Vigorish" |
| 1983 | Lottery! | | Episode: "New York: Winning Can Be Murder" |
| 1983–1984 | The A-Team | Maggie Sullivan (as Tricia O'Neill) Maggie Sullivan | Episode: "Black Day at Black Rock" Episode: "Deadly Maneuvers" |
| 1984 | Riptide | Tawny Clark | Episode: "Catch of the Day" |
| 1985 | Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Rita Holden | Episode: "A Little Sex, a Little Scandal" |
| 1985 | Megazone 23 | Additional Voices | (Streamline Pictures dub) (English version, voice) |
| 1985 | Airwolf | Annie Oakley, Louise Mackey | Episode: "Annie Oakley" |
| 1986 | Blacke's Magic | Teresa George | Episode: "Breathing Room" (Pilot) |
| 1986 | Dynasty | Mrs. Davis | Episode: "The Trial: Part 1 Episode: "The Trial: Part 2" |
| 1986 | Kay O'Brien | | Episode: "Princess of the City" |
| 1987 | MacGyver | Susan Murphy, Victoria James | Episode: "Phoenix Under Siege" |
| 1987 | The New Mike Hammer | Fran Lasker | Episode: "Little Miss Murder" |
| 1987 | Jack and Mike | Barbara | Episode: "Separate Lives" Episode: "Come Together" Episode: "Light My Fire" |
| 1987 | Hunter | Sylvia Brand | Episode: "Night on Bald Mountain" |
| 1983–1988 | Simon & Simon | Laura Reynolds Nurse Sandy Purcell (as Trish O'Neil) | Episode: "It's Only a Game" Episode: "A Firm Grasp of Reality" |
| 1988 | Police Story: Gladiator School | D.A. Willis | Television film |
| 1989 | L.A. Law | Meredith Korngold | Episode: "Captain Hurt" |
| 1991 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Beth Crane | Episode: "Lies of the Hear" |
| 1991 | Equal Justice | Sara | Episode: "Courting Disaster" |
| 1984–1991 | Dallas | Dr. Barbara Mulgravy Barbara Barnes | Episode: "True Confessions" Episode: "Conundrum" |
| 1984–1991 | Murder, She Wrote | Ashley Vickers Bibi Hartman Lila Benson Althea Mayberry Linda Truitt | Episode: "The Murder of Sherlock Holmes" Episode: "Murder in the Afternoon" Episode: "Trouble in Eden" Episode: "From the Horse's Mouth" Episode: "Lines of Excellence" |
| 1991 | Jake and the Fatman | Delta Ridpath | Episode: "Every Time We Say Goodbye" |
| 1992 | Civil Wars | Ruth Conway | Episode: "Whippit 'Til It Breaks" |
| 1992 | A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story | Margaret Fitzpatrick | Television film |
| 1993 | Doogie Howser, M.D. | Acting Coach | Episode: "What Makes Doogie Run" |
| 1990–1993 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Captain Rachel Garrett Kurak | Episode: "Yesterday's Enterprise" Episode: "Suspicions" |
| 1994 | Babylon 5 | M'Ola | Episode: "Believers" |
| 1994 | Robin's Hoods | Lydia Barnhouse | Episode: "To Heir Is Human" |
| 1989–1994 | Matlock | Cynthia Slayton Jackie Whitman - Model's Agent Jackie Carol Davis | Episode: "The Best Seller" Episode: "The Cover Girl" Episode: "The Tabloid" |
| 1994 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Korinas | Episode: "Defiant" |
| 1995 | Degree of Guilt | Rosa | Television film |
| 1996 | High Tide | Karen Donaldson | Episode: "University Blues: Part 1" Episode: "University Blues: Part 2" |
| 1997 | Diagnosis: Murder | Jane Ellington | Episode: "A History of Murder" |
| 1998 | Babylon 5: In the Beginning | Earth Alliance President | space opera television film |
| 1998 | Gia | Vogue Editor | biographical television film |
| 1998 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Mrs. O'Lare | Episode: "You say Goodbye, I Say Hello" Episode: "I'm Back Because" |
| 2000 | Titans | Dr. Smith | Episode: "Bad Will Hunting" |
| 2001 | JAG | Amanda Litrell Dr. Beth Salluci | Episode: "To Walk on Wings" Episode: "Redemption" |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1970 | Theatre World Award | Performance | Two by Two | Won |