# Ally Sheedy

Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy (born June 13, 1962) is an American actress. She made her feature film debut in Bad Boys (1983) and came to prominence as a member of the Brat Pack with roles in Oxford Blues (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), St. Elmo's Fire (1985), and Blue City (1986). She received three Saturn Award nominations for Best Actress for her performances in WarGames (1983), Fear (1990), and Man's Best Friend (1993). For playing a drug-addicted lesbian photographer in High Art (1998), Sheedy won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. She also starred in the films Twice in a Lifetime (1985), Short Circuit (1986), Betsy's Wedding (1990), Only the Lonely (1991), and Life During Wartime (2009), as well as the series Single Drunk Female (2022–2023).

## Early life

Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy was born in New York City on June 13, 1962, and has a brother and a sister. Her mother, Charlotte (née Baum), is a writer and press agent who was involved in women's and civil rights movements, and her father, John J. Sheedy Jr., is a Manhattan advertising executive. Sheedy's mother is Ashkenazi Jewish, and her father is of Irish Catholic background. Her maternal grandmother was from Odessa, Ukraine. Her parents divorced in 1971.
She attended the Bank Street School for Children, followed by Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School in New York City, graduating in 1980. She started dancing with the American Ballet Theatre at age six and was planning to make it a full-time career. She gave up dance in favor of acting full time, however, and then started studying with acting teacher Harold Guskin. At age 12 she wrote a book, She Was Nice to Mice, which was published by McGraw-Hill Education and became a best-seller. The story was released in 1976 as a spoken word album on the Caedmon label (TC 1506). On June 19, 1975, she appeared on the game show To Tell the Truth as herself promoting the novel which was on the adult reading list.
At age 18, Sheedy relocated to Los Angeles, California, where she enrolled in the drama department at the University of Southern California. Sheedy concurrently began her acting career and intermittently completed three years' worth of courses toward a BFA degree in acting.

## Career

Sheedy started acting in local stage productions as a teenager. After appearing in several television films in 1981, as well as three episodes of the television series Hill Street Blues, she made her feature film debut in Bad Boys (1983), starring Sean Penn, wherein she played Penn's humiliated girlfriend. During the 1980s, she became a member of the Brat Pack, and had roles in popular films such as WarGames (1983, earning her first Saturn Award nomination), Oxford Blues (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), St. Elmo's Fire (1986), Twice in a Lifetime (1985), Blue City (1986), Short Circuit (1986), and Maid to Order (1987).
In the 1990s, Sheedy appeared in films such as Fear (1990), Betsy's Wedding (1990), Only the Lonely (1991), and Man's Best Friend (1993). Fear and Man's Best Friend earned her two more Saturn Award nominations for Best Actress. Sheedy starred alongside Radha Mitchell in the 1998 independent film High Art, about a romance between two women and the power of art. Her performance in High Art was recognized with awards from the Independent Spirit Awards, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and National Society of Film Critics.
In 1999, Sheedy took over the lead role in the off-Broadway production of the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. She was the first cis-gender female to play the part of the genderqueer Hedwig, but her run ended early amid "mixed" reviews. That same year, she was cast as a lead actress in Sugar Town, an independent film that featured an ensemble cast of actors and musicians.
She was reunited with Breakfast Club co-star Anthony Michael Hall when she became a special guest star on his television show The Dead Zone, in the second-season episode "Playing God", from 2003.
Sheedy has also appeared in the 2007 episode "Leapin' Lizards" of C.S.I., in which she played a woman who murdered her boyfriend's wife while mixed up in a cult. On March 3, 2008, Sheedy was introduced as the character Sarah in the ABC Family show Kyle XY. In 2009, she played the role of Mr. Yang on the USA Network television show Psych (in the third-season finale), a role that she reprised in the fourth season, fifth season, and seventh season finales.
As of 2021, Sheedy has been a professor in the theater department at the City College of New York of the City University of New York in the Hamilton Heights section of New York City. From 2022 to 2023, she played the role of Carol in the Freeform series Single Drunk Female. She was on an episode of GMA3: What You Need to Know on WABC-TV on May 10, 2023.

## Personal life

Sheedy became a vegetarian at the age of 12.
Sheedy dated Richie Sambora, Bon Jovi's guitarist, for less than a year in the 1980s. She stated in Los Angeles Times that the relationship led her to abuse drugs, a claim Sambora denied. In 1985, Sheedy was admitted to Hazelden Foundation and in the 1990s was treated for a sleeping pill addiction, an experience she drew on for her role as a drug-addicted photographer in High Art.
On April 12, 1992, Sheedy married actor David Lansbury, the nephew of actress Angela Lansbury and son of Edgar Lansbury. They had a transgender son, Beckett, from whose transition Sheedy says she "learned a lot". In 2008, Sheedy announced that she and Lansbury had filed for divorce.
In January 2018, Sheedy tweeted the #MeToo hashtag along with the names of James Franco and Christian Slater, implying that they have been sexually abusive to her, but later deleted the tweets. Franco later stated that he did not know why Sheedy tweeted the accusations.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1983 | Bad Boys | J.C. Walenski | |
| 1983 | WarGames | Jennifer Mack | |
| 1984 | Oxford Blues | Rona | |
| 1985 | The Breakfast Club | Allison Reynolds | |
| 1985 | St. Elmo's Fire | Leslie Hunter | |
| 1985 | Twice in a Lifetime | Helen Mackenzie | |
| 1986 | Blue City | Annie Rayford | |
| 1986 | Short Circuit | Stephanie Speck | |
| 1987 | Maid to Order | Jessie Montgomery | |
| 1988 | She's Having a Baby | Herself | Uncredited Cameo |
| 1988 | Short Circuit 2 | Stephanie Speck | Voice cameo (uncredited) |
| 1989 | Heart of Dixie | Maggie DeLoach | |
| 1990 | Betsy's Wedding | Connie Hopper | |
| 1990 | Fear | Cayce Bridges | |
| 1991 | Only the Lonely | Theresa Luna | |
| 1992 | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | Pam Block - Ticket Agent (New York) | Cameo |
| 1993 | The Pickle | Molly-Girl/Herself | |
| 1993 | Man's Best Friend | Lori Tanner | |
| 1994 | Red Shoe Diaries 4: Auto Erotica | Karen | Video; segment: "The Fling" |
| 1995 | One Night Stand | Mickey Sanderson | |
| 1997 | Amnesia | Martha Keller | |
| 1997 | The Definite Maybe | Joanne | |
| 1997 | Macon County Jail | Susan Reed | |
| 1997 | Highball | Ally Sheedy | |
| 1998 | High Art | Lucy Berliner | |
| 1999 | Sugar Town | Liz | |
| 1999 | The Autumn Heart | Deborah | |
| 1999 | I'll Take You There | Bernice | |
| 1999 | Advice from a Caterpillar | Jan | |
| 2002 | Just a Dream | Maureen Sturbuck | |
| 2002 | Happy Here and Now | Lois | |
| 2003 | A Good Night to Die | Marie | |
| 2003 | Shelter Island | Louise 'Lou' Delamere | |
| 2004 | Noise | Charlotte Bancroft | |
| 2005 | Shooting Livien | Brea Epling | |
| 2007 | Day Zero | Dr. Reynolds | |
| 2007 | The Junior Defenders | Jill Fields | Video |
| 2007 | Steam | Laurie | |
| 2008 | Harold | Maureen Reynolds | |
| 2009 | Perestroika | Helen | |
| 2009 | Life During Wartime | Helen Jordan | |
| 2010 | Welcome to the Rileys | Harriet | |
| 2010 | Ten Stories Tall | Jackie | |
| 2014 | Sins of Our Youth | Vicki | |
| 2014 | Fugly! | Stoddard | |
| 2016 | Little Sister | Joani Lunsford |
| 2016 | X-Men: Apocalypse | Scott Summers' teacher | Cameo |
| 2024 | Brats | Self |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1981 | CBS Afternoon Playhouse | Cathy | Episode: "I Think I'm Having a Baby" |
| 1981 | The Best Little Girl in the World | 1st Girl | Movie |
| 1981 | The Violation of Sarah McDavid | Tracy Barnes | Movie |
| 1981 | Homeroom | Karen Chase | TV short |
| 1981 | The Day the Loving Stopped | Debbie Danner | Movie |
| 1981 | Splendor in the Grass | Hazel | Movie |
| 1982 | Chicago Story | | Episode: "Bright Lights, Big City" |
| 1982 | St. Elsewhere | Diane | Episode: "Samuels and the Kid" |
| 1983 | Hill Street Blues | Kristen | 3 episodes |
| 1983 | Deadly Lessons | Marita Armstrong | Movie |
| 1990 | The Lost Capone | Kathleen Hart | Movie |
| 1992 | Red Shoe Diaries | Karen | Episode: "Accidents Happen" |
| 1992 | Tattle Tale | Laura Perot | Movie |
| 1993 | Lethal Exposure | Chris Cassidy | Movie |
| 1993 | The Hidden Room | Julia | Episode: "Hungry Girls" |
| 1993 | Chantilly Lace | Elizabeth | Movie |
| 1994 | Ultimate Betrayal | Adult Mary Rodgers | Movie |
| 1994 | Parallel Lives | Louise | Movie |
| 1994 | The Haunting of Seacliff Inn | Susan Enright | Movie |
| 1995 | The Tin Soldier | Billy's Mom | Movie |
| 1996 | The Outer Limits | Carter Jones | Episode: "I Hear You Calling" |
| 1996 | Hijacked: Flight 285 | Deni Patton | Movie |
| 1997 | Country Justice | Angie Baker | Movie |
| 1997 | Buried Alive II | Laura Riskin | Movie |
| 1998 | The Fury Within | Joanna Hanlon | Movie |
| 1999 | Our Guys: Outrage at Glen Ridge | Det. Kelly Brooks | Movie |
| 2001 | Oz | Lisa Logan | Episode: "Medium Rare" |
| 2001 | The Warden | Helen Hewitt | Movie |
| 2001 | Strange Frequency | Lee Bonner | Episode: "Daydream Believer" |
| 2002 | Once and Again | Miriam Rose Miller | Episode: "Aaron's List of Dreams" |
| 2002 | The Interrogation of Michael Crowe | Cheryl Crowe | Movie |
| 2003 | Life on the Line | | Movie |
| 2003 | The Dead Zone | Kate Moore | Episode: "Playing God" |
| 2006 | The Veteran | Sara Reid | Movie |
| 2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Shannon Turner | Episode: "Leapin' Lizards" |
| 2008–2009 | Kyle XY | Sarah | 4 episodes |
| 2009 | Citizen Jane | Jane Alexander | Movie |
| 2009–2011/13 | Psych | Yang | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Not with My Daughter (a.k.a. Client Seduction) | Melissa Eco | Movie |
| 2022–2023 | Single Drunk Female | Carol | Main role |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
| 1983 | Saturn Award | Best Actress | WarGames | Nominated |
| 1983 | Young Artist Award | Best Young Motion Picture Actress in a Feature Film | WarGames | Nominated |
| 1990 | Saturn Awards | Best Actress | Fear | Nominated |
| 1993 | Saturn Awards | Best Actress | Man's Best Friend | Nominated |
| 1999 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Female Lead | High Art | Won |
| 1999 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Actress (tie) | High Art | Won |
| 1999 | National Society of Film Critics | Best Actress (tie) | High Art | Won |
| 1999 | Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Actress (2nd place) | High Art | Nominated |
| 1999 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Actress | High Art | Nominated |
| 2005 | MTV Movie Awards | Silver Bucket of Excellence Award (shared with other main cast members) | The Breakfast Club | Won |
| 2010 | Gotham Independent Film Awards | Best Ensemble Performance | Life During Wartime | Nominated |

## Books

* She Was Nice to Mice, McGraw-Hill, 1975, ISBN 0-440-47844-8
* Yesterday I Saw the Sun: Poems, Summit Books, 1991, ISBN 0-671-73130-0