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Dana Welles Delany (born March 13, 1956 in New York City, New York) is an
American film, stage, and television actress.
Known mainly for her 2-time Emmy Award winning performance as Colleen
McMurphy on the ABC television show China Beach (1988-1991), Dana Delany has
been active in film, television, and stage since the late 1970s.
After growing up in Connecticut, Dana attended Phillips Academy in Andover,
then Wesleyan University.
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Her early career included a TV role on Love of Life (1979), performing on
Broadway in A Life (1980), then back to TV on As the World Turns (1981). The
west coast production of the controversial play Bloodmoon (1983-1984) took
Dana to Hollywood. The next few years consisted of small parts in various
films and TV guest spots, including an appearance on Moonlighting (1985) and
3 notable episodes on Magnum P.I. (1986).
The significant break for Dana occurred when she was cast as Colleen
McMurphy on China Beach, airing from 1988 to 1991, bringing intense media
attention to the actress. This role not only garnered 2 Emmy awards, but 2
other Emmy nominations, and 2 Golden Globe nominations.
Leveraging this newfound fame, Dana appeared in feature films such as Light
Sleeper (1992), Housesitter (1992), Tombstone (1993), and Fly Away Home(1996)
and TV movies such as Promise to Keep (1991), and Wild Palms (1993).
Dana took on controversial roles such as Margaret Sanger in the TV movie
Choices of the Heart (1995), Mistress Lisa in the 1994 feature film
adaptation of the Anne Rice book Exit to Eden, and an Emmy nominated role as
a gun-owning mother in an episode of the TV series Family Law (1999) (which
was not rerun, due to sponsorship withdrawal).
Dana provided voice-over work as Lois Lane in the Warner Bros. animated
productions of Superman, starting in the mid 1990s, and continuing through
2005. This resulted in her being one of the few to be mentioned by name in
the Animaniacs theme song.
The latter part of the 1990s and early 2000s showed Dana's preference for
projects that challenged her. Thus, she focused on roles in TV series, such
as the shortlived Pasadena (2001) and Presidio Med (2002); TV movies like
True Women (1997), Resurrection (1999), A Time to Remember (2003) and Baby
for Sale (2004); and feature films by indie film producers, such as The
Outfitters (1999), Mother Ghost (2002), and Spin (2003).
During this period, Dana found time to get back to the stage, on and off
Broadway, in Translations (1995 - Broadway), Dinner With Friends (2000 - New
York City, Los Angeles, Boston), and Much Ado About Nothing (2003 - San
Diego).
Additionally in 2004 and 2005, Dana continued to be featured in guest roles
on TV shows such as Law & Order:SVU, Boston Legal, Kojak, Related, and
Battlestar Galactica as the character Sesha in an episode entitled
"Sacrifice" (as of November 2005, that episode is expected to air in early
2006). |
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