You might have heard about Shelley Long, but you do not know who she might be, is she like any other person you know, or must she be just a random figure? The question remains, why is she so famous? Where is she from, and what does she do to gain all her fame? All you need to know about Shelly Long is put out clearly in this article.
Early Life
Shelley was born on August 23rd, 1949, in Indian Village, Indiana, USA. Her parents were Ivadine Long and Leland Long. Being the only child, Shelly got the best her parents could provide. She attended Kekionga Junior High, where she won the National Forensic League National Championship in Oratory, then later proceeded to South Side High School. She later joined Northwestern University, where she studied drama. Her passion was acting, and Shelly pursued her career in acting and modeling.
Marriage and Family Life
Shelley Long was first married to Ken Solomon, her first husband, and divorced shortly. She later met Bruce Tyson, a securities broker, on a blind date in 1979, and they were both married in 1981. They later got a child and named her Juliana on March 27th, 1985. Shelley’s marriage to Bruce lasted for a while till 2004 when she was divorced. She then never remarried and focused on her career.
Career and Success
Shelley’s first job was at the University, where she acted as a meal plan checker. Her breakthrough as an actress occurred when she was doing commercials for homemaker’s furniture in the Chicago area. It is in Chicago where she developed later and became part of the celebrated Second City trouble. Besides that, she was a writer, producer, and host to a famous Chicago Magazine popularly known as “Sorting it out” for three years on NBC station and won several awards, such as Best Entertainment Show and Emmy Awards.
Long became so famous in the early 1980s that everybody knew about her. She starred in Sitcom about regulars at a bar in Boston till 1987 before deciding to move on, even though she made a few guest appearances afterward.
In 1982, Shelley played a role in the NBC comedy series Diane Chambers for five years, where she also bagged several awards, such as Emmy, which was for an outstanding lead actress. In 1983 she won the Golden Globe award for the best-supporting actress, the Best Actress in 1985 in the comedy series category, and the Quality TV award in the comedy series category for the Best Supporting Actress in the year 1986.
Shelley further appeared in several films, such as “Cheers,” in which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress as the Irreconcilable Differences in 1984. In 1987 Shelley starred in a comedy which was well known as the Outrageous Fortune together with Bette Midler. She later left Cheers after five years and focused majorly on her film career. Later, Long stated that several factors led to her leaving the show. She decided after considering several factors, such as the desire to spend more time with her only daughter and even trying new things out, such as working on fresh or new material.
In her films, like Hello Again in 1987 and Troop Beverly Hills in 1989, she never achieved the success she might have wanted, which later forced her to return to the television series and feature on the last episode of Cheers in the year 1993. That year, she also featured in her series known as the Good Advice, which never lasted for it was never allowed to air. Cheers aired for eleven years, from 1982-1993, starring figures such as Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, and Kirstie Alley.
She later embarked on featuring in films where she played Carol Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie in 1995. The movie became a success and spawned a sequel, A Very Brady Sequel, in 1996, which never became a success. Shelley later returned to television, where she played a role in Kelly Kelly in 1998, which was again later canceled after several episodes.
In 1999 Long starred in a movie known as Vanished Without Trace. It was a story about a woman who refused to accept the kidnapping of her daughter, who is only 13 years old, and tirelessly pursued the kidnappers. In 2000 she also appeared in the Richard Gere Film, which Robert Altman directed. She later also appeared in the television series The Brady Bunch in the White House.
Shelley also played a role in Diane Chambers several times on Frasier, a spinoff of the initial Cheers, and took a break due to divorce. She later returned and appeared in guest roles on television and a permanent position on different shows.
She featured in popular television shows such as Eight Simple Rules, Strong Medicine, Yes Dear, and Boston Legal. She had a role in a permanent position in the Modern Family as Jay Pritchett’s ex-wife, who was known as DeDe Pritchett. She starred in other television movies such as Falling in Love With the Girl Next Door and Holiday Engagement. Long also made several guest appearances in other films, such as, Switched at Birth. She has also produced and acted in Different Flowers.
Shelley Long also did most of her work as a voice actor. Some of her works include Grandma Murphy in the television movie Milo Murphy’s Law. Lately, she has been working on a handful of creativities where she featured in the mystery drama The Cleaner, together with Luke Wilson and Lynda Wilson.
Shelley Long has achieved a lot with her work. She put aside all the awards and honors she received and dedicated her life to entertaining her fans worldwide. She takes so much joy in putting a smile on everyone’s face. Her works are popularly recognized all over the world and still entertain us. She is currently living in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades. She has also minimized her movements and reduced her contact with the outside world.