Sherilyn Fenn (born February 1, 1965) is an
Emmy and
Golden Globe award-nominated
American actress. She came to international attention for her performance on the 1990
cult TV series Twin Peaks. She is also known for her roles in
Of Mice and Men,
Ruby,
Boxing Helena and
Rude Awakening, and for portraying actress
Elizabeth Taylor in
Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story.
Early life
Fenn was born
Sheryl Ann Fenn[Michael A. Lipton & Joyce Wagner. "Elizabethan Drama." People. Volume 43: Issue 19. May 15, 1995. p.142-144.] in
Detroit, Michigan. She comes from a family of musicians: her mother is keyboard player Arlene Quatro, her aunt is singer
Suzi Quatro, her grandfather Art Quatro was a
jazz musician, and her father, Leo Fenn, managed such rock bands as Suzi Quatro's
The Pleasure Seekers,
Alice Cooper, and
The Billion Dollar Babies. Fenn is of
Italian and
Hungarian descent on her mother's side and of
Irish and
French descent on her father's. She frequently traveled with her mother and two older brothers before the family settled in
Los Angeles when she was 17.
[Glenn O'Brien. "Fenn-Tastic! Meet Twin Peaks' Mysterious Siren Sherilyn Fenn." Playboy. December 1990. p.82-91, 213-214.] Fenn didn't want to start with a new school again, and soon enrolled at the
Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.
Acting career
Early career (1984–1989)
Sherilyn Fenn began her career with a number of
B-movies including
The Wild Life (1984, opposite
Chris Penn), the 1986 skater film
Thrashin' (opposite
Josh Brolin and
Pamela Gidley), the 1986 teen
fantasy movie
The Wraith (opposite
Charlie Sheen and
Nick Cassavetes), the 1987 horror film
Zombie High (alongside
Virginia Madsen), and the
Beauty and the Beast-inspired erotic movie
Meridian. She had a memorable part in the 1985 cult teen-comedy
Just One of the Guys in which she tries to seduce a teenage girl disguised as a boy, played by
Joyce Hyser. Sherilyn starred alongside
Johnny Depp in the 1985 short student film
Dummies, directed by Laurie Frank for the
American Film Institute. Fenn and Depp dated for three and a half years, subsequently getting engaged. In 1987, she joined Depp in a season one episode of
21 Jump Street called "Blindsided".
Fenn is the first to admit that she has appeared in many films that are worth forgetting, and that turned into
sexploitation films "where directors tried to convince
[1] to appear naked after the contract was signed."
[Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in "The Rise and Thrall of Sherilyn Fenn" by James Steranko Prevue (USA). March 1991. p.42-43, 53, 57.] "Still, I did a lot of movies instead of waitressing or that kind of thing at the beginning, and it wasn't as if I even took acting very seriously when I started," she says. "I was in California for the first time. I was going to clubs, I was going here, I was going there, I was skipping acting classes when I could. Luckily, I had an agent who really believed in me and she just kept pushing me, thinking something would happen."
[Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in "Five Feet of Heaven in a Ponytail" by Simon Banner Premiere (UK). July 1993. p.26-29.]
Fenn landed her first starring role, as an engaged heiress to an old Southern family who falls for
carnival worker
Richard Tyson in
Zalman King's erotic drama film
Two Moon Junction, after which she said she wanted to hide for a year.
[Simon Banner. "Five Feet of Heaven in a Ponytail." Premiere (UK). July 1993. p.26-29.] "I was so embarrassed about how it turned out that I went into a cocoon for a year afterwards," she said.
[Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in "Everybody's Mad about Sherilyn Fenn" by Jessica Sully Movie (Australia). January 1993. p.18-20.] Junction was meant to be Fenn’s big break, but the film turned into another sexploitation film.
"A lot of people said some really bad things about me for doing such a sexy movie. But I decided to do it because I
wasn't comfortable with the material.
[Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in "Sherilyn Fenn: The Twin Peaks Temptress Is Back for Fall" by Henry Edwards Details (USA). September 1990. p.130-131.] I didn't want to make choices that would always put me in a place that was comfortable and secure. I thought interesting things would happen and I would grow. Interesting things did happen. I cried at the end of all my love scenes."
[Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in "Fenn-Tastic! Meet Twin Peaks' Mysterious Siren Sherilyn Fenn" by Glenn O'Brien Playboy. December 1990. p.82-91, 213-214.]
After these film experiences, Fenn decided to take control of her career. "I decided to be more myself and not to be pushed into what other people wanted me to be. It’s scary how little imagination many people in this business have."
Rise to fame - Twin Peaks (1990–1991)
[
TwinPeaks AudreyHorne.jpg|thumb|Sherilyn Fenn as [[Audrey Horne] in
Twin Peaks]]
Fenn won her most outstanding role and made an indelible impression on the public when she was cast by
David Lynch and
Mark Frost as the tantalizing, reckless
Audrey Horne, the high-school
femme fatale from the critically acclaimed
TV series Twin Peaks. The series ran from 1990 to 1991, and the character of Audrey was one of the most popular with fans, in particular for her unrequited love for
FBI Special Agent
Dale Cooper (played by
Kyle MacLachlan) and her style from the '50s (with her
saddle shoes, plaid skirts, and tight
sweaters). Sherilyn hit cult status with a scene in which Lynch filmed her dancing to
Angelo Badalamenti's music and with another memorable scene in which her character knotted a cherry stem in her mouth. "With Sherilyn Fenn, Twin Peaks came on and effortlessly destroyed every other show’s sexuality", said co-star
James Marshall.
[James Marshall, quoted in "The James Marshall Interview" by Craig Miller and John Thorne. Wrapped In Plastic. Issue 72. December 2004.] "Audrey is a woman-child who dresses like the girls in the '50s and shows her body", said Fenn. "But she's daddy's little girl at the same time."
In the show's second season, when the idea of pairing Audrey with Cooper was abandoned, Audrey was paired with other characters like
Bobby Briggs (played by
Dana Ashbrook) and John Justice Wheeler (
Billy Zane). About Audrey, Fenn said:
Shortly after shooting
Twin Peaks pilot episode, David Lynch gave her a small but impressive part in Wild at Heart, as a girl injured in a car wreck, obsessed by the contents of her purse, opposite Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern, which won the Golden Palm Award at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. "David’s direction was, ‘Only think of this: bobby pins, lipstick, wallet, comb, that’s it.’ It’s very abstract."[Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in "Babes in the Woods: Sharing Pie and Secrets With the Mystery Girls of Twin Peaks" by Bill Zehme. ]Rolling Stone. Issue 588. October 4, 1990. p.68-71, 170. "I just pictured her being able to do this", said Lynch of her scene, "she’s like a broken China doll."[David Lynch, quoted in "Babes in the Woods: Sharing Pie and Secrets with the Mystery Girls of Twin Peaks" by Bill Zehme. ]Rolling Stone. Issue 588. October 4, 1990. p.68-71, 170. David Lynch, who once described Sherilyn Fenn as "five feet of heaven in a ponytail" (quoting from a 1958 record by The Playmates), and said that she makes him think of a porcelain doll, said about her: "He's very creative and unafraid of taking chances," she said of the director. "I really respect him. He's wonderful."[Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in M.J. Simpson's Interview With Sherilyn Fenn. October 1, 1997.]
She soon portrayed
John Dillinger's girlfriend
Billie Frechette in
ABC's 1991 gangster TV movie
Dillinger opposite
Mark Harmon, and shot the
neo-noir black comedy
Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel in which she played a sultry, seductive
femme fatale, opposite
Whip Hubley and
David Hewlett.
After
Twin Peaks, Fenn chose to focus on widening her range of roles and was determined to avoid
typecasting. "They’ve offered me every variation on Audrey Horne, none of which were as good or as much fun."
[Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in "Fenn de Siècle" by Joshua Mooney. Movieline. July 1993. p.36-40, 80-82.] She turned down the Audrey Horne
spin-off series that was offered to her, and unlike most of the cast, chose not to return for the 1992
prequel movie
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, as she was then shooting
Of Mice and Men.
[Dennis Hensley. "Fenn & Now". Movieline. June 1999. p.54-59.]
Post-Peaks roles (1992–1995)
[
]]]
After two nominations (
Emmy and
Golden Globe) for
Twin Peaks, and a pictorial in
Playboy magazine (for which she chose her then boyfriend,
Barry Hollywood, to photograph her), Fenn was propelled to stardom and became a major
sex symbol, with her
Old Hollywood looks. In October 1990, while promoting
Twin Peaks, Fenn made the cover of
Rolling Stone magazine along with
Mädchen Amick and
Lara Flynn Boyle. In 1990
Us Magazine chose her as one of the "10 Most Beautiful Women in the World" and in 1991
People magazine chose her as one of the "50 Most Beautiful Women in the World". She posed for photographer
Steven Meisel for the autumn-winter 1991-1992
Dolce & Gabbana campaign, for which he photographed her as a
classical Hollywood femme fatale. In 1992 photographer
George Hurrell took a series of photographs of Sherilyn Fenn,
Sharon Stone,
Julian Sands,
Raquel Welch,
Eric Roberts and
Sean Penn. In these portraits he recreated his style of the 1930s, with Fenn posing in costumes, hairstyle and makeup of the period.
In 1991, veteran Hollywood acting coach
Roy London chose her to star in his directorial debut
Diary of a Hitman (nominated for the Critics Award at the 1991
Deauville Film Festival), in which she plays a young mother determined to protect her child from hit-man
Forest Whitaker. According to Fenn, the turning point in her career was when she met London in 1990. She credits him with instilling confidence and newfound enthusiasm. She learned from her beloved teacher "to find the roles that you're passionate about, that speak to you on some level and which will help you grow on some level,"
[Fenn, quoted in Sherilyn Fenn's On-Line Showtime Interview on SHO.com. November 27, 1999.] which has then become her line of conduct. "A lot of the sentiment that acting should be about an art form rather than mass entertainment and celebrity is at the core of Fenn’s attitude to the business," wrote Jessica Sully in
Australian magazine
Movie.
[Jessica Sully. "Everybody's Mad about Sherilyn Fenn". Movie (Australia). January 1993. p.18-20.] "I try to keep myself centered," Fenn said. "I don't go to parties and all that. I don't think being seen or being in the right place is going to make me a better actress. I care about my work and try to do what's right in my heart."
[Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in "Fenn Fatale" by Martha Frankel. Exposure. September 1990. p.56-63.] As Mike Bygrave wrote in
Sky Magazine: "One of the keys to understanding Fenn is that when she talks about the characters she plays she's really talking about herself."
[Mike Bygrave. "Fenn Fatale." Sky Magazine. July 1992. p.6-10.] Fenn was eager to play varied parts that could eclipse her sex-symbol image. "People who think they know me would be surprised that my whole life doesn't revolve around sex," she said.
After
Twin Peaks, Fenn demanded a no-nudity clause in her contracts. She turned to the
independent world, to manage to carve out a career on her own terms as a versatile actress. She worked intensely, choosing varied and unusual roles:
[
]]]
A highlight of Fenn's film career is
Gary Sinise's film adaptation of
Of Mice and Men (nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1992
Cannes Film Festival) in which she played a sad and lonely country wife, desperately in need to talk to somebody, opposite Sinise and
John Malkovich. "Sherilyn’s one of the reasons we got such a great ovation at Cannes", said Sinise.
[Gary Sinise, quoted in the DVD audio commentary of Of Mice and Men.] "She’s like a terribly sad angel in this film. Sherilyn plays against just being a sexy and beautiful girl," he added. "Hopefully her performance in my film will show her deep talent because she certainly showed the right mix of innocence and seductiveness for the role. We needed a fresh face but also one who knew what she was doing."
[Gary Sinise, quoted in "Everybody's Mad about Sherilyn Fenn" by Jessica Sully Movie (Australia). January 1993. p.18-20.]
"Gary Sinise was one of the first people who didn’t see me like a lot of other people did,"
[Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in "Fenn & Now" by Dennis Hensley. Movieline. June 1999. p.54-59.] she said. "It was a wonderful experience. Horton Foote adapted the novel and he fleshed out my character, and he made her much, much more."
The same year saw her starring alongside
Danny Aiello,
Arliss Howard and
Marc Lawrence in
John Mackenzie's
Ruby, that attempts to unravel the mystery of who killed
John F. Kennedy and why, and depicts the events that led
Jack Ruby to shoot
Lee Harvey Oswald. Fenn plays the part of ambitious stripper Sheryl Ann DuJean, a fictitious character who is a composite of several real-life women including stripper
Candy Barr,
Marilyn Monroe and
Judith Campbell Exner. "She’s got a brain and all the right emotional instincts, and that’s a great combination," said Mackenzie of Fenn.
[John Mackenzie, quoted in "Phenomenal Fenn" by Diana Rico. Harper's Bazaar. December 1991. p.132-133, 156.]
In 1993 she starred in the romantic comedy
Three of Hearts as
Kelly Lynch and
William Baldwin's love interest. During the shooting the relations between Fenn and director
Yurek Bogayevicz became more and more strained as she refused to appear nude in the film.
[Joshua Mooney. "Fenn de Siècle." Movieline. July 1993. p.36-40, 80-82.]
Fenn was also considered for the title role in
Roger Vadim's remake of his 1968 film
Barbarella that ultimately didn't come off.
[Barbarella at Moria.co.nz]
Her most notable film role to date was in the controversial
Boxing Helena (nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1993
Sundance Film Festival), directed by David Lynch's daughter
Jennifer Chambers Lynch. Fenn portrayed a
narcissistic seductress amputated and imprisoned by
Julian Sands, who makes her become his personal
Venus de Milo in an effort to possess her.
Helena was a way for Fenn to avoid being
type-cast,
with a radically different role from what she’d done in the past: "Women do feel like they're in a box," she says of the subtext that attracted her to the role. "Society, Hollywood, some men... they want to wrap women up in a neat little package."
[Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in "Fenntastic" by Jill Daniel. Orange Coast. January 1999.] Both Lynch and Fenn were proud of their work in it
[Jim McClellan. "Crate Expectations." The Face. Issue 57. June 1993. p.40-47.] but the film - which was overshadowed by the lawsuits against
Kim Basinger after she dropped out - ultimately was a critical and commercial failure. However, both women enjoyed a lot their collaboration. "Sherilyn is an amazing actress, a total bundle of energy and a real powerhouse and I think people will see a side of her that we have never seen of Sherilyn anywhere else before," said Lynch of the actress. "I have with Sherilyn something I didn't think I'd ever find and that is the entire whole."
[Jennifer Lynch, quoted in the Boxing Helena press kit. 1993.] "Jennifer’s one of the brightest person I know,"
said Fenn. "Boxing Helena was something that I think was pretty cool, but people judged it without even having seen it. It’s not perfect, but I think for the story that we were trying to tell, it turned out pretty good. What it signified was really powerful to me: how society puts us in boxes one way or another."
[
]]]
She then starred in
Carl Reiner's
neo-noir parody
Fatal Instinct as
Armand Assante's devoted secretary and
Sean Young and
Kate Nelligan’s rival. She was asked to read for the femme fatale Lola (eventually played by Young), but opted for Assante's lovesick secretary.
[David Walstad. "Legendary Portrayal". The Philadelphia Inquirer TV Week (USA). May 21, 1995. p.4-5.]
Fenn afterward portrayed
Potiphar's wife
Zulaikha in
Showtime's
Biblical TV movie
Slave of Dreams (released in 1995) opposite
Adrian Pasdar and
Edward James Olmos. The film was directed by multi-award winning
Robert M. Young and produced by
Martha and
Dino De Laurentiis.
In 1995, she starred in an episode of
Tales from the Crypt directed by
Robert Zemeckis, alongside
Isabella Rossellini and
John Lithgow, in which she played the lover of
Humphrey Bogart, who appeared in the episode via
CGI special effects. "It was wonderful working with Bob Zemeckis and Isabella, and everybody was really nice."
After a short break during which she married and gave birth to a son, Fenn was chosen among more than 100 actresses to portray legendary actress
Elizabeth Taylor in
NBC's 1995
telemovie Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story. "Director
Kevin Connor and I arranged a lunch, not an audition," said executive producer
Lester Persky. "We knew 10 minutes into our meeting that Sherilyn was it. She has the same striking beauty, and because of that she's experienced some of the things in life and in this business that make Elizabeth such a fascinating person."
[Lester Perky, quoted in "Legendary Portrayal" by David Walstad. The Philadelphia Inquirer TV Week (USA). May 21, 1995. p.4-5.] When she accepted the part, Fenn was unaware that Taylor was suing to stop both broadcast of the film and the unauthorized biography that it is based on. But that didn't let her distract from her work. "I am somebody who doesn't make choices lightly at this point of my life. I'm not somebody who wants to exploit another's woman story or life in any way."
[Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in "Elizabeth Taylor television film to be shown over her objections". Reading Eagle TV Times (USA). May 21, 1995. p.31.] Some parallels with her life made it important for Fenn to do the biography. Like Taylor, Fenn's mother married several times. "It's remarkable, to be married so many times. How do you say 'I do' yet again and again and mean it? Maybe she lives her life in the moment, and ferociously believe in love. My mother getting married over and over definitely had an effect on me."
Also, Fenn and Taylor both encountered similar experiences in the film business. "There are stereotypes of what a beautiful woman is. She struggled with that. A certain part of her life she went on that calling card. I certainly know I've come into contact with that. ‘You are too pretty,’ I'm told."
During the shooting, Fenn fought to keep integrity in the script. Her priority was to respectfully and accurately portray Taylor, and she supported the original screenwriter's effort to concentrate on Taylor the person, not the legend.
Slowdown in her career (1996–1998)
[
Fenn The Elizabeth Taylor story.jpg|thumb|Sherilyn Fenn as [[Elizabeth Taylor] in
The Elizabeth Taylor Story]]
In the late 1990s, Fenn's career took a downturn. The discrepancies between her vision of the profession of actress and the Hollywood-centred commercial fixation led to her lack of enthusiasm in traditional Hollywood films.
"I didn't like anything," she admits. "It was crazy, I was very picky. In other words, I didn't take advantage of what was happening necessarily then.
But they also have a way of putting you in a category. I wasn't into playing the Hollywood game. I only responded to certain things."
[Sherilyn Fenn, quoted in "Fenn Shui" by Rob Hill. Bikini. Issue 37. October 1998.] Also, she herself has attributed her failure to adapt to the Hollywood system to her frankness and her dislike for the "Hollywood game".
She then began to alternate TV movies and independent films. In 1996 she joined the winning
ensemble cast in the
romantic comedy Lovelife as a waitress who attempts to become a writer and has to rebuild her life. The film was written and directed by
Tru Callings creator Jon Harmon Feldman and costarred Matt Letscher, Jon Tenney, Bruce Davison, Saffron Burrows and Carla Gugino.
Fenn also appeared in the 1997 romantic comedy
Just Write, along with
Jeremy Piven as the dream actress of a Hollywood tour bus driver, who mistakes him for a famous screenwriter. Both films have been well-received on the festival circuit.
In a 1997 episode of
Friends, Fenn guest-starred as
Matthew Perry's wooden-legged girlfriend. "Matthew Perry was darling and very funny. All my scenes were with Matthew, basically, so it was fun. I like the show. I was happy to be a part of it."
The same year she was cast as the female lead in
ABC's show
Prey (originally entitled
Hungry for Survival) and starred in the unaired original
pilot episode. However, the pilot was reshot and Fenn was replaced by
Debra Messing.
Fenn starred in the 1998 British psychological
drama and huis-clos
Darkness Falls as a wealthy and neglected wife, who is sequestered with her husband (played by
Tim Dutton) by a man (
Ray Winstone) determined to understand the events that led to his wife ending up in a
coma. "I loved the script when I read it; it's a wonderful character piece. I saw Ray's work, like
Nil by Mouth, and I saw Tim's work, and I just was really excited to be a part of it."
While shooting the film in the
Isle of Man in late 1997, Fenn hesitated to settle in
London in order to start a European career, and eventually decided to stay in the U.S.
[M.J. Simpson. Interview With Sherilyn Fenn. October 1, 1997.]
She subsequently starred opposite
Jon Tenney in the pilot for a remake of ABC's
Love, American Style, for the 1998-1999 television season. The pilot, that also featured
Melissa Joan Hart,
Matt Letscher and
Mariska Hargitay was not ordered into a series. Nevertheless, ABC aired it on February 20, 1999.
Return to television - Rude Awakening (1998–2001)
[
]]]
Fenn gained newfound enthusiasm with the lead role in
Showtime's sitcom
Rude Awakening as
Billie Frank, an
alcoholic ex-
soap opera actress, based upon executive producer/creator
Claudia Lonow's experience, who tries to go sober and become a writer but continues to struggle with her self-destructive habits. The series ran from 1998 to 2001 and co-starred
Lynn Redgrave,
Jonathan Penner and
Mario Van Peebles.
Fenn joined again
Jeremy Piven in a 1998 episode of
Cupid, as Piven's love interest.
In 1999 she reteamed with
Chris Penn and
Adrian Pasdar for Pasdar's
art-house directorial debut, the
neo-noir Cement, a contemporary re-telling of
Othello, in which she played a tempting but imprudent
femme fatale, the wife of jealous corrupt cop
Chris Penn. "I play a character who's selfish and sloppy with her sexual energy. I saw the film and I was really happy with it. It's got a lot of soul."
The film, which won Best Picture awards on the festival circuit, was written by
Farscape’s screenwriter
Justin Monjo and also starred
Jeffrey Wright and
Henry Czerny.
She also reteamed with actor/director
Bruce Davison for his 2001 award-winning
[Awards for Off Season] family comedy,
Showtime's
Off Season alongside
Rory Culkin,
Hume Cronyn and
Adam Arkin.
Recent roles and directing (2001–present)
Following
Rude Awakening, Fenn's work consisted of a lot of episodic TV work. In the middle of the 2000s, she failed to find a role that could re-ignite her career as she got involved into many projects, that went unrealized.
In 2001, she starred in the episode
Replica of
The Outer Limits, playing a scientist who volunteered to be cloned. She also starred in an episode of
Night Visions, as a woman who buys a used car possessed by a vengeful spirit. She was cast as a kindergarten teacher for the pilot of the 2001 American version of the British TV show
Blind Men, alongside
French Stewart. However, the pilot was not ordered into a series.
In 2002, Fenn was one of several former
Twin Peaks stars, such as
Dana Ashbrook and
Mädchen Amick, to have a recurring role on
The WB's
Dawson's Creek. She guest-starred in three episodes from the fifth season, as Alex Pearl, the seductive manager of the restaurant where
Joshua Jackson works.
Fenn was afterwards cast as madcap villain
Harley Quinn in
The WB's
Birds of Prey but was replaced by
Mia Sara before the series began. Fenn starred in the original pilot episode but dropped out, due to scheduling conflicts, as the show's creators realized that the character of Harley Quinn would need to be a bigger part of the show
She also played a manipulative woman in a season 4 episode of
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit opposite
Christopher Meloni and
Mariska Hargitay and appeared in
Watching Ellie.
Fenn played a crime boss in the 2002 film
Swindle opposite
Tom Sizemore. She had a small role in the critically acclaimed
The United States of Leland, opposite
Ryan Gosling, in which she played a mother who captivates a troubled teenage boy.
[
] in
Rude Awakening]]
In 2003, Fenn appeared on
The WB's
Gilmore Girls as Sasha, the girlfriend of
Jess Mariano's estranged father (played by
Rob Estes) in the season three episode
Here Comes the Son, which was the backdoor pilot for a
California-set spin-off titled
Windward Circle, that was to have starred
Milo Ventimiglia, Estes and Fenn.
[|80335|1|,00.html "Estes and Fenn Join Gilmore Spin-off." Zap2it. February 25, 2003.] The network dropped the project citing cost issues due to filming on location in Venice, California.
She then played the recurring part of Violet Montgomery on
Fox's
Boston Public (2003-2004),
[|83658|1|,00.html "Fenn Enrolls on Boston Public." Zap2it. September 22, 2003.] and appeared in
Showtime's
Cavedweller (2004) opposite
Kyra Sedgwick.
In 2004, Fenn joined former co-star
Mark Harmon in an episode of
NCIS, as an amnesiac woman. She was afterwards cast for the 2004 remake of
Mister Ed, planned for the
Fox network. However, after the pilot was shot, the show's writer/producer
Drake Sather committed suicide, and the pilot was not aired.
In 2004, Fenn co-starred opposite
Traci Lords and
Paul Johansson in
Emily Skopov's
Novel Romance, released in 2006, in which she played a pregnancy shop owner who can't have children and whose sister decides to become a single mother. She then appeared in the martial arts film
Lesser of Three Evils alongside
Ho Sung Pak,
Peter Greene and
Roger Guenveur Smith, as the unbalanced and alcoholic wife of a corrupt detective. The film was released in 2009 under the title
Fist of the Warrior.
[Lionsgate Publicity: February 2009]
In 2005, Fenn made a notable appearance on
The 4400, playing
Jean DeLynn Baker, a 4400 who has the ability to grow
toxin-emitting
spores on her hands. She also guest-starred on the final episode of
Judging Amy.
After finishing the Russia-set action film
Treasure Raiders with
David Carradine, Fenn starred in the
Canadian psychological thriller
Presumed Dead, opposite
Duncan Regehr, as a detective working on a missing person case, who has to outwit a crime novelist.
In 2006, Fenn reteamed with
Amy Sherman-Palladino and reappeared in the sixth and seventh seasons of
Gilmore Girls as
Anna Nardini, the ex-girlfriend of
Luke Danes (played by
Scott Patterson) and protective mother to his daughter April. After the 2003
Gilmore Girls spin-off project, Sherman-Palladino wanted to work with Fenn again ever since, and wrote the character of Anna with her in mind.
When asked why she cast Fenn for two different roles on
Gilmore Girls, Sherman-Palladino said: {(({cquote|I love Sherilyn so much and I don't care. One thing about the show is I just want the best people. I've just been looking constantly for a time to work with Sherilyn, and I'm getting very old and I could just get hit by a truck at any minute. I just simply can't put it off that long, so I'd just rather get her in and have her part of my world.
However, after Sherman-Palladino left the show, the direction for the character changedmdashthe producers decided to make her character a villain in a custody battle.
Fenn was cast as the female lead in ABC's 2006 comedy series Three Moons Over Milford
Fenn was slated for a recurring role on CBS' 2006 crime drama Smith, but the show was quickly-canceled.
She appeared in the 2007 Dukes of Hazzard prequel, The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning as Lulu Hogg. "It's just a fun silly role," she said, but Fenn who had already worked with director Robert Berlinger on Rude Awakening, wanted to do so again.
In July 2006, shortly after shooting The Dukes of Hazzard prequel, Fenn stepped behind the camera for the first time and directed in Pittsburgh a documentary film about child enrichment program CosmiKids and its founder Judy Julin.
In July 2008, Fenn filmed The Scenesters, a black comedy made by comedic film group The Vacationeers.
In July 2009, Fenn made a guest appearance on In Plain Sight as a lesbian counterfeiter producing $100 bills who may unknowingly have been producing secret funding for the CIA. She goes into Witness Protection when her partner/girlfriend is unfaithful and merits special handling as a result of a $10M+ bounty on her head.
Personal life
Fenn lives in Los Angeles. She practices kundalini yoga. Fenn dated Prince and was linked to Dweezil Zappa. She briefly dated Hollywood agent Jay Moloney. Fenn also dated photographer Barry Hollywood, whom she chose to photograph her for the December 1990 issue of Playboy.
Fenn was engaged to actor Johnny Depp, whom she refers to as her first true love. Depp and Fenn met on the set of the 1985 short film Dummies. Director Laurie Frank said: Fenn and Depp got engaged after dating for three and a half years. He later signed a contract to become a series regular on 21 Jump Street, which went into production in Vancouver. In pursuit of their different careers in Los Angeles and Vancouver, the two parted ways.[E True Hollywood Story: Johnny Depp. 11/23/03.]
In 1994, Fenn married guitarist/songwriter Toulouse Holliday,[R. Daniel Foster. "Sherilyn Fenn, Taylor Made." Los Angeles. May 1995. p.64-67.] whom she met on the set of Three of Hearts, and gave birth to a son, Myles, in late 1993. The marriage came to an end in 1997.
Her second son, Christian, with boyfriend Dylan Stewart, was born in August 2007.[CBB Exclusive: Sherilyn Fenn welcomes second son : Celebrity Baby Blog]
After directing a documentary film about child enrichment program CosmiKids, Fenn joined its executive team in 2007 as executive director of the film and television division.[CosmiKids executive team]
Sherilyn Fenn has worked twice with David Lynch (Twin Peaks, Wild at Heart), Adrian Pasdar (Slave of Dreams, Cement), Chris Penn (The Wild Life, Cement), Bruce Davison (Lovelife, Off Season), Amy Sherman-Palladino (the Gilmore Girls spin-off project Windward Circle, Gilmore Girls), Johnny Depp (Dummies, 21 Jump Street), Jeremy Piven (Just Write, Cupid), Isabella Rossellini (Wild at Heart, Tales from the Crypt), Virginia Madsen (Zombie High, Smith), Mark Harmon (Dillinger, NCIS), Robert Berlinger (Rude Awakening, The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning), Costas Mandylor (Just Write, Scent of Murder), and David Carradine (Crime Zone, Treasure Raiders).
Awards and nominations
- Emmy Awards
- 1990: nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series -- Twin Peaks
- Golden Globe Awards
- 1991: nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV -- Twin Peaks
Other recognition
- Fenn made the cover of such magazines as New York, Rolling Stone (along with Mädchen Amick and Lara Flynn Boyle), In Fashion (along with Billy Idol), Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, The Face, Details, Sky, and Harper's Bazaar.
- In 1990 Us Magazine chose her as one of the "10 Most Beautiful Women in the World".
- In 1991 People chose her as one of the "50 Most Beautiful Women in the World".
- Fenn posed for photographer Steven Meisel for the autumn-winter 1991-1992 Dolce & Gabbana campaign.
- In 1992, Fenn posed for photographer George Hurrell.
- Singer and composer Screamin' Jay Hawkins wrote and recorded the 1993 song entitled "Sherilyn Fenn", featured on his album Stone Crazy. The song is an ode to Fenn, who worked with Hawkins in Two Moon Junction.
- Fenn is mentioned in the song "Razor Burn" by the punk band Lagwagon on their 1995 album entitled Hoss.
- In 1995 FHM chose her as one of the "100 sexiest women in the world".
- In 1996, The Daily Mirror chose her as one of the "World's 100 Most Beautiful Women", and Femme Fatales chose her as one of the "50 sexiest sci-fi actresses".
- Fenn inspired Norwegian hard rock band Audrey Horne, formed in 2002, named after her character in Twin Peaks.
- In 2006, Australian men magazine Zoo Weekly chose her as one of the "Top 50 Hottest Babes Ever".
Filmography
| Film credits
|
| Year
| Title
| Role
| Director
| Other notes
|
| 1984 | The Wild Life | Penny Harlin | Art Linson |
|
| 1985 | Just One of the Guys | Sandy | Lisa Gottlieb |
|
| Out of Control | Katie | Allan Holzman |
|
| Dummies | | Laurie Frank | short film
|
| 1986 | Thrashin' | Velvet | David Winters |
|
| The Wraith | Keri Johnson | Mike Marvin |
|
| 1987 | Zombie High | Suzi | Ron Link |
|
| 1988 | Two Moon Junction | April Delongpre | Zalman King |
|
| Crime Zone | Helen | Luis Llosa |
|
| 1989 | True Blood | Jennifer Scott | Frank Kerr |
|
| 1990 | Backstreet Dreams | Lucy | Rupert Hitzig |
|
| Wild at Heart | Girl in accident | David Lynch |
|
| Meridian | Catherine Bomarzini | Charles Band |
|
| Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel | Bridget 'Bridey' DeSoto | Alien Castle |
|
| 1991 | Diary of a Hitman | Jain Zidzyck | Roy London |
|
| 1992 | Ruby | Sheryl Ann 'Candy Cane' DuJean | John Mackenzie | also song performer
|
| Of Mice and Men | Curley's wife | Gary Sinise |
|
| 1993 | Three of Hearts | Ellen Armstrong | Yurek Bogayevicz |
|
| Boxing Helena | Helena | Jennifer Chambers Lynch |
|
| Fatal Instinct | Laura Lincolnberry | Carl Reiner |
|
| 1997 | Lovelife | Molly | Jon Harmon Feldman |
|
| Just Write | Amanda Clark | Andrew Gallerani |
|
| 1998 | The Shadow Men | Dez Wilson | Timothy Bond |
|
| Darkness Falls | Sally Driscoll | Gerry Lively |
|
| Outside Ozona | Marcy Duggan Rice | J. S. Cardone |
|
| 1999 | Cement | Lyndel | Adrian Pasdar |
|
| 2002 | Swindle | Sophie Zen | K.C. Bascombe |
|
| 2003 | The United States of Leland | Angela Calderon | Matthew Ryan Hoge |
|
| 2006 | Novel Romance | Liza Normane Stewart | Emily Skopov |
|
| Whitepaddy | Karen Greenly | Geretta Geretta |
|
| 2007 | Treasure Raiders | Lena | Brent Huff |
|
| The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning | Lulu Hogg | Robert Berlinger |
|
| 2009 | Fist of the Warrior (aka Lesser of Three Evils) | Katie Barnes | Wayne A. Kennedy |
|
| The Scenesters | A.D.A. Barbara Dietrichson | Todd Berger |
|
| Television series credits
|
| Year
| Title
| Role
| Director/Series creator
| Other notes
|
| 1985 | Cheers (episode 4.4 The Groom Wore Clearasil) | Gabrielle | James Burrows | guest
|
| 1987 | 21 Jump Street (episode 1.9 Blindsided) | Diane Nelson | David Jackson | guest
|
| 1988 | Divided We Stand (pilot) | | Michael Tuchner | not ordered to series
|
| ABC Afterschool Special (episode 17.2 A Family Again) | Beth | Camille Thomasson | anthology series
|
| 1989 | TV 101 (episodes 1.7, 1.8 The Last Temptation of Checker) | Robin Zimmer | Karl Schaefer | guest (2 episodes)
|
| 1990 | Twin Peaks | Audrey Horne | David Lynch, Mark Frost | regular (2 seasons, 1990–1991)
Nominated for Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress
Nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress
|
| 1995 | Tales from the Crypt (episode 6.15 You, Murderer) | Erika | Robert Zemeckis | anthology series
|
| 1997 | Friends (episode 3.14 The One with Phoebe's Ex-Partner) | Ginger | Robby Benson | guest
|
| Prey (Hungry for Survival) (pilot) | Dr. Sloan Larkin | | original unaired pilot
|
| 1998 | Love, American Style (segment Love And The Jealous Lover) | Nancy | Barry Kemp | TV anthology series pilot — not ordered to series
|
| Rude Awakening | Billie Frank | Claudia Lonow | lead (3 seasons, 1998-2001)
|
| Cupid (episode 1.7 Pick-Up Schticks) | Helen Davis | Tucker Gates | guest
|
| 2001 | The Outer Limits (episode 7.7 Replica) | Nora Griffiths / Nora's clone | Brad Turner | anthology series
|
| Night Visions (episode 1.8 Used Car) | Charlotte | Michael W. Watkins | anthology series
|
| Blind Men (pilot) | | | not ordered to series
|
| 2002 | Watching Ellie (episodes 1.5 Cheetos, 1.7 Gift) | Vanessa | Brad Hall | guest (2 episodes)
|
| Dawson's Creek (ep. 5.20 Separate Ways (Worlds Apart), 5.21 After Hours, 5.22 The Abby) | Alexandra 'Alex' Pearl | Kevin Williamson | guest (3 episodes)
|
| Birds of Prey (pilot) | Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn | Laeta Kalogridis | original unaired pilot
|
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (episode 4.2 Deception) | Gloria Stanfield | Constantine Makris | guest
|
| 2003 | Gilmore Girls (episode 3.21 Here Comes the Son) | Sasha | Amy Sherman-Palladino | backdoor pilot for spin-off series — not ordered to series
|
| Boston Public | Violet Montgomery | David E. Kelley | recurring (season 4, 2003-2004)
|
| 2004 | NCIS (episode 1.10 Left for Dead) | Jane Doe / Suzzanne McNeil | James Whitmore Jr. | guest
|
| Century Cities (episode 1.07 The Face Was Familiar) | Bree Clemens | Michael Lehmann | guest
|
| Mister Ed (pilot) | Carlotta Pope | Drake Sather | not ordered to series
|
| 2005 | Judging Amy (episode 6.22 My Name Is Amy Gray...) | Heather Reid | Helen Shaver | guest
|
| The 4400 (episode 2.7 Carrier) | Jean DeLynn Baker | Leslie Libman | guest
|
| 2006 | Gilmore Girls | Anna Nardini | Amy Sherman-Palladino | recurring (seasons 6–7, 2006–2007)
|
| CSI: Miami (episode 4.22 Open Water) | Gwen Creighton | Scott Lautanen | guest
|
| Three Moons Over Milford (pilot) | Janet Davis | Howard Chesley, Jon Boorstin | original unaired pilot
|
| Smith (episode 1.6 Six) | Debbie Turkenson | John Wells | guest (planned for a recurring role)
|
| 2008 | House M.D. (episode 5.11 Joy to the World) | Mrs. Soellner | David Straiton | guest
|
| 2009 | In Plain Sight (episode 2.13 Let's Get It Ahn) | Helen Trask/Helen Traylen | Félix Enríquez Alcalá | guest
|
| Television movies credits
|
| Year
| Title
| Role
| Director
| Other notes
|
| 1984 | Silence of the Heart | Monica | Robert Michaels |
|
| 1987 | Tales from the Hollywood Hills: A Table at Ciro's | Betty | Leon Ichaso |
|
| 1991 | Dillinger | Evelyn 'Billie' Frechette | Rupert Wainwright |
|
| 1994 | Spring Awakening | Margie | Jack Gold |
|
| 1995 | Slave of Dreams | Zulaikha | Robert M. Young |
|
| Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story | Elizabeth Taylor | Kevin Connor | TV miniseries
|
| 1996 | A Season in Purgatory | Kit Bradley | David Greene | TV miniseries
|
| 1997 | The Don's Analyst | Isabella Leoni | David Jablin |
|
| 1998 | Nightmare Street | Joanna Burke/Sarah Randolph | Colin Bucksey |
|
| 2001 | Off Season | Patty Winslow | Bruce Davison |
|
| 2002 | Scent of Danger | Brenna Shaw | Peter Svatek |
|
| 2003 | Nightwaves | Shelby Naylor | Jim Kaufman |
|
| 2004 | Cavedweller | M.T. | Lisa Cholodenko |
|
| Pop Rocks | Allison Harden | Ron Lagomarsino |
|
| 2005 | Officer Down (aka Assassin in Blue) | Kathryn Shaunessy | Christopher Miller |
|
| Deadly Isolation | Susan Mandaway | Rodney Gibbons |
|
| 2006 | Presumed Dead | Det. Mary Anne 'Coop' Cooper | George Mendeluk |
|
