Sharon Gless

Sharon Gless Bio

Sharon Marguerite Gless (born May 31, 1943) is an American actress whose career has spanned more than five decades, primarily across television. She first drew widespread attention as Maggie Philbin on the CBS detective series Switch (1975–1978) and went on to become one of the defining television actresses of her generation through the police drama Cagney & Lacey (1982–1988). Over the years, she has earned recognition for her work in The Trials of Rosie O’Neill (1990–1992), Queer as Folk (2000–2005), and Burn Notice (2007–2013).

A ten-time Emmy Award nominee and seven-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Sharon Gless has secured major industry honors, including a Golden Globe and two Emmy Awards. In 1995, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, cementing her place in American television history. Beyond her on-screen success, she has been an active supporter of arts education and continues to be regarded as a trailblazer for women in television drama.

Early Life and Background

Sharon Marguerite Gless was born in Los Angeles, California, on May 31, 1943, to Marjorie (McCarthy) and Dennis J. Gless, a sportswear manufacturing executive. A fifth-generation Californian, she grew up in a Catholic household alongside two brothers, Michael McCarthy Gless and Aric Dennis Gless. Her parents divorced when she was in her teens, an experience that shaped her resilient outlook and self-reliance.

Her maternal grandfather, Neil McCarthy, was a prominent Los Angeles attorney who counted Howard Hughes and major film-studio executives among his clients. Wanting to pursue acting, Sharon Gless once asked her grandfather for his opinion, and he bluntly advised her to stay out of the business. Years later, he changed his mind, encouraged her, and even gave her money for acting classes, a turning point that set her on the path to a professional career.

Her cousin, actress Elizabeth Baur, also worked in the entertainment industry, giving Sharon Gless an early window into the world of screen performance. Before committing to acting full-time, she worked as a secretary at Grey Advertising and then for the independent production company General Film Corporation. These early office jobs, while unglamorous, exposed her to the practical side of media production.

Path to Acting

Sharon Gless’s professional acting journey began in the early 1970s after she studied drama with acting coach Estelle Harman. While working as a production assistant, she impressed talent agent Monique James, who offered her a seven-year contract with Universal Studios in 1972. She remained under that contract until Universal ended its long-standing contract-player system in 1981, earning the distinction of being identified as the last of the studio’s salaried apprentices.

During her early years, she picked up small roles across a number of Universal and network productions, including Marcus Welby, M.D., Emergency!, The Rockford Files, and Faraday & Company. She was eventually offered the recurring role of Kathleen Faverty in Marcus Welby, M.D. (1974–1976), which helped her gain steady on-screen experience and visibility with television audiences.

Her big break arrived when she was cast as Maggie Philbin, the classy young secretary, on the CBS private detective series Switch, starring Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner. Airing from 1975 to 1978, the show allowed Sharon Gless to build chemistry with two seasoned leads and demonstrated her ease with both drama and light comedy. When the series was canceled after its third season, she publicly credited Albert and Wagner for jump-starting her career and remained close friends with both actors for the rest of their lives.

Sharon Gless Career

Early Career (1970–1978)

Sharon Gless began her career in television during the early 1970s, taking on small guest roles in popular series of the era. Her early credits included appearances in Revenge of the Stepford Wives, Adam-12, Emergency!, and The Rockford Files, where she honed her craft in a variety of genres. By 1974, she had earned a recurring role as Kathleen Faverty on Marcus Welby, M.D., a beloved medical drama that helped her build a national audience.

In 1975, Sharon Gless was cast as Maggie Philbin on the CBS detective series Switch, co-starring Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner. The show ran for three seasons, and her performance drew critical attention and laid the foundation for her later leading roles. She also appeared in the short-lived 1979 Steven Bochco sitcom Turnabout and briefly replaced Lynn Redgrave on House Calls, further showcasing her range as a comedic performer.

Breakthrough (1982–1988)

Sharon Gless’s defining role came in 1982 when she joined the police procedural Cagney & Lacey as NYPD Detective Christine Cagney, replacing Meg Foster beginning with the series’ seventh episode. Though the character had been conceived with Gless in mind, her Universal contract had prevented her from taking the role in the pilot. Partnered with Tyne Daly as Mary Beth Lacey, she helped redefine the way women were portrayed in prime-time television drama.

The series ran until 1988 and earned Sharon Gless her first major accolades, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama in 1986 and back-to-back Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1986 and 1987. In 1993 and 1995, she and Tyne Daly reunited for four well-received Cagney & Lacey television movies, which they affectionately nicknamed “The Menopause Years.”

Notable Works and Milestones

Following the success of Cagney & Lacey, Sharon Gless took the title role in the CBS drama The Trials of Rosie O’Neill (1990–1992), earning a second Golden Globe Award in 1991 and additional Emmy nominations. She went on to deliver a critically acclaimed performance as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime series Queer as Folk (2000–2005), appeared in the BBC series The State Within in 2006, and later starred as Madeline Westen in the USA Network series Burn Notice (2007–2013). Her first leading role as a lesbian character came in the 2009 independent film Hannah Free, based on a screenplay by Claudia Allen and directed by Wendy Jo Carlton.

Sharon Gless Award Nominations

Sharon Gless has received ten Primetime Emmy Award nominations and seven Golden Globe Award nominations across her career. Her Emmy nominations have spanned her work on Cagney & Lacey, The Trials of Rosie O’Neill, Queer as Folk, and a guest role on Nip/Tuck. Her Golden Globe nominations include recognition for Switch, Cagney & Lacey, and The Trials of Rosie O’Neill, among other projects.

Sharon Gless Awards Won

Sharon Gless has won two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. In 1986, she earned both a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her work as Christine Cagney on Cagney & Lacey. She won a second consecutive Emmy for the same role in 1987, and in 1991, she received her second Golden Globe Award for her title performance in The Trials of Rosie O’Neill.

Sharon Gless Family

Sharon Marguerite Gless is the daughter of Marjorie (McCarthy) and sportswear manufacturing executive Dennis J. Gless. She has two brothers, Michael McCarthy Gless and Aric Dennis Gless, and her parents divorced when she was in her teens. Her maternal grandfather, Neil McCarthy, was a well-known Los Angeles attorney whose clients included Howard Hughes and major film-studio executives. Her cousin, actress Elizabeth Baur, also pursued a career in the entertainment industry.

Personal Life

Sharon Marguerite Gless married television producer Barney Rosenzweig in 1991. Rosenzweig, who had served as executive producer of Cagney & Lacey, later authored the book Cagney & Lacey…and Me, in which he spoke about his long-standing wish to work with her. The couple has remained together, and Gless has continued to make selective public appearances, including a guest role on the BBC’s long-running medical drama Casualty in 2017 and 2018, in which she portrayed surgeon Zsa Zsa Harper-Jenkinson.