Dana Welles Delany is an Emmy Award-winning stage, film and television performer who was born on March 13, 1956 in New York City. She was raised in Connecticut, and studied at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. Delany eventually went on to higher learning at Wesleyan University. Her career spanning many facets of the entertainment industry, she has performed on Broadway in the production A Life and Translations and on several shows.
From 1988 to 1991, Dana Delany portrayed the character Colleen McMurphy on the series China Beach. This brought her a lot of media attention, as well as two Emmy Awards and other nominations. Her fame led her to appear on a number of movies. These include Light Sleeper, and Housesitter, both in 1992. She was also in Fly Away Home, Tombstone, and television movies like Promise to Keep and Wild Palms. Soon, she began to obtain more controversial roles. She played Margaret Sanger in the TV film Choices of the Heart, and had a major role in the film adaptation of Anne Rice’s book, Exit to Eden. She gained another Emmy nomination for her performance in the series Family Law, but the series wasn’t rerun.
Delany was also known for her voiceover work, such as those in the animated feature Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, and in the animated Superman. Later in her career, she focused on TV series. She appeared in Pasadena, Presidio Med, and independent features like The Outfitters, Mother Ghost and Spin. She also returned to the stage performing for on and off Broadway productions of Dinner with Friends, and Much Ado About Nothing. Later on, she was cast in guest roles for shows like Law & Order: SVU, Boston Legal, Kojak, Related, The L Word, and Battlestar Galactica. She later took on a starring role on NBC’s Kindred, as well as ABC’s Desperate Housewives.
(Photo courtesy of ABC)
