Gail O’Grady was born on January 23. 1963 in Detroit, Michigan and was raised in Wheaton, Illinois. She finished schooling in Wheaton North High School in 1981 and launched her public career in 1987’s Pepsi commercial titled Apartment 10G, alongside Michael J. Fox. This ad was even listed on TV Guide’s 1999 list of "The 50 Greatest TV Commercials of All Time".
Gail O’Grady got her first major appearance on a series playing Donna Abandonado in NYPD Blue. This three-year stint won her an Emmy award nomination (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a drama series) each time. Her movies include The Three Lives of Karen, Another Woman's Husband, and Sex & the Single Mom. Other television series include American Dreams, Hot Properties, and CW drama, Hidden Palms . In Hidden Palms, she is reunited with NYPD Blue co-star Sharon Lawrence and joined a younger generation of actors and actresses. Her portrayal of the matriarch Karen Hardy enabled her to be nominated in the Golden Satellite Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Young Artist Awards.
Leaving the short-lived Hidden Palms, O’Grady took on roles in other series like Monk as Miranda St. Claire. In 2007, she got a part in the TV production While the Children Sleep, and was seen on an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She portrayed Mrs. Towne in the episode titled “The Case of the Cross-Dressing Carp.” After an appearance on the series Las Vegas, she was cast as Judge Gloria Weldon on several episodes of Boston Legal. She later played a senator on Cane, and got a part in the made-for-TV movie All I Want for Christmas. In 2008, she was seen on the film The House That Jack Built, and was a guest on the pilot episode of The Mentalist. She later acted on An American Carol and Living Out Loud, as well as completing the film Circle.
(Photo Copyright ? 2007 The CW / Frank Ockenfels)