• Gail O'Grady is an actress and film producer born in Detroit, Michigan in 1963.
• She is best known for her role in the mystery crime drama “NYPD Blue”.
• She has appeared in over 100 movies and TV series.
• She has been married and divorced six times and has one son.
• Her net worth is estimated at over $3 million.
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Who is Gail O’Grady?
Gail Ann O’Grady was born in Detroit, Michigan USA, on 23 January 1963 – her zodiac sign is Aquarius and she holds American nationality. She is an actress and a film producer, perhaps still known best for her portrayal of Donna Abandando in the mystery crime drama “NYPD Blue”, created by Steven Bochco and David Milch, and which starred Dennis Franz, Jimmy Smits and Gordon Clapp. It follows detectives of the New York Police Department’s 15th Precinct as they solve crimes. The series aired from 1993 to 2005 and won 88 awards, including four Golden Globes, while it was nominated for 203 other awards.
Early life and education
Gail was raised in Wheaton, Illinois alongside her brother Michael by their father Jim O’Grady who was a financial planner, and their mother Jan who was a housewife. Michael worked as an investment banker – he died in 2004.
Gail attended Wheaton North High School, at which she began dreaming about becoming a famous model, and after attending several auditions, she was invited to appear in a couple of commercials. She matriculated in 1981, and chose not to enroll at a college but to focus on her career as a model, however, Gail eventually became more interested in acting, and in 1986 moved to Los Angeles in California to pursue an acting career.
Roles in TV series
Gail has now appeared in more than 100 movies and TV series, and we are about to mention some of her most notable performances in this article.
She made her debut TV series appearance in the 1987 episode “Pilot” of the horror thriller “Werewolf”, and the following years saw her appear in an episode or two of various series, including the historical war drama “China Beach”, the adventure science fiction fantasy “Superboy” and the comedy drama “Cheers”.
Gail only gained recognition after being invited to star in the series “NYPD Blue” in 1993, and her following notable performance was in 2002, when invited to play the lead character Helen Pryor in the historical family drama “American Dreams”, created by Jonathan Prince and Josh Goldstein, and which also starred Tom Verica and Brittany Snow. The series follows a family living in the US in the ‘60s, and aired from 2002 to 2005, winning 10 awards including two Primetime Emmys, while it was nominated for 29 other awards.
Gail went on to play lead characters in several more series, such as the 2005 comedy “Hot Properties”, and the 2007 romantic mystery drama “Hidden Palms”, and was also invited to make a guest appearance in various hit series, such as the romantic comedy “Two and a Half Men”, the crime comedy “Monk”, and another crime comedy “Boston Legal”.
In 2008, Gail was cast to appear as Anne Schilling in four episodes of the critically acclaimed mystery comedy “Desperate Housewives”, created by Marc Cherry and which starred Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman. The story follows several women whose lives change after their neighbor commits suicide. It won 66 awards including three Golden Globes, while it was nominated for 189 other awards.
In 2010, Gail played the supporting character Wanda Perkins in the comedy “Hellcats”, which is about several girls who are competitive cheerleaders, then in 2014 she portrayed Stevie Grayson in the mystery thriller “Revenge”, created by Mike Kelley and which starred Madeleine Stowe, Gabriel Mann and Emily VanCamp. It follows an emotionally unstable girl seeking to avenge her father who was wronged by many people.
The series aired from 2011 to 2015 and won six awards out of the 35 it was nominated for, including a Golden Globe.
One of Gail’s most recent roles in TV series has been her portrayal of the supporting character Krystall Richards in the mystery crime drama “Criminal Minds” created by Jeff Davis, and which starred Matthew Gray Gubler, Kirsten Vangsness and A. J. Cook. It follows the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) as they analyze the actions of serial killers, hoping to predict their next move. The series aired from 2005 to 2020 while Gail joined the cast in 2018, and won 23 awards out of the 58 it was nominated for, including three Primetime Emmys.
Roles in movies
Gail made her debut film appearance in the 1988 romantic comedy “She’s Having a Baby”, written and directed by John Hughes, and which starred Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth McGovern and Alec Baldwin.
It follows a newlywed couple as they learn they’re not quite ready to start a life together; the film failed to win any awards.
Gail went on to appear in many movies in the following years, with some of the most popular being the 1996 sports comedy “Celtic Pride”, the 1997 romantic comedy “That Old Feeling”, and the 1999 romantic comedy “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo”. In 2003, she portrayed the supporting character Rachel Myer in the romantic comedy “Lucky 7” written by Jessica Barondes, directed by Harry Winer, and which starred Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Patrick Dempsey and Brad Rowe. It follows Amy Myer who is working in Seattle as a lawyer, and whose mother died when she was seven leaving behind a detailed guideline for Amy, telling her how to live her life.
Gail went on to appear in several mediocre movies such as the 2011 horror “Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2”, the 2013 western action drama “Shadow on the Mesa”, and the 2015 comedy “Mothers of the Bride”. Her following notable performance was in the 2017 romantic sports drama “Love on Ice”, which starred Julie Berman and Andrew W. Walker and follows a professional figure skater and her coach who fall in love.
Three of Gail’s most recent roles in movies have been in the thriller “Identity Theft of a Cheerleader”, another thriller “Deviant Love”, and the mystery crime drama “Manipulated”, all in 2019.
She has recently been cast to portray Robin Pyle in the upcoming comedy “The Baby Pact”, written and directed by Matt Berman.
Others credits
Gail produced the 2004 drama movie “Tricks”. She’s received special thanks for the 2002 documentary film “Inside ‘NYPD Blue’: A Decade on the Job”, and the 2005 documentary movie “’NYPD Blue’: A Final Tribute”.
Gail has appeared in various TV specials, such as “The 48th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards”, the “3rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards” and “The 4th Annual Family Television Awards”. She has also been a guest in many talk-shows, some of which are “The Tony Danza Show”, “SoapTalk” and “Home & Family”.
Awards and nominations
Gail has won one award and has been nominated for eight others. In 1995, she and her colleagues won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for “NYPD Blue”.
Awards she’s been nominated for include three Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1994, 1995 and 1996, two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, and a 1997 Golden Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television, all for her performance in the series “NYPD Blue”.
Love life and spouse
Gail has been rather impetuous, having married and divorced six times. She married Richard Dasko in 1981, but they divorced two years later; nothing is known about Richard as he prefers to keep his personal matters to himself. On 9 December 1990, she married American actor and writer Jeffrey Byron, perhaps still known best for his appearance in the final episode of the anthology series “The Twilight Zone” which aired in 1964. The two divorced in 1991, then just a couple of months later on 22 September, Gail married her third husband, Belgian actor Severin Wunderman,, but they divorced after only four months; he died on 25 June 2008 in Nice, France.
On 12 August 1995, Gail married American actor and producer Steve Fenton, but they divorced in the following year. In 1998, she married her fifth husband Anthony J. Pellegrino, but they were together only until mid-2000 when they divorced for unknown reasons. Gail married husband number six, John Stamatakis in June 2004, but divorced him in 2008.
She has also been in several relationships. Gail dated the artist Robert Claypool in 1995, then after breaking up with him, filed for a restraining order claiming he was stalking her, but it wasn’t granted. Before marrying her sixth husband, Gail dated Chris Byers and gave birth to their son Michael Colton O’Grady on 22 May 2004.
Since April 2009, she has been in a relationship with Josef Shamir, a non-celebrity man who prefers to stay away from media. As of March 2021, Gail is in a relationship, has been married six times and has one son.
Hobbies and other interests
Gail is a collector of old-fashioned perfume bottles, but hasn’t disclosed how many she has gathered to this day.
She likes to read, and has read numerous books since her high school days. Gail once worked as a librarian, but was apparently let go because of being messy.
One of Gail’s main hobbies is travelling, and she’s been all around the US for both work and pleasure, and the popular actress has also been to many countries on other continents, such as England and France in Europe, Japan and India in Asia, and Egypt in Africa.
She has her own favorite actresses, some of whom are Meryl Streep, Scarlett Johansson and Nicole Kidman, while some of her favorite movies are “Kramer vs. Kramer”, “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Lost in Translation”.
Age, measurements and net worth
Gail’s age is 58. She has long blonde hair and blue eyes, her height is 5ft 3ins (1.6m) and she weighs around 110lbs (50kgs).
As of March 2021, her net worth has been estimated at over $3 million.
