DANA DELANY
Name: Dana Delany
Born: 13 March 1956 New York City, U.S.
Dana Welles Delany (born March 13, 1956) is an American film, stage, and
television actress. Known especially for her two-time Emmy Award winning
performance as Colleen McMurphy on the ABC television show China Beach (1988–91),
and for her role as Katherine Mayfair on Desperate Housewives, Delany has been
active in film, television, and stage since the late 1970s.
Delany was born in New York City. After growing up in Stamford,Connecticut, she
attended Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, then Wesleyan University.
She was cast as Colleen McMurphy on China Beach, airing from 1988 to 1991,
bringing intense media attention to the actress. This role not only garnered two
Emmy Awards, but two other Emmy nominations, and two Golden Globe nominations.
Leveraging this newfound fame, she appeared in feature films such as Light
Sleeper (1992), Housesitter (1992), Tombstone (1993), and Fly Away Home (1996)
and TV movies such as Promise to Keep (1991), and Wild Palms (1993).
She took on controversial roles, such as Margaret Sanger in the TV movie Choices
of the Heart (1995), Mistress Lisa in the 1994 feature film Exit to Eden (adapted
from the Anne Rice book), and an Emmy nominated role as a gun-owning mother in
an episode of the TV series Family Law (1999) (which was not rerun, due to
sponsorship withdrawal).
Delany provided voice-over work as Andrea Beaumont in the 1993 animated feature
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Lois Lane in the Warner Bros. animated
production of Superman, starting in the mid 1990s, and continuing through 2005.
She was also mentioned by name in the theme song of Animaniacs, another Warner
Bros. production.
During the latter part of the 1990s and early 2000s, she focused on roles in TV
series, such as the short-lived Pasadena (2001) and Presidio Med (2002); TV
movies like True Women (1997), Resurrection (1999), A Time to Remember (2003),
and Baby for Sale (2004); and feature films by indie film producers, such as The
Outfitters (1999), Mother Ghost (2002), and Spin (2003).
During this period, she found time to get back to the stage, on and off Broadway,
in Translations (1995, Broadway), Dinner With Friends (2000, New York City, Los
Angeles, Boston), and Much Ado About Nothing (2003, San Diego).
From 2004 to 2006, Delany played many guest roles on TV shows such as Law &
Order: Special Victims Unit, Boston Legal, Kojak, Related, The L Word, and
Battlestar Galactica. Dana also starred in the short-lived TV series Kidnapped (2006).
In 2007, Delany took parts in the films A Beautiful Life, Camp Hope, and
Multiple Sarcasms, and then joined the cast of the TV series Desperate
Housewives for the 2007/2008.
Name: Dana Delany
Born: 13 March 1956 New York City, U.S.
Dana Welles Delany (born March 13, 1956) is an American film, stage, and
television actress. Known especially for her two-time Emmy Award winning
performance as Colleen McMurphy on the ABC television show China Beach (1988–91),
and for her role as Katherine Mayfair on Desperate Housewives, Delany has been
active in film, television, and stage since the late 1970s.
Delany was born in New York City. After growing up in Stamford,Connecticut, she
attended Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, then Wesleyan University.
She was cast as Colleen McMurphy on China Beach, airing from 1988 to 1991,
bringing intense media attention to the actress. This role not only garnered two
Emmy Awards, but two other Emmy nominations, and two Golden Globe nominations.
Leveraging this newfound fame, she appeared in feature films such as Light
Sleeper (1992), Housesitter (1992), Tombstone (1993), and Fly Away Home (1996)
and TV movies such as Promise to Keep (1991), and Wild Palms (1993).
She took on controversial roles, such as Margaret Sanger in the TV movie Choices
of the Heart (1995), Mistress Lisa in the 1994 feature film Exit to Eden (adapted
from the Anne Rice book), and an Emmy nominated role as a gun-owning mother in
an episode of the TV series Family Law (1999) (which was not rerun, due to
sponsorship withdrawal).
Delany provided voice-over work as Andrea Beaumont in the 1993 animated feature
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Lois Lane in the Warner Bros. animated
production of Superman, starting in the mid 1990s, and continuing through 2005.
She was also mentioned by name in the theme song of Animaniacs, another Warner
Bros. production.
During the latter part of the 1990s and early 2000s, she focused on roles in TV
series, such as the short-lived Pasadena (2001) and Presidio Med (2002); TV
movies like True Women (1997), Resurrection (1999), A Time to Remember (2003),
and Baby for Sale (2004); and feature films by indie film producers, such as The
Outfitters (1999), Mother Ghost (2002), and Spin (2003).
During this period, she found time to get back to the stage, on and off Broadway,
in Translations (1995, Broadway), Dinner With Friends (2000, New York City, Los
Angeles, Boston), and Much Ado About Nothing (2003, San Diego).
From 2004 to 2006, Delany played many guest roles on TV shows such as Law &
Order: Special Victims Unit, Boston Legal, Kojak, Related, The L Word, and
Battlestar Galactica. Dana also starred in the short-lived TV series Kidnapped (2006).
In 2007, Delany took parts in the films A Beautiful Life, Camp Hope, and
Multiple Sarcasms, and then joined the cast of the TV series Desperate
Housewives for the 2007/2008.