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CELEBRITIES
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was born in Huntsville, Alabama on January 31, 1902, to William Brockman Bankhead and Adelaide Eugenia Sledge. Blood poisoning, a complication of pregnancy, took the life of Adelaide just a few weeks after the birth of her daughter. The Bankheads were a political family; Grandfather John Hollis Bankhead was in Congress for 18 years before being elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served until his death in 1920. Bankhead's father was elected to the House of Representatives in 1916 and went on to become Speaker of the House. Bankhead and her older sister, Eugenia, were raised by a series of relatives including grandmothers and aunts. Bankhead became wild at a young age, often misbehaving and showing off. Her father and extended family wished Bankhead to grow up to be the perfect Southern Belle, but her mother's death and instability of her childhood led her elsewhere. After attending a series of schools, Bankhead completed her education at a fashionable finishing school, Fairmont Seminary in Washington, D.C. A win in a beauty contest resulted in a trip to New York and sessions with Picture-Play magazine. Grudgingly, her family agreed to support Bankhead in her quest to become an actress. Bankhead landed her first role in March 1918 in a Broadway production, The Squab Farm. She did not win another part until June 1919, when she appeared as the lead in a play, 39 East. Bankhead was beginning to create a reputation for herself, not so much for her work, but for the sheer force of her personality. By the time she received her next role, in the 1921 play Nice People, Bankhead was known all over New York for her outlandish and unconventional behavior. In 1922, unhappy with her limited success in New York, Bankhead went to London. Here, she quickly became the toast of the town, and worked steadily for the next eight years. She became, as she had in New York, a subject of gossip; tales were told that Bankhead enjoyed affairs with both men and women, experimented with drugs, and had numerous abortions. Her wit was quite quotable, and her trademark saying "Hello, daaaahling" took on a life of its own. Bankhead built her theatrical reputation, appearing in Noel Coward's Fallen Angels and Sidney Howard's They Knew What They Wanted. Bankhead returned to the U.S. in 1930, when Paramount Pictures signed her to a movie contract. Hollywood was not quite sure what to do with Bankhead. She appeared in four rather disappointing films, Tarnished Lady (1931), The Cheat (1931), Faithless (1932) and The Devil and The Deep (1932), before deciding to return to the stage. After several Broadway flops, Bankhead won the part of Regina in Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes (1939). Rave reviews and a nationwide tour followed. Next was the role of Sabina in Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth. This 1942 production won Bankhead a Critics' Circle Award. Bankhead returned to Hollywood in 1944 to work with Alfred Hitchcock on Lifeboat. Her performance won her the New York Screen Critics' Award. After four years in Noel Coward's Private Lives, Bankhead returned to England with The Big Show, a radio program hosted by Bankhead for NBC. Bankhead continued to perform, but her cigarette smoking, drinking and drug use were taking their toll. She grew ever more eccentric, a caricature of herself. She died in New York City on December 12, 1968 at age 66 from complications of pneumonia. She was married once, from 1938 to 1942, to John Emery, and had no children. Seven biographies have been written to chronicle her colorful life. Some famous Tallulah Bankhead quotes: "Cocaine isn't habit-forming. I should know — I've been using it for years." "Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it." "Never practice two vices at once." "It's the good girls who keep the diaries; the bad girls never have the time." 
Raised in Georgia along with four sisters, Brett Butler has been called the "good ol' girl" of the comedy world, and compared to such greats as Lenny Bruce. Her Southern roots shine through whether she is doing a stand-up routine or starring in her own television series. Although her family lived in Tuskegee, Butler was born in Montgomery, Alabama on January 30, 1958; Montgomery, Butler has been quoted as saying, was the only town in Southeast Alabama with a hospital. Her mother named her after Lady Brett Ashley, Hemingway's heroine in The Sun Also Rises, not the Brett of Gone With the Wind, a point Butler is clear about — no mistaking her for a spoiled Southern Belle. Butler performed her first routine at age eight; she borrowed some of George Carlin's less controversial material for her school pageant debut. Although friends often commented on Brett's great sense of humor in her youth, she did not begin her formal comedy career until after a short-lived marriage and a move to Texas. Her upbringing and marriage provided ample material for her comedy act, and she found herself performing more than a thousand shows in two years. Butler moved to New York and her career skyrocketed; she appeared in dozens of comedy clubs and on television comedy programs. She began to receive national recognition for her work in 1990 when she was nominated for an American Comedy Award as Funniest Female Stand-up. Butler had her first experience with series television as a writer and part-time performer on ABC's Dolly, a short-lived project starring Dolly Parton. She would later become the star of the series Grace Under Fire, and, in subsequent seasons, the show's executive producer. Butler recorded two specials for Showtime, Brett Butler: The Child Ain't Right (1995) and Brett Butler: Sold Out (1995). Butler's comedy often deals with difficult issues; she has been known to address racism, religion, socio- economics and domestic violence. A victim of domestic violence herself, Butler revealed her difficult history in the autobiography Knee Deep in Paradise. In the book, she chronicles not only her abuse, but also her battles with alcoholism and drug addiction. In August of 1997, she entered a rehabilitation facility to break an addition to painkillers. Butler resides in both New York City and Los Angeles, likes to write short stories and poetry, and shares her life with a 20-pound cat named Floyd. The 100th episode of Grace Under Fire will air in the fall of 1997.
From sweet dreams to nightmares, Courtney Cox' career has covered all the bases. The dreams involve dancing with Bruce Springsteen, the nightmares come from screaming in a Wes Craven production. Born to a well-to-do Birmingham family on June 15, 1964, Cox was one of four children. Her parents divorced when she was ten, and their subsequent remarriages brought her nine new siblings. Cox attended Mountain Brook High, and studied architecture for one year at Mount Vernon College in Washington. She left school to start a modeling career in New York, and quickly found herself in ads for Noxema and Maybelline. She posed for book covers and illustrations, ala Fabio, and landed parts in commercials. She soon discovered that her southern drawl was not considered charming by casting directors. She hired a speech coach to lose the twang, and landed her first speaking role on the soap As the World Turns. Cox was just 20 when she got her big break. Director Brian De Palma cast her as the adoring, dancing fan in Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark video. The pay was only $500, but the pay-off was a big career boost. Cox entered the world of television sit-coms, starring first in Misfits of Science (1985) then landing a supporting role in Family Ties. Cox stayed with the popular series, playing Michael J. Fox' girlfriend Lauren, for the last two years of the run. Cox spent the next several years laboring in film and television projects. Her credits between 1987 and 1994 include I'll Be Home for Christmas (1988), Cocoon: The Return (1988), Roxanne: The Prize Pulitzer (1989), Mr. Destiny (1990), Curiosity Kills (1990), and The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them (1992). In 1994 Cox was cast as Jim Carrey's boss in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. The success of the film, and a failed television pilot (with Bronson Pinchot), led producers to consider Cox for a role in the series Friends. Cox plays Monica Geller on the hit NBC show. While television has brought her fame, Cox is interested in pursuing a film career. She recently won acclaim for her starring role in the Wes Craven film Scream (1996). Her next releases will be Commandments, co-starring Aidan Quinn, and the sequel to Scream, Scream II. Cox finally ended her on-again, off-again six-year relationship with actor Michael Keaton, and is currently dating talk-show host Conan O'Brien. Louise
Fletcher The actress Louise Fletcher is recognized by two generations of television and film fans. In a career spanning over 40 years, Fletcher has become a well-know face in the supporting casts of drama, action and science fiction productions. Born to two totally deaf parents on July 24, 1934 in Birmingham, Alabama, Fletcher's childhood was shaped by their disability. After graduating from the University of North Carolina, Fletcher dabbled in summer stock and theatre. She moved to Los Angeles to study with acting coach Jeff Corey, and made the town her home. She began her television career with guest spots in the late 50's on series such as Wagon Train, Lawmen, The Untouchables, Playhouse 90, Yancy Derringer, and Perry Mason. In 1962, Fletcher married film producer Jerry Bick. She gave birth to a son, John, in 1963; in 1964, she decided to retire from acting while pregnant with her second son, Andy. She resumed her career a decade later, appearing in a supporting role in Robert Altman's Thieves Like Us (1974). Her big screen debut, Thieves drew the attention of director Milos Forman, who offered her a role in his 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Fletcher played Nurse Ratched, the ruthless psychiatric nurse who destroys conman Randle P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson). One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was a huge success, and swept the Oscars; Fletcher received the 1975 Academy Award for Best Actress. She also won a Golden Globe award for her Cuckoo performance. Over the next decade, Fletcher established herself as a solid character actress and supporting player. She has appeared in over 43 feature films including Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Cheap Detective (1978), Natural Enemies (1979), Firestarter (1984), Nobody's Fool (1986), and The Boy Who Could Fly (1986). More recently she has appeared in the films Frankenstein and Me (1996), High School High (1996), and Virtuosity (1997). Fletcher returned to television, starring in the mystery series The Boys of Twilight, co-starring in the mini- series In A Child's Name; and doing a guest shot on the rejuvenated Tales From the Crypt. Fletcher is currently winning acclaim for her science fiction roles. She has a recurring part on Star Trek -Deep Space Nine as Vedek Winn, and appears as a series guest star in VR.5.
Kate Jackson's early desire to be an actress had to be hidden; proper southern girls did not pursue such professions. If her family had known she would end up as an "angel," they might not have protested the choice. Born October 29, 1948, in Birmingham, Jackson did appear in school productions and put on skits with her sister, but, when it came time to attend college, she chose the University of Mississippi and the traditional major of history. She transferred from U Miss to Birmingham Southern College halfway through her sophomore year, and enrolled in her first theatre class, a history of theatre and speech course. After a summer apprenticeship at the Stowe Playhouse in Stowe, Vermont, Jackson moved to New York in 1968 and enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Following graduation, Jackson landed the role that would launch her into the world of television drama; she played the character of Daphne on the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. Guest appearances followed a move to Los Angeles, and Jackson became a semi-regular player on a short-lived series, The Jimmy Stewart Show. Producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg spotted Jackson and recruited her for the role of nurse Jill Danko on their new series, The Rookies. Jackson was such a hit on The Rookies that when it ended four years later, Spelling and Goldberg offered to make her the star of their new series, Charlie's Angels. Jackson was often eclipsed by her supposed "supporting actresses" in the series; a fact that made life on the set difficult. After losing out on the opportunity to star in Kramer vs. Kramer (the producers would not give her time off to take the role), Jackson left the series in 1979. After a failed attempt at a big screen career, Jackson returned to television in the series Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Jackson was not only the star, but also the producer of the series. Scarecrow ended after four years, and Jackson found herself in the series Baby Boom, based on the movie of the same name. The show lasted only a few episodes, and, after two decades and two Emmy nominations, Jackson left series television to work in made-for-television movies; in the 1990's she has starred in eleven such films In January 1987, Jackson discovered a lump in her breast and underwent a lumpectomy. The cancer returned in 1989, and Jackson had a partial mastectomy. She has shared her experience with other women to educate them about the importance of mammograms and cancer prevention. Jackson has been married twice, to actor Andrew Stevens and producer David Greenwald. She is currently single. In 1995, Jackson adopted a son, Charles Taylor Jackson.
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Brett Butler
Courteney Cox
Kate Jackson
