Morgan Fairchild

A native of Dallas, Morgan began acting as a child, when her mother enrolled her in drama lessons after she was too shy to give a book report in class. From the age of 10, she performed in children’s and dinner theatre and stock productions in Dallas. This vigorous preparation readied her for the key role of the paranoid murderess, Jennifer Pace Phillips, in the CBS-TV daytime series, “Search for Tomorrow”, a part which Morgan landed six weeks after moving to New York which was the beginning of her television career. Following her stint on “Search for Tomorrow”, Morgan moved to Los Angeles, where she made numerous guest appearances on TV series. She had a recurring role on “Mork & Mindy”, with Robin Williams, as well as a recurring role on “Roseanne”.

You could not complete a Morgan Fairchild biography without one of Morgan’s most popular roles – the original Jenna Wade on “Dallas”, as well as appearing on such series as “Barnaby Jones”, “Happy Days”, “The Bob Newhart Show”, “A Man Called Sloane”, “Police Woman”, “Switch”, “Kojak”, “Big Shamus”, “Perry Mason”, “Burke’s Law”, “Murder, She Wrote”, “Lois & Clark”, “Empty Nest”, “Diagnosis Murder”, “Robin’s Hoods”, “Friends”, and “Cybill”. Morgan also starred in the contemporary film noir mystery “Writers Block” for USA Network. Morgan starred in “Star Command” with Chad Everett for the United/Paramount Network as well as “Dead Man’s Island” with William Shatner, Barbara Eden, Roddy McDowell, and Christopher Atkins, a Movie-of-the-Week for CBS.

Additionally, Morgan co-starred with Natalie Wood in “The Memory of Eva Ryker” for CBS and also appeared in other TV movies including “The Initiation of Sarah” with Shelly Winters, “Music in Music City”, “Concrete Cowboy” with Tom Selleck, and the prime time mini-series “The Dream Merchants” with Mark Harmon. In the latter, she won terrific notices for her portrayal of the tragic actress, Dulcie Warren. She also appeared in the David Wolper mini-series, “North & South” with Patrick Swayze and Elizabeth Taylor.

Morgan landed the key role of Constance Weldon Carlyle in “Flamingo Road”; the NBC-TV series ran for two seasons, and she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress. Since that show propelled her to stardom, she starred as a TV newswoman in the feature film “The Seduction”, co-starred with Erik Estrada in the NBC-TV movie “Honeyboy” and with Bette Davis in “Hotel” for ABC.

Morgan stretched her dramatic muscles with her acclaimed portrayal of Skye in the off-Broadway play “Geniuses”, a comedy about the making of a film similar to “Apocalypse Now”. It was one of the ‘top ten plays’ of the year noted Time magazine and The New York Times.  Other recent stage appearances have included productions of “Goodbye Charlie” and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”.

She also starred in the CBS-TV movie “The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood”, a comic version of the famous tale co-starring George Segal and Roddy McDowell. She played the naughty Racine in the ABC-TV series “Paper Dolls” with Lloyd Bridges and later starred as lawyer Jordan Roberts in the CBS-TV series “Falcon Crest” with Jane Wyman. Morgan also made a cameo appearance in the feature film “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure”, as well as over a dozen appearances on NBC-TV specials with comedy legend Bob Hope.

Morgan Fairchild starred in the feature film “The Red-Headed Stranger” opposite country music legend Willie Nelson, based on his concept album of the same name. She then starred in the Paramount feature “Campus Man” in which she played a magazine publisher. She also starred as the Queen in “Sleeping Beauty”, part of the Cannon Films fairy tale series. She then starred in “Deadly Illusions”, another feature opposite Ben Masters in the CBS movie “Street of Dreams”, a film noir detective story, as well as “Midnight Cop”, a motion picture shot in Berlin with Michael York and Armin Mueller-Stahl.

Morgan’s career reached new heights with her co-starring role in “Gospa”. In the film, which was shot on location in war torn Bosnia, Morgan played Sister Fabiana, opposite Martin Sheen. “Gospa” was executive produced by Academy Award winner Barry Morrow. The film was released worldwide in 1995.

In addition to covering Morgan Fairchild biography in front of the camera, she has authored a beauty book, “Morgan Fairchild Super Looks” (Simon and Schuster). It is a complete guide and includes make-up, hair, exercises and diet tips.

Morgan starred in an informational video, “Safe Sex for Men and Women”, about AIDS education and prevention. Part of the proceeds went to the American Foundation for AIDS Research. She is a member of the Entertainment Industry’s AIDS Task Force. Morgan has spearheaded numerous other fund-raising projects for the disease and she also testified before a special Congressional committee about AIDS education. She is on the Board of Governors of APLA and Board of Directors of Amfar. Former Surgeon-General C. Everett Koop, has asked her on occasion to substitute for him at AIDS events and she has hosted an AIDS Awareness Special with news anchorman Steve Bell. She has appeared twice on “Nightline” with Ted Koppell regarding AIDS. Morgan received an Emmy nomination for a special episode of “Murphy Brown” written for her by Diane English. In the spring she co-starred with Joan Rivers in ABC television’s “Your Money or Your Wife”.  She then started the summer with “Murder At The PTA Luncheon”, which was produced by Von Zerneck/Sertner and also starred Cindy Williams and Marla Gibbs. Her next project sent her to Luxembourg to star in Harmony Gold’s production of “Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady”, which also starred Christopher Lee and Patrick McNee. Morgan also starred in the psychological suspense thriller “The Haunting of Sarah Hardy”, which was produced exclusively for the USA Network, garnering one of the most impressive ratings in the network’s history.

A Morgan Fairchild biography also includes her public service efforts that have included leading pro-choice marches and rallies, and participating in several events to save the California deserts (including an appearance before the U.S. Senate). She is a frequent speaker on environmental issues of all kinds, and helped found the Environmental Communications Office, which encourages entertainment industry professionals to become better educated and more active on environmental issues.

Morgan Fairchild is one of the original members and is on the Board of Directors of the Hollywood Women’s Political Committee, a political action committee that has raised millions for liberal candidates for state and federal office. They were co-organizers of the pro-choice rally in Washington in 1989 that drew 500,000 people and Los Angeles co-producers of the Nelson Mandala dinner that raised almost $1 million on his recent U.S. tour. Whether it’s appearing on “Nightline” on AIDS or CBS’s “Sixty Minutes” on women’s issues or testifying before the Senate on environmental causes, the public has come to respect Morgan as more than just a glamorous star.

Out of the limelight, Morgan is a collector of movie memorabilia (particularly Marilyn Monroe) and antique clothing. She is a ballet fan and is also interested in anthropology and paleontology.