Sharon Lawrence

Early life and education

Lawrence was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. She moved from Charlotte to Raleigh in her junior year of high school and graduated from Needham B. Broughton High School. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism in 1983.

Career

Lawrence began her acting career on Broadway in the 1987 revival of Cabaret. The series was canceled after two seasons. She later returned to NYPD Blue as a regular, and left the show in 1999, after her character was killed.

Lawrence starred with Betty White and Alfred Molina on the short-lived sitcom Ladies Man from 1999 to 2001. She played Velma Kelly in the Broadway musical Chicago in 2000. She also had a series regular role on the CBS supernatural drama Wolf Lake from 2001 to 2002. In film, she co-starred in Gossip (2000), Little Black Book (2004), and The Alibi (2006).

Lawrence guest starred on many television dramas and sitcoms in the 2000s. She played Maisy Gibbons, a housewife/prostitute in season one of Desperate Housewives. She also appeared in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Boston Legal, Monk, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Mentalist, and Body of Proof. She starred in TV movie Atomic Twister as Corrine McGuire. She had a regular role on the short-lived CW teenage drama series Hidden Palms (2008), as Tess Wiatt, and was seen in the Canadian cable television drama The Line in 2009.

In 2009, Lawrence was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal as Izzie Stevens' mother on Grey's Anatomy. In April 2010, Lawrence joined Josh Schwartz's CBS pilot Hitched. In October 2010, she began a recurring role on One Tree Hill as Sylvia Baker, the mother of Julian Baker (Austin Nichols) who comes to Tree Hill from Los Angeles to plan the upcoming wedding of Julian and Brooke Davis (Sophia Bush). She also played the lead character mother in a Lifetime comedy-drama Drop Dead Diva from 2009 to 2013. Also, she played the birth mother of Dr. Maura Isles (Sasha Alexander) in the TNT television series Rizzoli & Isles, although in real life the actresses are only 12 years apart. In recent years, Lawrence has starred in several independent films. In 2013 she was cast in Chris Carter's thriller drama series The After. The show was set to premiere on Amazon Studios in 2014. Amazon canceled the series before its premiere on January 5, 2015. In March 2015, Lawrence was cast in the ABC comedy-drama pilot Mix.

In 2017, Lawrence starred in the CBS short-lived comedy series Me, Myself and I. The show premiered September 25 but aired only six episodes before the network pulled it from the schedule due to low ratings. Also in 2017, she had a recurring role as Dawn-Lyen Gardner's character mother in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Queen Sugar and co-starred opposite Sam Elliott in the second season of Netflix comedy The Ranch. From 2016 to 2019 she had a recurring role as a real estate mogul Margo Mierzejewski in the Showtime comedy-drama series Shameless. Lawrence later had a recurring role as Laura Van Kirk on The CW prime time soap opera Dynasty starting in 2018, and as Louise Garbeau on the Showtime comedy series On Becoming a God in Central Florida in 2019.

In 2021, Lawrence had recurring roles in Punky Brewster and Rebel. She later starred in the Paramount+ neo-Western series, Joe Pickett. In 2026, she will star as M'Lynn in Steel Magnolias at PlayMakers Repertory Company.

Personal life

In 2002, Lawrence married Tom Apostle.

Lawrence has played on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home and performed in benefits for the Alzheimer's Association in Los Angeles called Night at Sardi's and the What A Pair show for the John Wayne Breast Cancer Center.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

References

2. "Sharon Lawrence". [[The Broadway League]].
3. "Sharon Lawrence". Yahoo! Movies.
4. "Sharon Lawrence Biography". [[TV Guide]].
5. Bobbin, Jay. (July 28, 1996). "—I've heard that Sharon Lawrence won't be returning to...". [[Chicago Tribune]].
6. Starr, Michael. (January 15, 1999). "Sharon Out Of The Blue". [[New York Post]].
7. "Sharon Lawrence Gets Hitched". TV Guide.
8. (September 30, 2013). "'Drop Dead Diva' Bulks Up on Guest Stars as Season 5 Returns (Exclusive)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
9. Eng, Joyce. (March 14, 2012). "Rizzoli & Isles Exclusive: NYPD Blue's Sharon Lawrence to Play Maura's Biological Mom - Today's News: Our Take". TV Guide.
10. McNary, Dave. (June 6, 2013). "Sharon Lawrence Books Trio Of Roles (EXCLUSIVE)". [[Variety (magazine).
11. Andreeva, Nellie. (October 7, 2013). "Quartet Join Amazon Drama Pilot 'The After', 'Bosch' Casts One". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
12. Ross, Robyn. (October 31, 2013). "Amazon Green-Lights Drama Pilots Starring Titus Welliver, Sharon Lawrence". TV Guide.
13. Porter, Rick. (October 31, 2013). "Amazon orders Michael Connelly pilot 'Bosch,' details 'X-Files' creator's 'The After'". [[Screener (website).
14. Staskiewicz, Keith. (February 3, 2014). "'The After': First look at new Chris Carter pilot".
15. Andreeva, Nellie. (January 5, 2015). "Chris Carter Drama Series 'The After' Not Going Forward At Amazon Studios". Deadline Hollywood.
16. Andreeva, Nellie. (January 5, 2015). "Echo Kellum Joins CW Pilot 'Dead People', Sharon Lawrence Cast In ABC's 'Mix'". Deadline Hollywood.
17. (March 11, 2015). "Rashida Jones's ABC pilot Mix adds NYPD Blue star Sharon Lawrence". [[Digital Spy]].
18. Littleton, Cynthia. (May 17, 2017). "CBS 2017-18 Fall Schedule: 'Big Bang Theory' Spinoff 'Young Sheldon,' 'SWAT' Head to Thursday". Variety.
19. Highfill, Samantha. (August 19, 2018). "''Dynasty'' casts Sharon Lawrence as Liam's mother".
20. Zorrilla, Mónica Marie. (April 19, 2021). "David Alan Grier, Sharon Lawrence Among Five to Join Cast of Spectrum Originals Drama 'Joe Pickett'".
21. "Sharon Lawrence".
22. Andreeva, Nellie. (March 11, 2014). "Four Amazon Pilots Go To Series, 1 On Hold". Deadline Hollywood.
23. "2021 Daytime Nominees (Performer – Non-Drama) – The Emmys".
24. "NATAS ANNOUNCES NOMINATIONS FOR FIRST ANNUAL CHILDRen's & FAMILY EMMYS – the Emmys".