| Ally Sheedy | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Birth Name |
Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy |
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Gender |
Female |
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Date of Birth |
June 13, 1962 (age 60) |
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Place of Birth |
New York City, United States |
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Spouse |
David Lansbury (1992-2008) |
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Children |
1 |
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Role |
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Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy (born June 13, 1962) is an American actress, best known for her roles in The Breakfast Club, War Games, and Short Circuit. She is perhaps the highest profile of the 'John Hughes alums' or 'Brat Pack' members to appear on this show. She also had a recurring role as an insane criminal, Mr. Yang, on the USA Network original seriesPsych, appearing in the episodes "An Evening With Mr. Yang", "Mr. Yin Presents...", "Yang 3 in 2D" and "Psych: The Musical". She played Allison Reynolds.
Early life[]
Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy was born in New York City on June 13, 1962, and has two siblings, brother Patrick and sister Meghan. Her mother, Charlotte (née Baum), is a writer and press agent who was involved in women's and civil rights movements, and her father, John J. Sheedy Jr., is a Manhattan advertising executive. Sheedy's mother is Eastern European Jewish, whereas her father is of Irish Catholic background. Her maternal grandmother was from Odessa, Ukraine. Her parents divorced in 1971.
She attended the Bank Street School for Children, followed by Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School in New York City, graduating in 1980. She started dancing with the American Ballet Theatre at age six and was planning to make it a full-time career. She gave up dance in favor of acting full time, however, and then started studying acting with acting teacher Harold Guskin. At age 12 she wrote a book, She Was Nice to Mice. The book was published by McGraw-Hill Education and became a best-seller. On June 19, 1975, she appeared on the game show To Tell the Truth.
At age 18, Sheedy relocated to Los Angeles, California, where she enrolled in the drama department at the University of Southern California. Sheedy concurrently began her acting career and intermittently completed three years' worth of courses toward a BFA degree in acting.
Personal life[]
Sheedy became a vegetarian at the age of 12.
Sheedy dated Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora for less than a year in the 1980s. She stated in Los Angeles Times that the relationship led her to abuse drugs, a claim Sambora denied. In 1985, Sheedy was admitted to Hazelden Foundation and in the 1990s was treated for a sleeping pilladdiction, an experience she drew on for her role as a drug-addicted photographer in High Art.
On April 12, 1992, Sheedy married actor David Lansbury, the nephew of actress Angela Lansbury and son of Edgar Lansbury, the original producer of Godspell. They have a daugther, Rebecca Lansbury, born in 1994. Rebecca is trans and now it's called Beckett Lansbury from whose transition Sheedy says she "learned a lot". In 2008, Sheedy announced that she and Lansbury had filed for divorce.