Early life

Sheedy was born in New York City 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. Her mother is Jewish and her father is of Irish Catholic background. Her maternal grandmother was from Odessa, Ukraine. Her parents divorced in 1971.

Sheedy attended Columbia Grammar and 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. However, she gave up dance in favor of acting full-time. At age 12 she wrote a book, She Was Nice to Mice; the book was published by McGraw-Hill and became a best-seller. On June 19, 1975, she appeared on the game show To Tell the Truth in her role as a young writer.

Career

Sheedy started acting in local stage productions as a teenager. After appearing in several made-for-television films in 1981, as well as three episodes of the television series Hill Street Blues, she made her feature film debut in Bad Boys (1983), starring Sean Penn, where she played Penn's humiliated girlfriend. The 1980s were her most active period, with roles in popular films such as WarGames, The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, Short Circuit, and Maid to Order.

Her most notable film performance during the 1990s was in High Art, an independent film released in 1998 about a romance between two women and the power of art. Her performance in High Art was recognized with awards from the Independent Spirit Awards, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and National Society of Film Critics.

In 1999, Sheedy took over the lead role in the off Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. She was the first female to play the part of the German transsexual "Hedwig," but her run ended early amid bad reviews. That same year, she was cast as a lead actress in Sugar Town, an independent film, which featured an ensemble cast of actors and musicians.

She was reunited with Breakfast Club co-star Anthony Michael Hall when she became a special guest star on his television show The Dead Zone, in the second-season episode "Playing God," from 2003.

Sheedy has also appeared in the episode "Leapin' Lizards" of C.S.I. in which she played a woman who murdered her boyfriend's wife while mixed up in a cult. On March 3, 2008, Sheedy was introduced as the character Sarah, in the ABC Family show Kyle XY. In 2009, she played the role of Mr. Yang on the USA Network television show Psych (in the third season finale), a role that she reprised in the fourth season, fifth season, and seventh season finales.

Personal life

Sheedy dated Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora for less than a year in the 1980s. She stated in The 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 pill addiction, an experience which 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. Their daughter Rebecca was born on March 15, 1994. In May 2008, Sheedy announced that she and Lansbury had filed for divorce.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Bad Boys	J.C. Walenski
1983	WarGames	Jennifer Mack	Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actress Nominated - Young Artist Award for Best Young Motion Picture Actress in a Feature Film
1984	Oxford Blues	Rona
1985	The Breakfast Club	Allison Reynolds
1985	St. Elmo's Fire	Leslie Hunter
1985	Twice in a Lifetime	Helen
1986	Blue City	Annie Rayford	Nominated - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress
1986	Short Circuit	Stephanie Speck
1987	Maid to Order	Jessie Montgomery
1988	Short Circuit 2	Stephanie	Voice cameo (uncredited)
1989	Heart of Dixie	Maggie DeLoach	Nominated - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress
1990	Betsy's Wedding	Connie Hopper	Nominated - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress
1990	Fear	Cayce Bridges	Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actress
1991	Only the Lonely	Theresa Luna
1992	Home Alone 2: Lost in New York	NY Ticket Agent	Cameo
1993	The Pickle	Molly-Girl/Herself
1993	Man's Best Friend	Lori Tanner	Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actress
1994	Red Shoe Diaries 4: Auto Erotica	Karen	Video Segment "The Fling"
1995	One Night Stand	Mickey Sanderson
1997	Macon County Jail	Susan Reed
1997	The Definite Maybe	Joanne
1997	Amnesia	Martha Keller
1997	Highball	Ally Sheedy
1998	Myth America
1998	High Art	Lucy Berliner	Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress Nominated - Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress Nominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
1999	Advice from a Caterpillar	Jan
1999	Sugar Town	Liz
1999	The Autumn Heart	Deborah
1999	I'll Take You There	Bernice
2002	Just a Dream	Maureen Sturbuck
2002	Happy Here and Now	Lois
2003	A Good Night to Die	Marie
2003	Shelter Island	Louise 'Lou' Delamere
2004	Noise	Charlotte Bancroft
2005	Shooting Livien	Brea Epling
2007	Day Zero	Dr. Reynolds
2007	The Junior Defenders	Jill Fields	Video
2007	Steam	Laurie
2008	Harold	Maureen Reynolds
2009	Perestroika	Helen
2009	Life During Wartime	Helen Jordan	Nominated - Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Performance
2010	Welcome to the Rileys	Harriet
2010	Ten Stories Tall	Jackie
2013	Fugly!	Stoddard
2014	Sins of our Youth	Vicki

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	CBS Afternoon Playhouse	Cathy	Episode: "I Think I'm Having a Baby"
1981	The Best Little Girl in the World	1st Girl	Television film
1981	The Violation of Sarah McDavid	Tracy Barnes	Television film
1981	Homeroom	Karen Chase	TV short
1981	The Day the Loving Stopped	Debbie Danner	Television film
1981	Splendor in the Grass	Hazel	Television film
1982	Chicago Story		Episode: "Bright Lights, Big City"
1982	St. Elsewhere	Diane	Episode: "Samuels and the Kid"
1983	Hill Street Blues	Kristen	3 episodes
1983	Deadly Lessons	Marita Armstrong	Television film
1987	We Are the Children		Television film
1990	The Lost Capone	Kathleen Hart	Television film
1992	Red Shoe Diaries	Karen	Episode: "Accidents Happen"
1992	Tattle Tale	Laura Perot	Television film
1993	Lethal Exposure	Chris Cassidy	Television film
1993	The Hidden Room	Julia	Episode: "Hungry Girls"
1993	Chantilly Lace	Elizabeth	Television film
1994	Ultimate Betrayal	Adult Mary Rodgers	Television film
1994	Parallel Lives	Louise	Television film
1994	The Haunting of Seacliff Inn	Susan Enright	Television film
1995	The Tin Soldier	Billy's Mom	Television film
1996	The Outer Limits	Carter Jones	Episode: "I Hear You Calling"
1996	Hijacked: Flight 285	Deni Patton	Television film
1997	Country Justice	Angie Baker	Television film
1997	Buried Alive II	Laura Riskin	Television film
1998	The Fury Within	Joanna Hanlon	Television film
1999	Our Guys: Outrage at Glen Ridge	Det. Kelly Brooks	Television film
2001	Oz	Lisa Logan	Episode: "Medium Rare"
2001	The Warden	Helen Hewitt	Television film
2001	Strange Frequency	Lee Bonner	Episode: "Daydream Believer"
2002	Once and Again	Miriam Rose Miller	Episode: "Aaron's List of Dreams"
2002	The Interrogation of Michael Crowe	Cheryl Crowe	Television film Nominated - Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series
2003	Life on the Line		Television film
2003	The Dead Zone	Kate Moore	Episode: "Playing God"
2006	The Veteran	Sara Reid	Television film
2007	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Shannon Turner	Episode: "Leapin' Lizards"
2008-2009	Kyle XY	Sarah	4 episodes
2009	Citizen Jane	Jane Alexander	Television film
2009-2011, 2013	Psych	Yang	4 episodes
2014	Not With My Daughter (AKA Client Seduction)	Melissa Eco	Television film

Books

• She Was Nice to Mice, McGraw-Hill, 1975, ISBN 0-440-47844-8
• Yesterday I Saw the Sun: Poems, Summit Books, 1991, ISBN 0-671-73130-0

Awards

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards: Best Actress (1998) for High Art
• Independent Spirit Award: Best Female Lead (1999) for High Art
• National Society of Film Critics Awards: Best Actress (1999) for High Art
• MTV Movie Awards: Silver Bucket of Excellence Award (2005) for The Breakfast Club (shared with Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, Emilio Estevez)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]