Early life

Stafford was born June 5, 1954, in Wilton Manors, Florida, a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where she was raised in a Southern Baptist home. Stafford graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. She is a Christian. After graduating from Ft. Lauderdale High School in 1972, she was Miss Florida 1976, competing in the 1977 Miss America Pageant. She began her career working as a public relations specialist. In addition she worked as a model in New York at the Ford Model Agency.

Career

Stafford moved to Los Angeles in 1982, where she had her first guest-starring role playing the dual role of Adrienne/Felicia Hunt on the daytime soap opera The Doctors. She had guest starring roles in shows such asRiptide, Remington Steele, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Who's the Boss?, Hunter, Quantum Leap, and Magnum, P.I.. In 1983, Stafford won her first regular role on the NBC medical drama series, St. Elsewhere, as Joan Halloran. She played the role for three seasons. She later starred as Patricia Blake in the short-lived ABC series Sidekicks from 1986 to 1987.

Stafford is best known for her role as Ben Matlock's assistant Michelle Thomas in the legal drama Matlock, opposite Andy Griffith, from 1987 to 1992, replacing Linda Purl, who left after the first year. Stafford had been a lifelong Griffith fan, since the early 1960s, as a six-year-old girl. Stafford auditioned and won the role. Before she played Michelle, she guest starred on the same show in 1986, where she played a call girl. According to a 2010 interview with the actress on On Screen and Beyond, there was a remarkable on- and off-screen relationship between Stafford and Griffith. She left the show to spend more time with her family, and to also move on to other ventures. After her departure from Matlock, she became a world-renowned public speaker, traveling to many churches, colleges, universities, women's group to other businesses. During the 1990s she was the host of Main Floor, which was a talk show that was seen in over forty countries. In 2008 she co-hosted the first season of Love, Marriage and Stinkin' Thinkin alongside Mark Gungor. Stafford also guest starred in many shows, such as ER, Frasier, Babylon 5, Baywatch and The Mentalist.

Stafford is the author of many Christian books, such as: Beauty by the Book: Seeing Yourself as God Sees You; The Wonder of His Love: A Journey into the Heart of God, and her 2006 book, Mothers & Daughters Taking Your Adult Relationship to a Deeper Level.

Personal life

Stafford married Larry Myers, a pastor. They have a daughter and grandson. Her older brother, Tracy Stafford, was a two-term Mayor of Wilton Manors and a five-term member of the Florida House of Representatives.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Q	Eyewitness
1987	U.S. Marshals: Waco & Rhinehart	Joyce	Television film
1993	Moment of Truth: A Child Too Many	Sharon Davis	Television film
1995	Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare	Karen Ingram	Television film
2002	Destiny	Counselor
2004	The Proverb	Lady in Park	Short film
2007	Wager, TheThe Wager	Annie Steele
2011	Christmas with a Capital C	Kristen Reed
2012	Race to the Finish	Julie
2012	Christmas Oranges	Mrs. Hartley
2013	Foreclosed	Terri Boyd	Short film
2013	Superheroes Don't Need Capes	Jenny
2013	Season of Miracles	Nurse Barbara
2013	Assumed Killer	Dr. Weston
2013	Christmas for a Dollar	Mrs. Rathbone

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Doctors, TheThe Doctors	Adrienne / Felicity Hunt	1 episode
1983	Lone Star	Amanda Talbot	Television pilot
1983-1986	St. Elsewhere	Joan Halloran	Series regular, 30 episodes
1984	Who's the Boss?	Trish Baldwin	Episode: "Sorority Sister"
1985	Riptide	Lt. Peggy Burke	Episode: "Prisoner of War"
1985	Hunter	Nell Armstrong	Episode: "The Avenging Angel"
1985	Magnum, P.I.	Amy Griswald	Episode: "The Treasure of Kalaniopu'u"
1985	Scarecrow and Mrs. King	Colleen Donnelly	Episode: "Flight to Freedom"
1985	Remington Steele	Jennifer Davenport	Episode: "Stronger Than Steele"
1986	You Are the Jury	Diane Blake	Episode: "The State of Arizona vs. Dr. Evan Blake"
1986	D.C. Cops	Molly St. Clair	Television pilot
1986-1987	Sidekicks	Patricia Blake	Series regular, 23 episodes
1986	Matlock	Caryn Nelson / Caroline Nathan	Episode: "The Seduction"
1987-1992	Matlock	Michelle Thomas	Series regular, 109 episodes
1990	Quantum Leap	Peg Myers	Episode: "Miss Deep South - June 7, 1958"
1993	Saved by the Bell: The College Years	Judith Trudell	Episode: "The Poker Game"
1996	Frasier	Claire Barnes	Episode: "Moon Dance"
1996	Babylon 5	Dr. Mary Kirkish	Episode: "Messages from Earth"
1997	Baywatch	Cassie Rose	Episode: "Rendezvous"
2003	Judging Amy	Judge Bell	Episodes: "Motion Sickness", "The Wrong Man"
2008	Mentalist, TheThe Mentalist	Rosemary Tennant	Episode: "Seeing Red"

[ Source: Wikipedia ]