Early life

Howard was born and raised in the town of Marshall, Texas, where she was recognized for acting talent. She won a UIL award for Best Actress while in high school. Upon graduating from Marshall High School, she attended the University of Texas for two years where she was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority before leaving for Los Angeles to become an acting student at the Los Angeles Repertory Company.

Career

Howard had several guest appearances on major television shows during the 1960s and early 1970s: The Flying Nun (1967), I Dream of Jeannie (1968), Star Trek (1968) on which she carried the distinction of playing the first female Klingon on the original series (and the only one to ever speak), Bonanza (1969), and Mission: Impossible (1972). In 1973, she appeared as Evan Sands on Lorne Greene's ABC crime drama Griff in the episode "Who Framed Billy the Kid?", with Nick Nolte as Billy Randolph, a football player accused of murder.

In 1974, she was cast as the co-star of the NBC series Petrocelli. Her performance was subsequently nominated for both the Golden Globe and Emmy awards. Despite critical acclaim for Howard, the series was canceled in 1976. In 1978, she played a key role as Professor Kingsfield's daughter Susan in series one, episode ten of The Paper Chase. Then came her 1979 appearance on Dallas as Donna Culver. The producers of the show liked her performance so much, her guest spot was expanded to an eight-year stint; she has the distinction of being the only Dallas cast member to have written for the series, as well ("Sitting Ducks" and "The Ten Percent Solution"). In 1987, the show decided to not renew her contract. She has blamed this decision on her opposition to what she saw as proabortion storylines involving her character.

Personal life

After leaving television, Howard has become an increasingly active supporter of conservative causes, especially the gun rights. She is an active member of the leadership of both the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Texas Republican Party. Howard has also served as a commissioner of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and is currently a commissioner of the Texas Commission on the Arts. She became involved in the NRA after meeting Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre at the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans.

Filmography

Film and TV roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966	Love on a Rooftop	Dorothy	Episode: "Homecoming"
1967	The Monkees	Bride	Episode: "Monkees Manhattan Style"
1967	The Iron Horse	Bess Hennings / Sara Collins	"The Return of Hode Avery" / "Appointment with an Epitaph"
1967 1968	The Flying Nun	Sister Susan Sister Teresa	"Old Cars for New" "Hot Spell"
1968	The Second Hundred Years	Sonny	Episode: "Dude Hand Luke"
1968	Tarzan	Jeff	Episode: "Trina"
1968	Star Trek	Mara	Episode: "Day of the Dove"
1968 1969	I Dream of Jeannie	Miss Temple Salesgirl	"Genie, Genie, Who's Got the Genie?: Part 2" "The Biggest Star in Hollywood"
1969	Here Come the Brides	Alexander	Episode: "Wives for Wakando"
1969	The Outcasts	Julie Mason	Episode: "The Candidates"
1969	Ironside	Jo Lyons	Episode: "A Matter of Love and Death"
1969	The Virginian	Rebecca Teague	Episode: "Halfway back from Hell"
1969	Bonanza	Laurie Nagel	Episode: "The Medal"
1969	Land of the Giants	Mrs. Garak	Episode: "Collector's Item"
1969/71	Mannix	Christina Preston / Amanda Hewitt	"Who Killed Me?" / "Round Trip to Nowhere"
1970	The Silent Gun	Lorisa Cole	TV movie
1970	The New People	Fern	Episode: "The Siege of Fern's Castle"
1970	Quarantined	Dr. Margaret Bedford	TV movie
1970	The Immortal	Annie Williams	Episode: "The Legacy"
1971	The F.B.I.	Yvonne Shelby	Episode: "Center of Peril"
1971	The Mod Squad	Gillian	Episode: "Cricket"
1971 1972	Love, American Style	Libby Susan Parkins	"Love and the Topless Policy" "Love and the Baker's Half Dozen"
1972	Mission: Impossible	Nora Dawson	Episode: "Committed"
1972	The Sixth Sense	Needa	Episode: "The Man who Died at Three and Nine"
1972	Medical Center	Linda Crown	Episode: "Deadlock"
1972	Columbo	Shirley Wagner	Episode: "The Most Crucial Game"
1973	The Bold Ones: The New Doctors	Dr. Claudia Schaeffer	Episode: "A Terminal Career"
1973	Savage	Lee Raynolds	TV movie
1973	Griff	Evan Sands	Episode: "The Framing of Billy the Kid"
1973	The New Adventures of Perry Mason	Ellen	Episode: "The Case of the Jailed Justice"
1973	Marcus Welby, M.D.	Dr. Barbara Kerr / Greta Francis	"A Necessary End" / "The Tall Tree"
1973/77	Barnaby Jones	Frances Dunslay / Sandra Harris	"Death Leap" / "Yesterday's Terror"
1974	Indict and Convict	Joanna Garrett	TV movie
1974	Night Games	Maggie Petrocelli	TV movie
1974-1976	Petrocelli	Maggie Petroceli	Series regular; 44 episodes
1976	The Rockford Files	Sandy Blaylock	Episode: Feeding Frenzy
1977	The Oregon Trail		Episode: "The Gold Dust Queen"
1977	Most Wanted		Episode: "Ms. Murder"
1977	The Fantastic Journey	Eve Castigan	Episode: "Vortex"
1977	Moonshine County Express	Dot Hammer
1977	Sidewinder 1	Chris Gentry
1977	Killer on Board	Julie Clayton	TV movie
1978	Superdome	Nancy Walecki	TV movie
1978	The Busters	Joanna Bailey	TV movie
1978	The Paper Chase	Susan Fields	Episode: "Kingsfield's Daughter"
1979	The Power Within	Dr. Joanne Miller	TV movie
1979	Vega$	Laurie Turner	Episode: "Classic Connection"
1979-87	Dallas	Donna McCullum Culver Krebbs	Series regular; 198 episodes
1980	The Love Boat	Cynthia Bowden	Episode: "Tell Her She's Great/Matchmaker, Matchmaker Times Two/The Baby Alarm"
1987-88	The 700 Club	Herself/co-host
1993	Come the Morning	Constance Gibson	TV movie

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
1975	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Petrocelli	Nominated
1975	Primetime Emmy Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Petrocelli	Nominated
1986	Soap Opera Digest Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role	Dallas	Won
1988			Dallas	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]