Thursday Thirteen

Today, I present to you, in no particular order, my favorite actresses ... and the roles that I remember them in. I am partial to fantasy shows so the list is heavy in that genre; also, I really don't watch that much TV which is why some of these are pretty dated.

1. Sharon Gless as Christine Cagney on Cagney and Lacey. I did not see Cagney and Lacey much when the series ran-couldn't get the channel - but I watched it all in reruns. I love the show and wish more than Season 1 would come out on DVD.

2. Lindsey Wagner as Jamie Summers on The Bionic Woman. Lindsey played a strong yet sensitive character in this show. She was someone who stood up for the little guy and true rights and wrongs.

3. Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager. As the first female captain of a starship, I simply had to like this character. She was tough and no-nonsense.

4. Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am currently watching this entire series while I exercise in the mornings. I originally only saw up to season 3 when the show first aired, thanks to the change to UPN from the WB (or vice versa, whichever it was). I have seen the other seasons in reruns and/or read about them, but I won't be sure until I finish this viewing that I have seen every single episode.

5. Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman. She had an invisible jet and a magic lasso! What more could a girl possibly want?

6. Kate Jackson as Sabrina on Charlie's Angels. She also played Amanda on The Scarecrow and Mrs. King, played on Dark Shadows (one of my favorite soap operas when I was young) and on The Rookies. I suppose if there is an actress whose career I have followed, Jackson is the one. I thought she was the best angel and quit watching the show when she left.

7. Lucy Lawless as Xena in Xena: Warrior Princess. She kicked butt while taking on the God of War and other deities. Not to mention cleaning up all the bad guys in town.


8. Kim Zimmerman as Reva Shane on the Guiding Light. Aside from Dark Shadows, which went off the air in the 1970s, I think, the Guiding Light was the only soap opera I ever spent time watching. I stopped watching it with regularity at least 15 years ago but I occasionally caught an episode. I always enjoyed Zimmerman's portrayal as the "bad girl" Reva.

9. Catherine Bell as "Mac" on JAG. I enjoyed watching her but I hated that she always played second fiddle to the male lawyers. Oddly, I have not liked Catherine Bell in any other show I have seen her in.

10. Jennifer Love Hewitt as Melinda in Ghost Whisperer. Even though this show has badly "jumped the shark" and I no longer make a point of watching it, the early seasons gave us a feisty character who would "do what it takes" to get her message across.

11. Candace Bergen as Murphy in Murphy Brown. She was a news person who knew how to do the news. I liked the character (well, after they made her a mommy I didn't like her as much) and enjoyed Bergen's portrayal of her.

12. Phylicia Rashad as Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show. This was a mom who really did bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, take care of the kids, and keep her husband in line.

13. Dixie Carter as Julia Sugarbaker on Designing Women. This sitcom cracked me up; I'm pretty sure I know some southern ladies just like the ones on that show. Carter's character always seemed realistic and the actress played her well.


Lots of people play Thursday Thirteen. Learn more about it and see other participants here. You can see my other Thursday Thirteens here. This is entry number 123!