biography

Dana Welles Delany, now popular for her portrayal of Katherine Mayfair in the hit TV series Desperate Housewives, is still probably best known for her Emmy Award winning role as Colleen McMurphy on the classic TV series China Beach which aired from 1988 to 1991.

Dana is also respected as an actress with a long and full career who has taken on many challenging or controversial roles as well, sometimes in preference to lesser but possibly more lucrative parts.

In feature films such as the successful Tombstone (1993), Dana was charming as Josephine Marcus, then a year later raised eyebrows as Mistress Lisa in Exit to Eden (1994).

TV movies seemed to offer more important and challenging women's roles, though. In Choices of the Heart (1995), Dana played the historic birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger, the strong Sarah McClure in True Women (1997), and a mystical healer in Resurrection (1999).

Series TV has shown Dana in interesting roles. Starring in the outrageous Pasadena (2001) and the touching Presidio Med (2003), Dana showed her full range. And as a guest star on many shows such as Family Law(2001), Law & Order:SVU(2004), and Battlestar Galactica(2006), she gave us very rich performances that received a lot of recognition.

Dana has also been noted as the actress to have played the classic character from the Superman franchise, Lois Lane, longer than anyone else; in her case for the Warner Brothers animated series going from 1996 to 2006.

Most recently, Dana starred in another unusual show, Kidnapped, which, though shortlived, garnered a dedicated following, and marked the first time that a major television series was shown solely on the internet.

Beyond acting, close to Dana's heart is the Scleroderma Research Foundation, started by her friend the late Sharon Monsky. Dana sits on the board, and frequently participates in their fund raising activities. She also played a scleroderma victim in the powerful ABC TV movie For Hope(1996).

Dana also shows a very unique appreciation for her fans by participating in her Official Forum, answering questions and providing updates on her projects, something she's been doing for over ten years.

Image © 2002 ABC