Catherine Hicks biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Actress Catherine Hicks was born on August 6, 1951, in New York, New York. On the popular family drama 7th Heaven, Hicks played Annie Camden, a minister's wife and mother to one of television's largest broods of children. Before finding success on television, she grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, and went on to study theology and English literature at Notre Dame University.

Early Career

Moving back to New York City, Hicks began to pursue an acting career. In her first major television part, she tackled the character Dr. Faith Coleridge on the daytime soap opera Ryan's Hope from 1976 to 1978. Hicks also had a role in the 1978 Broadway production of Tribute. This comedic drama by Bernard Slade starred Jack Lemmon as a terminally ill press agent attending a "tribute" to his life and trying to mend fences with his son before dying. While critics had mixed reactions to it, the play proved to be financially successful.

After a few failed attempts at series television, Hicks impressed audiences and critics with her performance as Marilyn Monroe in the 1980 telefilm Marilyn: The Untold Story. A lesser actress might have crumbled under the pressure of playing such a well-known pop icon, but Hicks pulled it off. She earned an Emmy Award nomination for her performance.

Film Career

For much of the rest of the decade, Hicks focused on the big screen. Her roles included appearing in The Razor's Edge (1984) opposite Bill Murray and in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) opposite William Shatner. She also played best friend to Kathleen Turner in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986).

'7th Heaven'

In 1994, Hicks returned to series television with the short-lived drama Winnetka Road. She finally scored a hit two years later with a new show from producer Aaron Spelling. Debuting in 1996, 7th Heaven received the cold shoulder from some critics, but audiences loved the wholesome program about a minister named Eric Camden (played by Stephen Collins) and his family.

Hicks starred as his wife who was a stay-at-home wife and mother who tries to handle the problems and challenges her family faces. Beyond domestic crises, the drama has addressed many larger issues during its eleven seasons on the air, including homelessness, drunk driving, hate crimes and drug use.

Personal Life

Hicks is married to director Kevin Yagher. The couple has a daughter named Catie.

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