Pretty, intense actor who is equally adept in comedic and dramatic roles. A classically trained actress, Reed began her career on the New York stage making her off-Broadway debut in "Curse of the Starving Class" and working in several New York Shakespeare productions, among them "All's Well That Ends Well" in Central Park and "Aunt Dan and Lemon" at The Public. Reed first appeared on Broadway in "The November People" (1978) and made her screen debut two years later, playing Belle Starr in Walter Hill's stylish western, "The Long Riders". Supporting roles followed including an effective performance as wife of astronaut Gordon Cooper (Dennis Quaid) in Philip Kaufman's "The Right Stuff" (1983).Reed continued to work in films appearing as Robin Williams' ex-wife in "Cadillac Man" (1990) but her comedic skills came to the fore and to the attention of a wider public when she co-starred as Arnold Schwarzenegger's partner in Ivan Reitman's "Kindergarten Cop" (1990). Reed was also seen in Tim Robbins' satiric take on American politics "Bob Roberts" (1992) and again co-starred with Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in Ivan Reitman's medical comedy "Junior" (1994) as DeVito's pregnant ex-wife.
Reed has been equally active on the small screen since making her debut on the short-lived dramatic series "The Andros Targets" (1977). She has since starred in a variety of TV projects including the remake of "I Want to Live" (1983), about the execution of gangster moll Barbara Graham; "Scandal Sheet" (1985), starring opposite Burt Lancaster; the dedicated campaign manager in "Tanner '88" (1988), a realistic yet satiric look at an imaginary candidate running for president in the 1988 campaign; and in "Woman With a Past" (1992), she played a suburban housewife with a hidden criminal identity. Reed has tried her hand at weekly series TV with both "Grand" (1990) as a former beauty queen turned waitress, and "Family Album" (1993) about a family struggling with generational differences. Neither series survived more than a few episodes. She returned to series TV in 1995, portraying a judge and single mother in the NBC sitcom "Home Court".
Profession(s):
Actor, day care worker, Trans-Alaska pipeline support staffer
Sometimes Credited As:
CableACE Award Actress in a Drama Series "Tanner '88: The Dark Horse" 1989
OBIE Award Sustained Excellence of Performance 1983 - 1984
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play "Getting Out" 1979
1995 Returned to series TV in NBC sitcom "The Family Court"
1993 Starred in the short-lived TV series, "Family Album"
1990 Starred in the short-lived TV series, "Grand"
1990 Voice for monumental historical documentary, "The Civil War"
1988 Co-starred in the HBO series, "Tanner '88", a satiric look at a fictional presidential campaign
1988 TV miniseries debut, "Hemingway"
1981 TV movie debut, "Intimates: A Love Story"
1980 Film acting debut in "The Long Riders"
1978 Off-Broadway debut in "Curse of the Starving Class"
1978 Broadway debut as Kathleen in "The November People" at Billy Rose Theatre
1977 First regular appearance on TV series, "The Andros Targets"
1976 Off-off-Broadway debut in "Getting Through the Night" at Ensemble Studio Theatre
Ran day care center and worked with Headstart children
Worked for the Trans-Alaska pipeline