Actress, model. Born September 25, 1961, in
Los Angeles, California. Frequently referred to by the media as “The
Queen of Mean”, Locklear is popular for portraying some of the most
notable television villains of the 1980s and 1990s. Locklear was born and
raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks. Her father, Bill, is
the director of the registrar’s office at UCLA. Her mother, Diane,
worked as an administrative assistant in the offices of the Walt Disney
Company in the early 1990s. Locklear entered UCLA in
1979 with the intention of majoring in psychology. Casual modeling jobs
soon turned into regular work appearing in television commercials for
major companies like Pepsi, Polaroid and the California Dairy Council.
After a year at UCLA, Locklear dropped out to pursue acting full time.
She made her first television series appearance in CHiPs
in 1980 and also guest-starred on Eight Is Enough and Twirl.
In 1981, Locklear got her big break when she successfully auditioned for a
role in Dynasty, the popular prime-time soap opera that starred
John Forsythe, Joan Collins, and Linda Evans. Locklear
played Sammy Jo Carrington, the conniving wife of Blake Carrington’s
son, Steven. After 13 weeks, Locklear was written out of the show, but was
quickly offered a part on producer Aaron Spelling’s other project, T.J.
Hooker. Shortly after that, Locklear was written back into Dynasty,
making her the only actress working regularly in two popular prime-time
series. Dynasty aired for nearly a decade, while T.J. Hooker
was cancelled after five seasons. At the same time,
Locklear appeared in several big-screen and television movies including Firestarter
(1984) and Return of the Swamp Thing (1989). She also served as
spokeswoman for a national chain of health clubs and produced an exercise
video. In 1993, Locklear rejoined producer Spelling
as part of the cast of Melrose Place, a spinoff of the extremely
successful Beverly Hills 90210. Prior to Locklear’s appearance on
Melrose, the show’s ratings were dismal. After her arrival as
Amanda Woodward, a scheming advertising executive and apartment-complex
owner, the show’s ratings soared. While Melrose
Place was cancelled in 1998, the following year Locklear had the
opportunity to remake her image as mayoral advisor Caitlin Moore in the
sitcom Spin City. Trading verbal jibes with co-stars Michael J. Fox
and later, Charlie Sheen, Locklear boosted the shows ratings and
demonstrated her facility with ensemble comedy. The show continues its run
on ABC. In 1994, Locklear became engaged to Bon Jovi
guitarist Richie Sambora. Three years later the couple had their first
daughter, Ava Elizabeth Sambora. Locklear’s previous marriage -- to
heavy-metal drummer Tommy Lee -– ended in divorce in early 1994. |