Chloe Webb

After drawing raves as one of the stars of the sardonic off-Broadway revue "Forbidden Broadway" in New York, Chloe Webb had difficulty transitioning to television and film work. While chance brought her to the attention of filmmaker Alex Cox, Webb's willingness to go the distance for the role of a lifetime won her the part of punk rock martyr Nancy Spungen in Cox's "Sid and Nancy" (1986). Art house acclaim arrived sooner than mainstream acceptance, with Peter Greenaway spiriting the young hopeful to Rome for a key role in his "The Belly of an Architect" (1987), an exquisitely mounted dud that nonetheless pointed Webb to a higher profile roles in "Twins" (1988), opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, and on the acclaimed ABC series "China Beach" (ABC, 1988-1991). Her working class appeal and crooked smile typed Webb into supporting rather than lead roles in such films as "Heart Condition" (1990) and "Queens Logic" (1991), where her talents were largely wasted playing girlfriends. She fared better on television, enjoying her best post-"Sid and Nancy" exposure as the lovelorn Mona Ramsey in the miniseries "Tales of the City" (1993). Withdrawing largely from public life by the new millennium and contributing only the occasional cameo appearance to films, Webb returned to the spotlight with a flourish as the bisexual and bipolar matriarch of the dysfunctional Gallagher clan on Showtime's "Shameless" (2011- ), embracing at last the mantle of character actress, but committed to delivering nothing less than a star performance.