Linda Gray

In the 1970s and '80s, Linda Gray became a staple in American households for 13 years as the forlorn and forsaken wife of the most ruthless man on television. Before "Dallas" (CBS, 1978-1991) made her a familiar face, the actress worked prolifically as model in the 1960s and became the answer to a much-bandied trivia question when marketers of the classic Dustin Hoffman film "The Graduate" (1967) used her shapely legs as the frame of its famous movie poster. But it would be on the archetypal primetime soap opera "Dallas" that she found herself transformed into a pop-cultural diva by playing Sue Ellen Ewing, the put-upon, bed-hopping, boozing spouse of venal oil magnate J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman). Winning an Emmy nomination for that role, she would ride her soapy imprimatur through the 1990s, playing a no-nonsense businesswoman on "Melrose Place" (Fox, 1992-99) and "Models, Inc." (Fox, 1994-95). She made a transition to the stage, touring in productions across the U.S. and Europe, most notably a turn as that self-same Mrs. Robinson in a stage adaptation of the "The Graduate." Still, for a career marked by distinct stages across the performing arts spectrum, Gray's veritable tenure as Sue Ellen would make her perennially synonymous with a relentless and vengeful soap opera queen, as witnessed by her return to the role some 20 years later on the TNT reboot, "Dallas" (TNT, 2012-14), making fans of the iconic show very happy to see Sue Ellen Ewing's story continue for new generations of viewers.