Biography
Sela Ward (born July 11, 1956) is an American actress, producer, author, and former model known for her work in film and television.
After relocating to California to pursue acting, she secured her first film role in the 1983 Burt Reynolds movie The Man Who Loved Women. That same year, she earned her first regular TV role as a socialite on Dennis Weaver's short-lived CBS series Emerald Point N.A.S. Throughout the 1980s, Ward appeared in various guest roles on TV and in films, notably starring opposite Tom Hanks in Nothing in Common (1986).
In 1991, Ward was cast as Teddy Reed on the TV drama Sisters, a role that earned her the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1994. She played Helen Kimble, the wife of Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford), in the 1993 hit film The Fugitive. Ward received a CableACE Award for her portrayal of journalist Jessica Savitch in the 1995 TV movie Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story, which remains Lifetime’s highest-rated TV movie.
In 1995, Ward was considered for a Bond girl role but was told, despite Pierce Brosnan’s age of 42, the casting director wanted “Sela, but ten years younger.” This experience inspired her to create and produce the documentary The Changing Face of Beauty, exploring America’s obsession with youth and its impact on women.
Ward succeeded Candice Bergen as the spokesperson for Sprint’s long-distance phone service from 1999 to 2002 and appeared as supermodel and zoologist Kelly Easterbrook in the season 5 opener of Frasier, "Frasier's Imaginary Friend."
When auditioning for the role of Lily Brooks Manning on ABC’s Once and Again (1999–2002), creators Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz initially felt she was "too beautiful" to represent an average single mother. Ward ultimately earned her second Primetime Emmy Award for Lead Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama for the role.
In 2004, she starred as a private investigator in the TV movie Suburban Madness and appeared in The Day After Tomorrow alongside Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal.
In 2005, Ward took on a recurring role as Stacy Warner, hospital attorney and ex-partner of Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), on Fox’s House until her character was written out in 2006.
She was offered the lead roles of Megan Donner on CSI: Miami and Susan Mayer on Desperate Housewives but declined both, wary of the time commitment an hour-long series would demand away from her family.
During a brief TV hiatus, Ward continued acting in films, starring opposite Kevin Costner in The Guardian (2006) and leading the thriller The Stepfather (2009).
In July 2010, she joined CSI: NY for its seventh season and remained until the series concluded after the ninth season. Ward portrayed newswoman Sharon Schieber in Gone Girl (2014) and played the President of the United States in Independence Day: Resurgence (2016). She also starred alongside Nick Nolte in the political comedy series Graves and had a leading role in the first season of the crime series FBI (2018).
