Linda Gray, known for playing Sue Ellen Ewing on the hit show Dallas, became a TV icon over the course of more than 300 episodes. While she enjoyed a successful career, Gray’s personal life was filled with challenges. Now, at 82, she’s still going strong, but her journey to get here wasn’t easy.
Throughout history, certain actors seem born for their roles. Can you imagine anyone but Michael Landon playing Charles Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie, or anyone besides Dick Van Dyke as Bert in Mary Poppins? Linda Gray as Sue Ellen in Dallas is one of those cases. She was perfect for the role, and her portrayal is remembered by fans as irreplaceable.
But Gray’s life has been a real roller coaster. She’s battled illness, addiction, and faced a marriage that left her unsatisfied. Yet, through it all, she’s emerged stronger, always determined to make the most of her life and career.
Gray acted alongside stars like Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy on Dallas. Reflecting on her time with Hagman, Gray recently opened up about the chemistry they shared on set. “He was the bad big brother I never had,” she said. Despite Hagman’s wild behavior, Gray was often the one keeping him in check.
“I’d tell him, ‘Stop drinking,’ or ‘Don’t eat that much sugar,’ and he’d love driving me crazy on purpose,” she laughed. The two of them clicked on camera, creating what Gray called “absolute magic.”
Linda Gray’s Childhood and Struggles
Linda Gray was born on September 12, 1940, in Santa Monica, California. As a child, she faced a significant health scare when she was diagnosed with polio. Her grandfather had the same illness and was confined to a wheelchair, so when Linda received the diagnosis, her family panicked. But young Linda wasn’t scared. “I thought I could have a wheelchair like Grandpa,” she recalled.
Growing up in Culver City, California, Gray’s father ran a watchmaker’s shop, while her mother, Marge, had been an artist and ballerina before turning to alcohol. As her mother’s drinking spiraled, Linda and her sister had to take over household responsibilities.
“She wasn’t falling down drunk or mean, but she was just… absent,” Linda shared in her memoir The Road to Happiness Is Always Under Construction. Despite the tough times, her mother later quit drinking and joined Alcoholics Anonymous, but by then Linda had resolved to avoid the same path.
In her youth, Linda wanted to study medicine. But being so close to Hollywood, her ambitions changed, and she decided to pursue a career in acting instead.
Marriage and Early Career
At 21, Linda married photographer Edward Lee Thrasher, and soon after, her acting career was put on hold as she took on the roles of wife and mother. The couple had two children—Jeff, born in 1960, and Kehly, born six years later. However, her marriage was emotionally cold. “I felt abandoned,” Gray admitted. She stayed with Ed for 21 years, hoping to make things work, but eventually realized it wasn’t possible.
While her husband discouraged her from working, Linda saw a chance to break into show business through part-time gigs, landing numerous TV commercials. At 27, she got her first big break—$25 to be Anne Bancroft’s body double for the famous poster of The Graduate. Fun fact: her legs are the ones you see in the iconic image with Dustin Hoffman!
Despite the rejection from some quarters—she still kept a rejection letter from Glamour magazine as motivation—Linda pushed on. “It didn’t devastate me,” she said proudly. “I kept it as a reminder to prove people wrong.”
Her husband wasn’t supportive of her dreams, often telling her, “Why don’t you become an actress when the children are in college?” But Gray wasn’t willing to wait. At 37, she enrolled in acting classes, and with the help of actor Dennis Weaver, she landed a guest role on the TV show Marcus Welby, M.D. in 1974.
The Role of a Lifetime – Dallas
In 1978, Linda Gray was cast as Sue Ellen Ewing on the new soap opera Dallas. Initially, she was only supposed to appear in five episodes, but her stellar performance earned her a permanent spot on the show. Dallas, filled with lies, betrayal, and scandals, became an international hit, and Gray’s portrayal of Sue Ellen turned her into a star.
The chemistry between her and Larry Hagman, who played her on-screen husband JR Ewing, was undeniable, though it was rooted in friendship rather than romance. Gray remembered how they teased each other off-screen, but when the cameras rolled, they seamlessly transformed into their characters. “When they said action, we became JR and Sue Ellen. It was seamless,” she explained.
Dallas broke records, drawing in over 80 million viewers for the iconic “Who shot JR?” episode in 1980. At the time, it was the most-watched television episode in American history, only to be surpassed by the finale of MASH*.
For her role, Gray earned two Golden Globe nominations and an Emmy nomination.
In 1983, as her career soared, Linda finally divorced Ed. Her son, Jeff, followed in her footsteps, becoming a director and earning an Emmy nomination in 2018.
Tragedy Strikes
Sadly, in 2020, Linda faced one of the hardest moments of her life when her beloved son, Jeff, passed away after a battle with leukemia. Gray honored him on Instagram, posting a heartfelt tribute: “He was the kindest, funniest, sweetest human being… May his journey be a magical one.”
Life Today
Linda Gray starred in 308 episodes of Dallas and has continued acting in various television shows. In 2012, she reprised her role as Sue Ellen when Dallas was revived for two seasons. Today, at 82, she’s as beautiful as ever and continues to live in Santa Clarita.
Gray’s life has been marked by incredible highs and devastating lows, but she’s always found the strength to move forward. “I’ve learned to turn the bad into energy,” she says, reminding us all of the resilience that has carried her through the years.