{{short description|American actress (born 1947)}} {{Infobox person | name = Sheila Wills<!-- include middle initial, if not specified in birth_name --> | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | image_upright = | image_size = <!-- DISCOURAGED per WP:IMGSIZE. Use image_upright. --> | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | pronunciation = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|8|11}}<ref name="famsearch">{{cite web|title=Birth reference results for: Sheila Wills DeWindt|url=https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3ASheila~%20%2Bsurname%3ADeWindt~|work=Familysearch.org|access-date=November 27, 2018}}</ref> | birth_place = Louisiana<ref name="jet-aug1981">{{cite magazine|title=Sheila De Windt: BJ And Bear Star Says Beauty Can Be A Handicap|date=August 6, 1981|magazine=Jet|pages=54–56|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MkIDAAAAMBAJ&q=sheila+de+windt&pg=PA54|access-date=January 2, 2017}}</ref> | other_names = Sheila DeWindt<ref name="famsearch"/> | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = Occidental College<ref name="jet-oct1985">{{cite magazine|author1=Sylvia P. Flanagan|title=Sheila DeWindt Combines Successful Career With Motherhood|date=October 21, 1985|magazine=Jet|pages=55–57|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9rADAAAAMBAJ&q=sheila+de+windt&pg=PA57|access-date=January 2, 2017}}</ref> | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1975–present | era = | known_for = | credits = Role as Angie on NBC-TV series ''B. J. and the Bear''<!-- produces label "Notable work"; may be overridden by |credits=, which produces label "Notable credit(s)"; or by |works=, which produces label "Works" -->, numerous TV series guest or recurring appearances | style = | television = | spouse = Hal DeWindt (1977-1981)<ref name="jet-aug1981" /><ref name="jet-oct1985" /> | partner = Philip Michael Thomas (1982-?)<ref name="jet-oct1985" /><ref name="jet-may1983">{{cite book|title=Celebrity Beat|date=May 9, 1983|publisher=Jet|page=54|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7EEDAAAAMBAJ&q=sheila+de+windt&pg=PA54|access-date=January 2, 2017}}</ref> | children = Melody Thomas<br />India Thomas<ref name="jet-oct1985" /> | relatives = Deborah Lacey (sister)<ref name="jet-mar1986">{{cite book|title=Celebrity Beat|date=March 3, 1986|publisher=Jet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D7QDAAAAMBAJ&q=sheila+de+windt&pg=PA53|access-date=January 2, 2017}}</ref> | awards = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> | footnotes = }} '''Sheila Wills''' (born August 11, 1947<ref name="famsearch"/>) is an American actress, also known as '''Sheila DeWindt'''. She is known for her regular role on the television series ''B. J. and the Bear'', and recurring roles on series including ''Days of Our Lives'', ''Battlestar Galactica'', and ''Generations''.<ref name="azafam">{{cite book|author1=Kathleen Fearn-Banks|title=The A to Z of African-American Television|date=August 4, 2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=9780810863484|page=106|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U1Pe45NhU08C&q=sheila+de+windt&pg=PA106}}</ref><ref name="jet-may1990">{{cite magazine|title=People Are Talking About...|date=May 21, 1990|magazine=Jet|pages=55|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7K8DAAAAMBAJ&q=sheila+de+windt&pg=PA55|access-date=January 2, 2017}}</ref>
==Early life and education== Wills was born in Louisiana and raised in Los Angeles, California.<ref name="jet-aug1981" /> She started working at a young age, stating in 1982, "I've had a job since I was 11 - it might have been waiting tables or cleaning houses... but it helped me attain a goal".<ref name="jet-may1982">{{cite magazine|title=Sheila De Windt Plays Tough Cop On TV|date=May 3, 1982|magazine=Jet|pages=58–59|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|access-date=January 2, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dD0DAAAAMBAJ&q=sheila+de+windt&pg=PA59}}</ref> Wills graduated from Occidental College, where she later became an assistant dean of admissions.<ref name="jet-oct1985" /> She had always wanted to be an actress, and quit her job in education shortly after attending an actor's workshop in Los Angeles in 1975.<ref name="jet-may1982" />
==Career== Before landing the role of Angie on ''B.J. and the Bear'', Wills made guest appearances on a number of television series, including ''Baretta'', ''Kojak'', ''Quincy'', and ''The Six Million Dollar Man''.<ref name="jet-aug1981" /> Later television appearances included ''McClain's Law'', ''The Jeffersons'', and ''The A-Team''.<ref name="jet-may1982" /><ref name="jet-mar1986" /> Wills has also modeled and appeared in commercials and films, including ''Goldengirl'', ''Youngblood'', and ''The Concorde... Airport '79''.<ref name="jet-may1982" /><ref name="jet-may1983" />
==Personal life== The actor's workshop Wills attended in 1975 was run by producer/director/actor Hal DeWindt. Wills and DeWindt married two years later.<ref name="jet-aug1981" /> The couple divorced in 1981,<ref name="jet-aug1981" /> and the actress returned to using the name Wills some years later.<ref name="jet-may1990"/> Following her divorce, Wills had a relationship with actor Philip Michael Thomas. Wills and Thomas had two children together, Melody and India.<ref name="jet-oct1985" /><ref>{{cite magazine|author1=Carol Wallace|title=The Ego Has Landed|url=http://people.com/archive/cover-story-the-ego-has-landed-vol-24-no-24/|magazine=People|access-date=January 2, 2017|date=December 9, 1985}}</ref>
==Filmography (selected)==
===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1979 | ''The Concorde... Airport '79'' | Young Girl | |- | 1979 | ''Goldengirl'' | Debbie | |- | 1978 | ''Youngblood'' | Joan | |- | 1978 | ''A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich'' | Admissions Clerk | |- |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- |2022 |''NCIS: Los Angeles<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sheila Wills {{!}} IMDbPro |url=https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm0223179/ |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=pro.imdb.com}}</ref>'' |Thelma |One episode |- | 2022–present | ''All American'' | Ms. Maritta | Two episodes |- | 2003 | ''Scrubs'' | Wife | Episode: ''My Friend the Doctor'' |- | 1997 | ''7th Heaven'' | Teacher | Episode: ''Dangerous Liaisons: Part 2'' |- | 1996 | ''Sweet Temptation'' | Lawyer | TV movie |- | 1995 | ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' | Professor Helen Kincaid | Episode: ''Breast Side Up'' |- | 1995 | ''Tyson'' | Ruth Roper | TV movie |- | 1994 | ''Jack Reed: A Search for Justice'' | Mary Alice | TV movie |- | 1994 | ''I Spy Returns'' | Lily Scott | TV movie |- | 1992 | ''Swamp Thing'' | Daphne Scott | Episode: ''Dead and Married'' |- | 1990 | ''Shannon's Deal'' | Liz Washington | Episode: ''Custody'' |- | 1989 | ''Knots Landing'' | Ticket Taker | Episode: ''Road Trip'' |- | 1989 | ''Hunter'' | Donna Carlisle | Episode: ''Teen Dreams'' |- | 1989 | ''Generations'' | Rita Barton | |- | 1988 | ''Cagney & Lacey'' | Stacey | Episode: "Amends" |- | 1988 | ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' | Beverly Murdock | Three episodes |- | 1986 | ''The A-Team'' | Deborah Duke | Episode: ''The Duke of Whispering Pines'' |- | 1985 | ''Stir Crazy'' | Angela | Episode: ''The Ping Pong Caper'' |- | 1984 | ''Webster'' | Ms. Oliver | Episode: ''Dreamland'' |- | 1983–1984 | ''Days of Our Lives'' | Joan Hopkins | Two episodes |- | 1983 | ''The Powers of Matthew Star'' | Kerry | Episode: ''Brain Drain'' |- | 1982 | ''The Jeffersons'' | Dede Sanderson | Episode: ''Appointment in 8-B'' |- | 1982 | ''The New Odd Couple'' | | Episode: ''That Was No Lady'' |- | 1981 | ''McClain's Law'' | | Episode: ''A Time of Peril'' |- | 1981 | ''B. J. and the Bear'' | Angie | Fifteen episodes |- | 1980 | ''Galactica 1980'' | Stewardess | Episode: ''The Night the Cylons Landed: Part 1'' |- | 1980 | ''Quincy, M.E.'' | Katya Hester | Episode: ''T.K.O.'' |- | 1979 | ''Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' | Major Fields | Episode: ''Planet of the Slave Girls'' |- | 1978 | ''Battlestar Galactica'' | Lieutenant Deitra | Two episodes |- | 1978 | ''Switch'' | Cleo Johnson | Episode: ''Photo Finish'' |- | 1978 | ''Baretta'' | Minnie | Episode: ''The Bundle'' |- | 1977 | ''Kojak'' | Leilah | Episode: ''The Summer of '69: Part 1'' |- | 1976–1977 | ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' | Rhonda/Saleslady | Two episodes |- | 1975 | ''Marcus Welby, M.D.'' | Clerk | Episode: ''The Medea Factor'' |- |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0223179|Sheila Wills}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, Sheila}} Category:American television actresses Category:Occidental College alumni Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:Actresses from Los Angeles Category:21st-century African-American actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:20th-century African-American actresses Category:20th-century American actresses