Shelley Long was born at 7:15 am on Tuesday August 23, 1949 in Indian Village, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA. She is the daughter and only child to Evandine and Leland Long. Her mother was a school teacher and her father worked in the rubber industry before becoming a teacher. Shelley Long attended school at Kekionga Junior High for grades 6-9 and at South Side High School for grades 10-12. She enrolled at Northwestern University in 1967 as an undergraduate studying drama. Her first job was at the university as a meal plan checker. She left Northwestern to pursue a dual career in acting and modeling. In Chicago, she became a member of the celebrated Second City troupe, in addition to writing, producing and co-hosting a popular Chicago magazine program called "Sorting It Out" in 1975. The show ran for three years on a local NBC station and won three Emmy Awards for Best Entertainment Show.

She met her second husband, Bruce Tyson (a securities broker) on a blind date in 1979. They were married in October, 1981. In 1982, she played the character Diane Chambers in the new NBC comedy series, Cheers. She played the part for five years, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1983, winning Golden Globe Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1983, for Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 1985 and a Qality TV Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1986. She gave birth to a daughter, Juliana, on March 27, 1985. She also has a stepson.
Shortly before starting work on Cheers, she made an unsold sitcom pilot called: "Ghost of a Chance", in which she was a newlywed haunted by the ghost of her first husband. Attended Northwestern University (Evanston, IL). Has a daughter, Juliana, who was born on March 27, 1985. Originally cast to play the lead character Terry Dolittle in Jumpin' Jack Flash. Originally cast to play the lead character Celeste in My Stepmother Is an Alien.