The sultry, versatile Sherilyn Fenn was born into a family of musicians (her mother is keyboard player Arlene Quatro, her aunt is rock-star Suzi Quatro, her grandfather Art Quatro was a jazz musician and her father Leo Fenn was the manager of such bands as Suzy Quatro's 'The Pleasure Seekers', 'Alice Cooper', and 'The Billion Dollar Babies'), of Italian and Hungarian descent on her mother's side and Irish and French descent on her father's side. Sherilyn traveled a lot with her mother and two older brothers before the family settled in Los Angeles when she was 17. Fenn, who says herself she's demure, didn't want to start with a new school again, and began studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute instead.

Sherilyn Fenn began her career with a number of B-movies including The Wild Life, teen-fantasy movie The Wraith and skater film Thrashin'. She had a memorable part in the cult teen-comedy Just One of the Guys in which she tries to seduce teenage-girl-disguised-as-a-boy Joyce Hyser. Fenn landed her first starring role as an engaged heiress to an old Southern family who falls for carnival worker Richard Tyson in Zalman King's erotic drama film Two Moon Junction, after which she said she wanted to hide for a year.

Fenn won her most outstanding role and made an indelible impression when she was cast by David Lynch, Mark Frost and Johanna Ray as the tantalizing, reckless Audrey Horne, the high-school femme fatale from the critically acclaimed cult TV series. The character of Audrey was one of the most popular with fans, in particular for her unrequited love for FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (played by Kyle MacLachlan), her style from the '50s (with her saddle shoes, plaid skirts and tight sweaters), and a memorable scene in which she knotted a cherry stem in her mouth. In the show's second season, when the idea of pairing Audrey and Cooper was abandoned, Audrey was paired with other characters like Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) and John Justice Wheeler (Billy Zane). Shortly after shooting Twin Peaks' pilot episode, David Lynch gave her a small but impressive part in David Lynch's Wild at Heart as a girl injured in a car wreck, walking with a windshield through her head on Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern's way. "I just pictured her being able to do this," said Lynch of the scene, "she's like a broken China doll." David Lynch, who once described Sherilyn Fenn as "five feet of heaven in a ponytail," said about her: "She's a mysterious girl and I think that actresses like her who have a mystery - where there's something hiding beneath the surface - are the really interesting ones."

After two nominations (Emmy and Golden Globe) and a pictorial in Playboy magazine, Fenn was propelled to stardom and became a major sex symbol. She chose to focus on widening her range of roles and was determined to avoid typecasting. "They've offered me every variation on Audrey Horne. None of which were as good or as much fun." She turned down the Audrey Horne spin-off series that was offered to her, and unlike most of the cast, chose not to return for the prequel movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, as she was then shooting Of Mice and Men. Sherilyn turned to the independent world, to manage to carve out a career on her own terms as a character actress, and imposed her old Hollywood-style beauty (with her lily-white skin, vertiginous boomerang eyebrows, beauty mark next to her left eye and topaz eyes) with many varied roles. Fenn starred in the neo-noir black comedy Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel as a sultry, seductive femme fatale, opposite Whip Hubley and David Hewlett. She played John Dillinger's girlfriend Billie Frechette in ABC's gangster movie Dillinger opposite Mark Harmon. Her acting coach Roy London chose her to star in his directorial debut Diary of a Hitman (costarring Sharon Stone, also one of London's alumni), in which she plays a mother determined to protect her child from hit-man Forest Whitaker. According to Fenn, the turning point in her career was when she met Roy London in 1990, with whom she learned "to find the roles that you're passionate about, that speak to you on some level and which will help you grow on some level," which has then become her line of conduct. In 1992 she played a sad and lonely country wife, desperately in need to talk to somebody in Gary Sinise's film adaptation of Of Mice and Men opposite Sinise and John Malkovich. "Sherilyn's one of the reasons we got such a great ovation at Cannes," said Sinise. "Gary Sinise was one of the first people who didn't see me like a lot of other people did," she said "It was a wonderful experience. Horton Foote adapted the novel and he fleshed out my character, and he made her much, much more." The same year saw her starring in John Mackenzie's Ruby, as small-town stripper/singer Sheryl Ann DuJean (a fictional character inspired by the women around John Kennedy, notably Marilyn Monroe), alongside Danny Aiello and Arliss Howard. In 1993 she starred in the romantic comedy Three of Hearts as Kelly Lynch and William Baldwin's love interest, and Carl Reiner's detective film parody Fatal Instinct as Armand Assante's devoted secretary and Sean Young and Kate Nelligan's rival. Fenn gave an impressive performance in the controversial Boxing Helena, directed by David Lynch's daughter Jennifer Chambers Lynch as a narcissistic seductress, amputated and imprisoned by desperately in love Julian Sands, who makes her become his personal Venus de Milo in an effort to possess her. She showed great range and courage in taking the part of Helena which was a way for her to avoid being type-cast, with a radically different role from what she'd done in the past. "I like taking risks and I decided to put every bit of me into the role," she said. Both Lynch and Fenn were proud of their work in it but the film - which was overshadowed by the lawsuits against Kim Basinger after she dropped out - ultimately was a critical and commercial failure. After a short break during which she married guitarist/songwriter Toulouse Holliday and gave birth to a son, Sherilyn Fenn portrayed actress Elizabeth Taylor in NBC's Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story. "Playing Elizabeth Taylor was probably the hardest job I've ever done." During the shooting, she fought to keep integrity in the script, in order to accurately portray Taylor. She also portrayed Potiphar's wife Zulaikha in Showtime's biblical TV movie Slave of Dreams opposite Adrian Pasdar and Edward James Olmos. The film was directed by multi-award winning Robert M. Young and produced by Martha De Laurentiis and Dino De Laurentiis.

In the late 1990s, Fenn's career took a downturn. Hollywood didn't appreciate her frankness ("when I go to an audition and I don't like the script, they know it") and she began to be more and more uninspired by traditional Hollywood movies. "I was a brat", she said. "I didn't like anything, even then. It was crazy, I was very picky. In other words, I didn't take advantage of what was happening necessarily then. But they also have a way of putting you in a category. I wasn't into playing the Hollywood game. I only responded to certain things." She then began to alternate TV movies and small independent films. In 1996 she joined the winning ensemble cast in the insightful romantic comedy Lovelife as Jon Tenney's low self-esteemed girlfriend. The film was written and directed by Tru Calling's creator Jon Harmon Feldman and costarred Matt Letscher, Bruce Davison, Saffron Burrows and Carla Gugino. Fenn also starred in the romantic comedy Just Write as Hollywood tour bus driver Jeremy Piven's dream actress who mistakes him for a famous screenwriter. She starred in the 1998 British claustrophobic psychological thriller Darkness Falls as Tim Dutton's rich, neglected wife, sequestered by despaired Ray Winstone, who wants to understand the events that led to his wife ending up in a coma. While shooting the film in the UK in 1997, Sherilyn hesitated to settle in London in order to start a European career, as she felt tired of Hollywood, and finally decided to stay in the USA.

Fenn's return to television was the lead role in Showtime's sitcom Rude Awakening as Billie Frank, an alcoholic ex-soap actress, based upon executive producer/creator Claudia Lonow's experience, who tries to go sober and become a writer but continues to struggle with her self-destructive habits. Sherilyn reteamed with Chris Penn and Adrian Pasdar for Pasdar's art-house directorial debut, the neo-noir Cement, a contemporary re-telling of "Othello", in which she played a tempting, thoughtless femme fatale, the wife of jealous corrupt cop Chris Penn. The film, which won Best Picture awards on the festival circuit, was written by Farscape's screenwriter Justin Monjo and also starred Jeffrey Wright and Henry Czerny. She also reteamed with actor/director Bruce Davison for his award-winning family comedy, Off Season alongside Rory Culkin, Hume Cronyn and Adam Arkin. In 2002 she was cast as Harley Quinn/Harleen Quinzel in WB's Birds of Prey but was replaced by Mia Sara before the series began (Fenn appeared in the unaired pilot episode but dropped out after the network decided to reshoot the episode, due to scheduling conflicts, as the show's creators realized that the character of Harley Quinn would need to be a bigger part of the show, for which Fenn was unavailable). She played a beautiful criminal in Swindle, opposite undercover cop Tom Sizemore. Fenn had small roles in the critically acclaimed The United States of Leland as a woman who represents happiness and joie de vivre to Ryan Gosling, and in Lisa Cholodenko's Cavedweller opposite Kyra Sedgwick. She co-starred in 2005 in the ultimately unreleased 'Lesser of Three Evils' alongside alongside Ho Sung Pak and Peter Greene. In 2006, Fenn starred in Whitepaddy alongside Lisa Bonet and Hill Harper, and co-starred in Emily Skopov's Novel Romance, opposite Traci Lords and Paul Johansson. She was also cast as the female lead in ABC's Three Moons Over Milford but was replaced by Elizabeth McGovern. Shortly after shooting the "Dukes of Hazzard" prequel, The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning, Fenn stepped behind the camera for the first time and directed in Pittsburgh a documentary film about child enrichment program CosmiKids and its founder Judy Julin.

Sherilyn Fenn guest-starred in numerous TV series like 21 Jump Street opposite her then-fiancé Johnny Depp and in a 1995 episode of HBO's Tales from the Crypt directed by Robert Zemeckis, alongside Isabella Rossellini and John Lithgow, in which she played the lover of Humphrey Bogart, who appeared in the episode via CGI special effects. In a 1997 episode of Friends she was Matthew Perry's wooden-legged girlfriend. She appeared in a 2001 episode of The Outer Limits in which her character was duplicated, and played a manipulative woman in a 2002 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She joined former co-stars Jeremy Piven on Cupid, and Mark Harmon on NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service in 2004. In 2005 Fenn appeared on The 4400 in which she plays Jean DeLynn Baker, a 4400 who has the ability to grow toxin-emitting spores on her hands. She appeared on Judging Amy in 2005, and on CSI: Miami in 2006. Fenn was one of several former Twin Peaks stars, such as Dana Ashbrook and Mädchen Amick, to have a recurring role on WB's Dawson's Creek. She also had a recurring role on Fox's Boston Public. She played two different roles on WB's Gilmore Girls, originally appearing in a season 3 episode, which was the pilot for a California-set spin-off titled "Windward Circle", which would have starred Milo Ventimiglia, Rob Estes and Fenn (the network dropped the project citing cost issues due to filming on location in Venice, California). Fenn reappeared in the 6th season as a different character, Anna Nardini, the ex-girlfriend of Luke Danes (played by Scott Patterson) and protective mother to his daughter April.
Was engaged to Johnny Depp, whom she met on the set of the 1985 short student film "Dummies". Their relationship lasted three years and a half. Rumored to have dated Kiefer Sutherland Niece of 1970s pop singer Suzi Quatro, Patti Quatro and Nancy Quatro. Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world. [1991] Studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. Sherilyn's name is scrawled across Johnny Depp's helmet in the movie Platoon. Her son Myles, with ex-husband 'G. Toulouse Holliday' , was born. [Late 1993] Worked for 2 months as a Playboy bunny in LA when she was 19. Was originally cast as Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn for the WB show Birds of Prey in its pilot episode, but was replaced for the rest of the season by Mia Sara. Fenn dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Measurements: 36C-25-35 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine). Daughter of Arlene Quatro. Chosen by FHM magazine as one of the 100 sexiest women in the world. [1995] Chose her then-boyfriend photographer Barry Hollywood to photograph her in the December 1990 issue of Playboy magazine. Director David Lynch described her as "Five feet of heaven in a ponytail" and said "Sherilyn always made [him] think of a porcelain doll". Made the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in October 1990, along with Mädchen Amick and Lara Flynn Boyle while promoting Twin Peaks. Starred in her friend Adrian Pasdar's debut feature as director, film neo-noir Cement, co-starring Chris Penn and Jeffrey Wright (also Pasdar's friends), written by Farscape's Justin Monjo. Fenn and Pasdar had already co-starred in biblical TV movie Slave of Dreams and both guest- starred in the sixth season of Judging Amy. Penn and Fenn had already co-starred in The Wild Life. Practices Kundalini yoga. Wished to portray silent-screen star Clara Bow. Is part Italian and Hungarian on her mother's side (her mother's name Quatro is short for Quatrocchio), and part Irish and French on her father's side. Her grandfather, Art Quatro, was a jazz band musician. His band was the 'Art Quatro Trio'. Guest-starred opposite her then-fiancé Johnny Depp in an episode of 21 Jump Street. Shares with director David Lynch a great interest in actress Marilyn Monroe. Her favorite Elizabeth Taylor movies are A Place in the Sun, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and The Sandpiper. Daughter of keyboard player Arlene Quatro who played in the Suzi Quatro band, that Sherilyn's father managed. Made the cover of Playboy magazine in December 1990. Although actress Elizabeth Taylor fought the unauthorized biography Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story, she found that Fenn aptly portrayed her. Her car accident scene in David Lynch's Wild at Heart came from director David Lynch's impression of Fenn as a porcelain doll, and from the idea of seeing a porcelain doll breaking. He kept telling her about that, and that's how the scene was born. Lynch said of the scene, "I just pictured her being able to do this. She's like a broken china doll". Lynch got the same inspiration for the car accident scene in Mulholland Dr.. His direction to actress Laura Harring was to act like a broken porcelain doll. There were plans to spin her Twin Peaks character Audrey Horne off into her own series, that didn't come off. Apparently, Fenn's character inspired David Lynch for Laura Harring's character in Mulholland Dr., as Fenn said in an interview in 1997, "David was talking about 'Mulholland Drive', he talked about like 'Audrey goes to Hollywood'. She's driving along Mulholland in this convertible car... But it didn't end up happening." While filming NBC's Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story, Fenn fought daily to keep integrity in the script. Fenn's priority was to respectfully and accurately portray Elizabeth Taylor. Wears Chanel no.5 Likes cold and rainy weather. Shares with friend/former boyfriend Prince a great interest in silent- screen star Clara Bow, whom Fenn wished to portray. Her acting coach was Roy London who directed the movie Diary of a Hitman, starring Fenn and Forest Whitaker. During the shooting of Darkness Falls in the UK, contemplated moving to London, being tired of Hollywood. Co-star Ray Winstone encouraged her to come to England. So did British director Mike Figgis, who said it would be very positive for her to do that, as England is quite different from Hollywood. He told her she has a great body of work and she could work all the time in Europe. Inspired Norwegian hard rock band 'Audrey Horne', named after Fenn's character in Twin Peaks. One of her favorite roles in a movie is Jessica Lange in _Frances (1982)_ . Starred in an episode of Tales from the Crypt along with Isabella Rossellini, John Lithgow and "Humphrey Bogart". Director Robert Zemeckis used footage of Bogart he included in the episode. Sherilyn plays Bogart's lover. Fenn and Rossellini had already co- starred in David Lynch's David Lynch's Wild at Heart and both guest-starred in the third season of Friends. Of Mice and Men co-star John Malkovich is to her one of the best actors. Chosen by Batman fans as a perfect Selina Kyle/Catwoman in a Batman dream cast. Chosen by US magazine as one of the 10 Most Beautiful Women in the world. [1990] Chosen by Femme Fatales magazine as one of the 50 sexiest sci-fi actresses. [1996] Played two different characters (with different hair colors) on Gilmore Girls: Sasha, the girlfriend of Jess's estranged father in California, and Anna Nardini, the mother of Luke's teen-aged daughter, April. In 1992 photographer George Hurrell took a series of photographs of Sherilyn Fenn, Sharon Stone, Julian Sands, Raquel Welch, Eric Roberts and Sean Penn. In these portraits he recreated his style of the 1930s, with the actors posing in costumes, hairstyle and makeup of the period. When asked why she did cast Fenn for two different roles on Gilmore Girls, creator Amy Sherman said: "I love Sherilyn so much and I don't care. One thing about the show is I just want the best people. I've just been looking constantly for a time to work with Sherilyn, and I'm getting very old and I could just get hit by a truck at any minute. I just simply can't put it off that long, so I'd just rather get her in and have her part of my world." Is friends with Jennifer Chambers Lynch. Grew up in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Her father Leo Fenn was the personal manager of Alice Cooper for 13 years. He also managed "The Billion Dollar Babies" and Suzi Quatro's "The Pleasure Seekers". Worked in 2003 on a film project called 'Gin and the Rumble Within' that didn't come off. The film would have been directed by actor George Katt, who guest-starred opposite Sherilyn Fenn in Rude Awakening, and would have starred Fenn and Katt. Posed for photographer Steven Meisel for the autumn-winter 1991-1992 Dolce & Gabbana campaign. Was originally cast as the female lead in ABC's show Prey, but was replaced by Debra Messing. Fenn starred in the unaired pilot episode. Singer and composer Screamin' Jay Hawkins wrote and recorded in 1993 a song entitled "Sherilyn Fenn", featured on his album "Stone Crazy". The song is an ode to Fenn, who worked with Hawkins in Two Moon Junction. Was originally cast as the female lead in ABC's show Three Moons Over Milford, but was replaced by Elizabeth McGovern. Fenn starred in the unaired pilot episode that also featured Jill Shackner as Lydia Davis and a guest appearance by Majandra Delfino. Was considered for the title role in Roger Vadim's remake of his film Barbarella that ultimately didn't come off. Sherilyn is mentioned in the 1995 song "Razor Burn" by the punk band Lagwagon on their 3rd full length album entitled "Hoss". Chosen by Australian men magazine Zoo weekly as one of the "Top 50 Hottest Babes Ever". [March 2006] Chosen by The Daily Mirror as one of the World's 100 Most Beautiful Women. [October 1996] Auditioned for the Robin Wright Penn role in The Princess Bride. Is expecting her second child June 2007. Father is her boyfriend, Dylan Stewart. Expecting her second child. Father is boyfriend Dylan Stewart. [May 2007] Described by writer/director Emily Skopov as an "indie goddess". Inspired writer Sherilyn Connelly who took from Fenn the first name she goes under. Joined the executive team of child enrichment program CosmiKids as executive director of the film and television division. [2007] Was originally considered for the role of the femme fatale Lola, eventually played by Sean Young, in Fatal Instinct. Fenn opted for the role of Armand Assante's lovesick secretary Laura and suggested director Carl Reiner cast Young as Lola.