Linda Gray, 82, Has Had A Tumultuous Life But Found Fame On 'Dallas'

Dec 23, 2021 by apost team

Linda Gray is an American actress, director, producer and model who is best known for her role on the hit show “Dallas.” The show was about the feuding Ewing family, who owned an oil company in Texas. Gray played the role of Sue Ann Ewing, and the show soon propelled her to stardom. 

For her performance, Gray received a Primetime Emmy nomination as well as two Golden Globe nominations. Gray starred alongside Larry Hagman, who played the breakout character, J.R. Ewing. The 1980 episode of the series, which is titled “Who Shot J.R.?,” is still the second-highest-rated primetime telecast of all time.

Gray reprised her role as Sue Ellen in the remake of “Dallas” from 2012 to 2014. The star is 81 in 2021 and has survived through much hardship and seen much success. She started her career by appearing in TV commercials in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Gray was featured in a number of shows before she landed the role of Sue Ellen.

In her personal life, Gray pursued acting after she was already married and had two children, Jeff and Kehly Thrasher. Tragically, Jeff passed away from Leukemia in 2020. Gray was married to Ed Thrasher from 1962 to 1983 and described the relationship as cold and even emotionally abusive.

In her early life, Gray was diagnosed with polio and did not know if she would make it. She made a miraculous recovery but said the experience was a turning point in her life. Keep reading to learn more about Gray and to see how she looks in 2021.

Gray was born in Santa Monica, California, in 1940. She was just 5 years old when she was diagnosed with polio. Her grandfather also suffered from the illness and was confined to a wheelchair since he was a teenager. "I came down with a bad sore throat and was sent to bed. The next day, I couldn't move my legs," Gray recalled. Luckily, the feeling came back, and she made a full recovery.

The star continued, “I remember with the polio, that started me on a very positive approach because my parents were devastated, but I wasn't. I decided I could ride with grandpa around the city in my own wheelchair. I'd probably have painted it pink, or polka dots, something eccentric, so I was ready. And I wasn't feisty at all. I was very shy. It wasn't like I was this precocious young girl, I was a shy little girl, but I was boosting up my parents, and my grandma. That seems to be a great turning point."

Polio wasn’t the only hardship Gray faced in her childhood. Her mother was an alcoholic, and it strained the relationship between them. Gray said: 

"I was too responsible too young. I tuned in to being a mother to my sister. I used to tell her 'no, don't do this, you have to do this ...' I was that person, and I wanted to not be that person. I wanted to be the young girl that I was; 9, maybe 10 years old. It's not like I said, 'Oh, this is happening because my mother is an alcoholic,' it was just this weave-y little trail I was on. I'd say, 'Okay, there's no food for dinner, I'd better cook something', 'I'd better take care of that because nobody is here to do it ...'"

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Later in life, Gray’s mother sought help for her drinking and became sober. It was Gray’s portrayal of an alcoholic on “Dallas” that helped her mom realize she had a problem in the first place. Gray shared, “Mom got to see me portraying a character with a disease, she saw that she had a real problem and it ended up being very healing.”

Gray considered her father the stable parent in her household, but their relationship wasn’t perfect either. Gray explained, “He was wonderful; he reminded me of the Dalai Lama, everyone loved him … He didn’t offer emotional support though. He was just kind of there, like a piece of furniture, but then this was a different time. You didn’t go to Dad with boyfriend problems. God forbid! But he was supportive of my career.”

Gray was only 21 when she first got married to Thrasher. She described his treatment as cold and emotionless and would leave her lists of chores to complete. She adds: “Like I was a maid. It was horrible: ‘Iron my shirts, wash the car, feed the chickens, take the dog to the vet’ … It tore me apart but I just thought, ‘Well, I can make this work somehow.’ It took me 21 years to leave my marriage.”

Gray never remarried, though she is open to the idea should the right person ever come along. She said, “There have been lovely men, not a lot, but lovely, but no. I just sort of dropped that idea. It may still come, and that would be lovely, but I will not settle. I had to take a deep breath, and let that go.”

Did you watch Gray on “Dallas”? What do you think of her early life? Let us know, and feel free to send this along to all the “Dallas” fans you know.