Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy (born June 13, 1962 in New York City) is an American actress and author best known for being a member of the '80s Brat Pack, with whom she appeared in such films as The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire.
She was married to David Lansbury (son of Angela Lansbury) and they have one child, Beckett, a trans man. Sheedy is very supportive of the LGBT+ community, having supported Beckett during his transition and also previously when he came out as a lesbian. Additionally, her mother is a lesbian, having gotten divorced from her father when Sheedy was 10.
Filmography:
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Film roles
- Bad Boys (1983) as J.C. Walenski
- WarGames as Jennifer Mack
- Oxford Blues as Rona
- The Breakfast Club as Allison Reynolds
- St. Elmo's Fire as Leslie Hunter
- Twice In A Lifetime 1985 as Helen Mackenzie
- Blue City as Annie Rayford
- Short Circuit as Stephanie Speck
- Short Circuit 2 as Stephanie Speck (voice cameo)
- Maid to Order (1987) as Jessie Montgomery
- Heart Of Dixie as Maggie DeLoach
- Betsys Wedding as Connie Hopper
- Fear 1990 as Cayce Bridges
- Only the Lonely as Theresa Luna
- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York as Pam Block (The Cameo)
- The Pickle as Molly-Girl/herself
- Man's Best Friend as Lori Tanner
- Highball as Ally Sheedy
- High Art as Lucy Berliner
- Sugar Town as Liz
- The Autumn Heart as Deborah
- Advice From A Caterpillar as Jan
- Happy Here And Now as Lois
- A Good Night To Die as Marie
- Shooting Livien as Brea Epling
- Day Zero as Dr. Reynolds
- The Junior Defenders as Jill Fields
- Steam as Laurie
- Harold as Maureen Reynolds
- Perestroika as Helen
- Life During Wartime as Helen Jordan
- Welcome to the Rileys as Harriet
- Sins Of Our Youth as Vicki
- Fugly as Stoddard
- Little Sister as Joani Lusnford
- X-Men: Apocalypse as Scott Summers' Teacher (the cameo)
Television roles
- St. Elsewhere as Diane (1 episode)
- Hill Street Blues as Kristen (3 episodes)
- Red Shoe Diaries as Karen (1 episode)
- The Outer Limits (1995) as Carter Jones (1 episode)
- Oz as Lisa Logan (1 episode)
- Once and Again as Miriam Rose Miller (1 episode)
- The Dead Zone as Kate Moore (1 episode)
- CSI as Shannon Turner (1 episode)
- Kyle XY as Sarah (4 episodes)
- Psych as Yang (4 episodes)
- SMILF as Fiona (1 episode)
- Single Drunk Female as Carol Fink
Books written:
Tropes associated with her work:
- Actor-Inspired Element:
- It was her suggestion to use the David Bowie quote from "Changes" at the start of The Breakfast Club. It was also her idea to have Allison put Cap'n'Crunch cereal in her sandwich, and that Claire would eat sushi for her lunch (the script said pasta salad).
- She recommended Judd Nelson for the part of Alec in St. Elmo's Fire.
- Actor-Shared Background: She struggled with an addiction to sleeping pills, and this helped inform her role in High Art, where her character develops a drug addiction.
- The Cameo: She appears as Scott Summers's teacher in X-Men: Apocalypse as a nod to the movie being set in The '80s and focusing on Younger and Hipper versions of the characters.
- Cast the Runner-Up: She lost out on the role of Kate in Home Alone, and was given a small role in Home Alone 2 as a woman at the airport.
- Costume Backlash: She has strong feelings about Alison's makeover in The Breakfast Club, and actually fought John Hughes over it, stating that she tried to at least make it more about Alison letting down walls rather than changing herself."I had come up with this thing about her black eye makeup and very pale skin so I thought, 'Could it be more that she's taking this mask off?' John did give me that and they didn't really put a whole bunch of makeup on me; it was more about revealing who Allison is. I wish it had been a little more of that and a little less of, 'Let's make her pretty.'"
- Creator Backlash: She "didn't particularly like" Blue City, agreeing to star in it because Michelle Manning was a friend from when she'd worked on The Breakfast Club and she ignored red flags throughout the Troubled Production.
- Dawson Casting: Alison Reynolds is a high schooler, but Ally was already 23 when she played her. The same year, she was playing a college graduate in St. Elmo's Fire.
- Friendship on the Set: She remained close with her cast members from The Breakfast Club, having bonded with them closely on set.
- I Am Not Pretty: She admitted that she was told her career was stalling because studio execs didn't find her pretty."I was told point-blank that my career was moving slowly because “nobody wants to fuck you.” There was something about me, sexually, that wasn’t selling."
- I Am Not Spock: She is best remembered as Alison Reynolds.
- Throw It In!: In the sex scene in St. Elmo's Fire, the shower door being pushed out of frame was a genuine accident that was left in, as was her laughing in response.
- What Could Have Been:
