Brenda Lee Strong (March 25, 1960 in Portland, Oregon) is an American actress.
She is perhaps best known as posthumous narrator Mary Alice Young in Desperate Housewives. Before that, she was better known as the secondary character Sue Ellen Mischke in Seinfeld. She also played Ann Ewing in the short-lived revival of Dallas.
She was a Beauty Queen prior to her acting career, having won the Miss Arizona crown in 1980. Outside of her acting career, she's also a certified yoga instructor and fertility expert, and has taught at UCLA's Mind/Body Institute.
Not to be confused with Brenda Song.
Filmography:
Film
- Spaceballs (1987) as Nurse Gretchen
- Skin Deep (1989) as Real Estate Agent
- Malice (1993) as Claudia
- The Craft (1996) as Doctor
- Starship Troopers (1997) as Capt. Deladier
- Terror Tract (2000) as Dr. Helen Corey
- Red Dragon (2002) as Dinner Guest
- The Kid & I (2005) as Bonnie Roman
Television
- St. Elsewhere (1985) as Nadine Aurora
- Misfits of Science (1985) as Ms. Speedway
- Shadow Chasers (1985) as Angela Taylor
- MacGyver (1986) as Lila
- Cheers (1986) as Vicki (episode "The Cape Cad")
- Sledge Hammer! (1986) as Miss Hotchkins
- Dallas (1987, 2012-2014) as Cliff's One Night Stand / Ann Ewing
- Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988) as Rashella
- Midnight Caller (1989) as Kristen
- Matlock (1989) as Jan Sinclair
- Father Dowling Mysteries (1990) as Miss Cantrell/O'Grady
- Twin Peaks (1991) as Jones
- Blossom (1991-1992) as Diane
- Murphy Brown (1991, 1996) as Janine / Tara Baker
- Dark Justice (1992) as Jessica Sadler
- Herman's Head (1992-1993) as Dr. Holland
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1993) as Beatrice Kaufman
- Picket Fences (1993) as Sarah Evans
- ER (1994) as Sally Niemeyer
- The John Larroquette Show (1996) as Christine Taylor
- Party of Five (1996) as Kathleen Isley
- 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-1997) as Ms. Frost
- Seinfeld (1996-1997) as Sue Ellen Mischke
- Roar (1997) as Megan
- Sports Night (1998-2000) as Sally Sasser
- Safe Harbor (1999) as Marilyn Conray
- 7th Heaven (2000-2002) as Mrs. Carmen Mackoul
- Ally McBeal (2001) as Jerry Hill
- CSI (2001) as Dr. Leigh Sapien
- Gilmore Girls (2001) as Eva
- Dawson's Creek (2001) as Kay Liddell
- Malcolm in the Middle (2002) as Amelia
- Everwood (2002-2005) as Julia Brown
- Nip/Tuck (2003) as Iris
- Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) as Sgt. Dede Rake
- Desperate Housewives (2004-2012) as Mary Alice Young
- Curb Your Enthusiasm (2007) as Dr. Flomm
- Shark (2007) as Olivia Hartnell
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2008) as Kathy Jarrow
- Boston Legal (2008) as Judge Judy Beacon
- Rizzoli & Isles (2010) as Mel Gaynor-Randle
- Scandal (2012, 2014) as Joan Reston
- Bones (2015) as Senator Hayley Winters
- Chicago P.D. (2016) as Attorney Green
- The 100 (2016) as Queen Nia
- Fear the Walking Dead (2016-2017) as Ilene Stowe
- Supergirl (2015) (2016-) as Lillian Luthor
- 13 Reasons Why (2018-2020) as Nora Walker
- All Rise (2020) as Jean
Associated Tropes:
- Chronically Killed Actor: Her respective characters' demise are the Plot-Triggering Death for Everwood and Desperate Housewives.
- Iron Lady: Commonly plays authoritative female figures.
- Ms. Fanservice: She was Miss Arizona prior to her acting career, so a lot of her earlier roles emphasized her beauty (and her height).
- Narrator: For Desperate Housewives (Mary Alice's Posthumous Narration) and Blood Relatives.
- Statuesque Stunner: She stands 6 feet tall and is a former Beauty Queen, so this trope applies to virtually all her characters that doesn't necessitate Beauty Inversion.
- Those Two Actors: She and her future Desperate Housewives co-star Marcia Cross both starred in Everwood. Strong guest-starred in a few episodes while Cross was a steady cast-member from 2003-2004. They never were in the same episodes. They also both guest-starred in different episodes of Ally McBeal. They separately guest starred in back-to-back episodes of Seinfeld during Season 9. Cross appeared dating Jerry as life-saving dermatologist Dr. Sara Sitarides, and Strong in her recurring role as Sue Ellen "The Bra-less Wonder" Mischke.
- Typecasting: Commonly play Iron Lady and My Beloved Smother type of characters.
- You Look Familiar: She had a tendency to guest star in shows more than once, both times as different characters.
- Played a minor Girl of the Week for Cliff Barnes in a 1987 Dallas episode before being Recast as a Regular in the 2012 Sequel Series.
- Played Janine in a 1991 episode of Murphy Brown before guesting again in 1996 as Tara Baker.
- Played Cap. Deladier in Starship Troopers before playing Sgt. Dede Reke in Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation.
