Bio
Dana Delany is an American actress best known for her starring television roles as Colleen McMurphy on China Beach (1988-1991) and as Katherine Mayfair on Desperate Housewives, from 2007-2010.
She also starred as Medical Examiner Megan Hunt on the medical drama television series Body of Proof, from 2011-2013.
Delany made her mark as Army nurse Colleen McMurphy on the critically acclaimed series, for which she received four Emmy Award nominations and two wins for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series.
A native of Stamford, Connecticut, Delany caught the acting bug early. Following her graduation from Wesleyan University, she went to New York where she honed her skills in theatre.
She starred in the Broadway show A Life and received critical acclaim in a number of off-Broadway productions.
Her starring role in Nicholas Kazan's Bloodmoon in New York led her to relocate to Los Angeles for the West Coast production of the controversial drama, where she opted to stay after the run of the play.
Delany was soon cast in many popular television shows including Moonlighting and Magnum, P.I.
After her breakout role on China Beach, Delany went on to star in the numerous feature films including HouseSitter (1992); Tombstone (1993); Exit to Eden (1994); Live Nude Girls (1995); and Getting to Know You (2005).
Delany's other television credits include the miniseries Wild Palms and True Women, the television movies Resurrection and The Patron Saint of Liars (both of which were directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal), and the critically acclaimed and highly rated For Hope, directed by Bob Saget in which Delany played a woman (Saget's real-life sister) suffering from scleroderma.
Delany also starred in Lifetime's Choices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story. She also was the voice of Lois Lane on the animated series Justice League: Unlimited.
In other series television, Delany also starred in the primetime soap Pasadena and the medical drama Presidio Med. In addition, she received her fifth Emmy Award nomination for her performance in Family Law, a part written for her by Oscar winner Paul Haggis (she and Haggis worked together on her first series Sweet Surrender).
Delany has had recurring roles in numerous other television series, including Magnum, P.I.; Wing Commander Academy); Superman (voice); Kojak; and Related.
She has had guest appearances on shows such as Moonlighting; thirtysomething; Cheers; Fallen Angels; Spy Game; Family Law; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; The L Word; and Battlestar Galactica.
Returning to her theatre roots in 2000, Delany completed a tour-de-force performance in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Dinner with Friends, alternating roles in New York, Los Angeles and Boston.
She followed that with a starring role in Much Ado About Nothing opposite Billy Campbell at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.
Delany also co-starred with Stanley Tucci in the film Spin directed by Jamie Redford and can be seen in the film Drunkboat with John Malkovich.
In 2006 she had a starring role in the television drama Kidnapped as Ellie Cain, the moneyed wife and mother to kidnapped teenager Leopold Cain.