Delta Burke
Encyclopedia
Delta Ramona Leah Burke (born July 30, 1956) is an American television and film actress. Her television work includes a leading role as Suzanne Sugarbaker in the CBS
sitcom Designing Women
. Also known for her role as Eve in the 2000 blockbuster What Women Want
, Burke has also starred in several made-for-TV movies and has had supporting roles in dozens of films and television shows.
to a single mother, Jean. Frederick Burke, an Orlando realtor, adopted her after marrying her mother; she has never met her biological father. She graduated from Colonial High School
in 1974, and won the senior superlative "Most Likely to Succeed."In 1972 she won the Miss Flame crown from the Orlando Fire Department and went on to become State Miss Flame. In her senior year of high school, she won the Miss Florida
title for 1974; she was the youngest Miss Florida titleholder in pageant history. She was subsequently paired with Miss Georgia
, Gail Nelson, in the 1975 Miss America
pageant. Burke won a talent scholarship
from the Miss America Organization, allowing her to attend a two-year study program at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
.
, filmed in Orlando Florida. She worked as the magical assistant to Herbert L. Becker
. The two worked together for 6 months.
In 1980, Burke portrayed the role of the second Bonnie Sue Chisholm in the CBS western
miniseries
, The Chisholms
. Her best-known role as Suzanne Sugarbaker in Designing Women was created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason
. Before Designing Women, Burke spent a year on Filthy Rich
in 1982 playing the wily young widow, Kathleen Beck. After that, she played female football team owner Diane Barrow on 1st & Ten
.
and other media outlets. She also said that castmate Dixie Carter
, who had once been her close friend and maid of honor at her wedding to Gerald McRaney
, wasn't speaking to her as she sided with her bosses. At the end of the fifth season of Designing Women, in 1991, she was let go from her contract due to her contentious relations with Carter and the Thomasons.
Burke became a blond for the short-lived TV sitcom Delta
(1992), where she played an aspiring country
singer. When the ratings plummeted, she became a brunette again. In 1995, she and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason reconciled their differences, and Burke returned as Suzanne Sugarbaker in Women of the House
(1995), but that show also met an early demise.
It took more than a decade for Burke and Carter to reconcile, but they did so when Burke guest-starred in an episode of Family Law
, on which Carter was a regular cast member.
, and eating disorder
s stretch back to her pageant days in the early 1970s. She became a much-parodied figure in the press due to her seesawing weight, including in a skit on Saturday Night Live
, wherein Leon Phelps from The Ladies Man
has a sexual fixation on her. In 1989, Burke asked Thomason to write an episode addressing her weight. The episode, "They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?", had Suzanne Sugarbaker going to her 15-year high school reunion and getting her feelings hurt after hearing disparaging remarks about her weight. Her performance on this episode is said to have led to her receiving her first Emmy nomination as Best Actress. She earned a second nomination the following year.
production of Steel Magnolias
, a role that required her to be more slender.
, titled Bridal Fever, which aired February 2, 2008.
Burke has been a leading actress in a number of television films and had a supporting role in the Mel Gibson
film What Women Want
(2000).
In the early 2000s, she co-starred with David Alan Grier
on the sitcom DAG
; she had lost much of her excess weight for the role after being diagnosed with diabetes. She had a recurring role on Popular
as Cherry Cherry.
She recently starred as Mrs. Meers in the Broadway musical Thoroughly Modern Millie
. She was succeeded in that role by her Designing Women
co-star Dixie Carter
.
She also played Bella Horowitz during a five-episode arc on Boston Legal
as a former flame of William Shatner
's character, Denny Crane, in season three.
since May 28, 1989. The couple have no children together, although McRaney has adult children from his prior marriages. Burke and McRaney's primary residence is in Los Angeles, California
; they also own a house in Telluride, Colorado
and one in New Orleans, Louisiana
.
Burke is diabetic.
Burke is a very successful designer and manager of the clothing company Delta Burke Design, headquartered in New York City
.
Burke and McRaney are also the owners of an antique store in Collins, Mississippi
.
, for which she received therapy. "At one time I had 27 storage units. I don't have a big enough house!" she said. "My mom had it, it's my mother's fault. She saved the diaper I came home from the hospital in!"
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
sitcom Designing Women
Designing Women
Designing Women is an American television sitcom that centered on the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993. The show was created by head writer...
. Also known for her role as Eve in the 2000 blockbuster What Women Want
What Women Want
What Women Want is a 2000 American romantic comedy film, directed by Nancy Meyers and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The movie was a box office success with a domestic gross of $182,811,707 and a worldwide gross of $374,111,707, against a budget of $70 million.-Plot:Nick Marshall, a Chicago...
, Burke has also starred in several made-for-TV movies and has had supporting roles in dozens of films and television shows.
Early life and Miss Florida
Burke was born in Orlando, FloridaOrlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
to a single mother, Jean. Frederick Burke, an Orlando realtor, adopted her after marrying her mother; she has never met her biological father. She graduated from Colonial High School
Colonial High School
Colonial High School is a high school located in Orlando, Florida. As of August 2008 the school serves over 3,500 students in grades 9 through 12, making it one of the largest schools in Florida. Colonial has one of the biggest production studios in Orange County, Florida, headed by Nathan Whaley....
in 1974, and won the senior superlative "Most Likely to Succeed."In 1972 she won the Miss Flame crown from the Orlando Fire Department and went on to become State Miss Flame. In her senior year of high school, she won the Miss Florida
Miss Florida
The Miss Florida competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Florida in the Miss America pageant. Florida has twice won the Miss America crown.-Winners:* Assumed the crown after Miss Florida won Miss America...
title for 1974; she was the youngest Miss Florida titleholder in pageant history. She was subsequently paired with Miss Georgia
Miss Georgia
The Miss Georgia competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Georgia in the Miss America pageant. Georgia has once won the Miss America crown.- Winners :- External links :*...
, Gail Nelson, in the 1975 Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
pageant. Burke won a talent scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
from the Miss America Organization, allowing her to attend a two-year study program at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art is a leading British drama school in west London. LAMDA's president is Timothy West and its new principal is Joanna Read, who recently succeeded Peter James...
.
Early career
In 1974, as part of winning Miss Florida, Burke appeared on the ABC TV show Bozo the ClownBozo the Clown
Bozo the Clown is a clown character very popular in the United States, peaking in the 1960s as a result of widespread franchising in early television.Originally created by Alan W...
, filmed in Orlando Florida. She worked as the magical assistant to Herbert L. Becker
Herbert L. Becker
Herbert Lawrence Becker is a magician and the inventor and patent/copyright holder for BOIP...
. The two worked together for 6 months.
In 1980, Burke portrayed the role of the second Bonnie Sue Chisholm in the CBS western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
, The Chisholms
The Chisholms
The Chisholms is a CBS western miniseries starring Robert Preston, which aired thirteen episodes from March 29, 1979, to April 19, 1979, and from January 19, 1980, to March 15, 1980. The 1979 episodes showed the family moving from Virginia to Wyoming...
. Her best-known role as Suzanne Sugarbaker in Designing Women was created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason
Linda Bloodworth-Thomason
Linda Bloodworth-Thomason is an American writer and television producer....
. Before Designing Women, Burke spent a year on Filthy Rich
Filthy Rich (1982 TV series)
Filthy Rich is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from August 1982 to July 1983. Starring Dixie Carter and Delta Burke, the series satirized prime-time soap operas such as Dallas and Dynasty.-Plot:...
in 1982 playing the wily young widow, Kathleen Beck. After that, she played female football team owner Diane Barrow on 1st & Ten
1st & Ten (TV series)
1st & Ten is an American situation comedy that aired between December 1984 and January 1991 on the cable television network HBO. Featuring series regulars Delta Burke and veteran Reid Shelton, it was one of cable's first attempts to lure the lucrative sit-com audience away from the "Big Three", by...
.
Designing Women fallout
Burke was slender when she started on Designing Women in 1986, but as the show gained in fame, she gained weight. She earned two consecutive "Best Actress" nominations from the Emmys in 1990 and 1991, the only lead cast member to do so. In 1990, Burke publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the show's creators on a televised interview with Barbara WaltersBarbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
and other media outlets. She also said that castmate Dixie Carter
Dixie Carter
Dixie Virginia Carter was an American film, television and stage actress, best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker in the CBS sitcom Designing Women...
, who had once been her close friend and maid of honor at her wedding to Gerald McRaney
Gerald McRaney
Gerald Lee "Mac" McRaney is an American television and movie actor. McRaney is best known as one of the stars of the television shows Simon & Simon, Major Dad, and Promised Land. He was a series regular for the first season of Jericho.-Early life:McRaney was born in Collins, Mississippi, the son...
, wasn't speaking to her as she sided with her bosses. At the end of the fifth season of Designing Women, in 1991, she was let go from her contract due to her contentious relations with Carter and the Thomasons.
Burke became a blond for the short-lived TV sitcom Delta
Delta (TV series)
Delta is a short-lived U.S television sitcom series produced by ABC starring Delta Burke. Burke plays a woman who leaves her life behind to pursue her dream as a country music singer...
(1992), where she played an aspiring country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer. When the ratings plummeted, she became a brunette again. In 1995, she and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason reconciled their differences, and Burke returned as Suzanne Sugarbaker in Women of the House
Women of the House
Women of the House is an American situation comedy television series. It is a spin-off of Designing Women and stars Delta Burke, who had reconciled with producers after a bitter, highly publicized, off-screen battle.- Premise :...
(1995), but that show also met an early demise.
It took more than a decade for Burke and Carter to reconcile, but they did so when Burke guest-starred in an episode of Family Law
Family Law (TV series)
Family Law is a television drama starring Kathleen Quinlan as divorced lawyer Lynn Holt, who attempted to start her own law firm after her lawyer husband took all their old clients...
, on which Carter was a regular cast member.
Weight gain
Since the early 1990s, Burke's weight has been a subject of discussion in the tabloid press. Her struggles with weight, depressionClinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
, and eating disorder
Eating disorder
Eating disorders refer to a group of conditions defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual's physical and mental health. Bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are the most common specific...
s stretch back to her pageant days in the early 1970s. She became a much-parodied figure in the press due to her seesawing weight, including in a skit on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, wherein Leon Phelps from The Ladies Man
The Ladies Man (2000 film)
The Ladies Man is a 2000 American comedy film that stars actor, comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member Tim Meadows. It was directed by Reginald Hudlin. The movie focuses on the exploits of radio host and sex therapy expert Leon Phelps....
has a sexual fixation on her. In 1989, Burke asked Thomason to write an episode addressing her weight. The episode, "They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?", had Suzanne Sugarbaker going to her 15-year high school reunion and getting her feelings hurt after hearing disparaging remarks about her weight. Her performance on this episode is said to have led to her receiving her first Emmy nomination as Best Actress. She earned a second nomination the following year.
Recent weight loss
Burke later lost about 60 pounds, spurred by her nearly 10-year battle with type-2 diabetes. She says she plans to keep on losing weight to remain healthy, as well as to improve her prospects for playing "Truvy" in the BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of Steel Magnolias
Steel Magnolias
Steel Magnolias is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross that stars Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah and Julia Roberts....
, a role that required her to be more slender.
Recent career
Burke has most recently appeared in a film for Hallmark ChannelHallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...
, titled Bridal Fever, which aired February 2, 2008.
Burke has been a leading actress in a number of television films and had a supporting role in the Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
film What Women Want
What Women Want
What Women Want is a 2000 American romantic comedy film, directed by Nancy Meyers and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The movie was a box office success with a domestic gross of $182,811,707 and a worldwide gross of $374,111,707, against a budget of $70 million.-Plot:Nick Marshall, a Chicago...
(2000).
In the early 2000s, she co-starred with David Alan Grier
David Alan Grier
David Alan Grier , also known as "D.A.G." , is an American actor and comedian known for his work on the sketch comedy television show In Living Color.-Early life:...
on the sitcom DAG
DAG (TV series)
DAG is an American sitcom that aired from November 2000 to May 2001 on NBC. It was named after its star, David Alan Grier, who stars as United States Secret Service agent Jerome Daggett. Daggett's name, in turn, is a back-formation...
; she had lost much of her excess weight for the role after being diagnosed with diabetes. She had a recurring role on Popular
Popular (TV series)
Popular is an American teenage comedy-drama on The WB Television Network in the United States, created by Ryan Murphy and Gina Matthews, starring Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope as two teenage girls that reside on polar opposite sides of the popularity spectrum at their high school, but are forced to...
as Cherry Cherry.
She recently starred as Mrs. Meers in the Broadway musical Thoroughly Modern Millie
Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical)
Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Richard Morris and Scanlan. Based on the 1967 film of the same name, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for...
. She was succeeded in that role by her Designing Women
Designing Women
Designing Women is an American television sitcom that centered on the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993. The show was created by head writer...
co-star Dixie Carter
Dixie Carter
Dixie Virginia Carter was an American film, television and stage actress, best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker in the CBS sitcom Designing Women...
.
She also played Bella Horowitz during a five-episode arc on Boston Legal
Boston Legal
Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
as a former flame of William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
's character, Denny Crane, in season three.
Personal life
Burke has been married to actor Gerald McRaneyGerald McRaney
Gerald Lee "Mac" McRaney is an American television and movie actor. McRaney is best known as one of the stars of the television shows Simon & Simon, Major Dad, and Promised Land. He was a series regular for the first season of Jericho.-Early life:McRaney was born in Collins, Mississippi, the son...
since May 28, 1989. The couple have no children together, although McRaney has adult children from his prior marriages. Burke and McRaney's primary residence is in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
; they also own a house in Telluride, Colorado
Telluride, Colorado
The town of Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains...
and one in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
.
Burke is diabetic.
Burke is a very successful designer and manager of the clothing company Delta Burke Design, headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Burke and McRaney are also the owners of an antique store in Collins, Mississippi
Collins, Mississippi
Collins is a city in Covington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 2,761 at the 2005 census. It is the county seat of Covington County....
.
Miscellaneous
Burke has compulsive hoarding syndromeCompulsive hoarding
Compulsive hoarding is the acquisition of possessions in excess of socially normative amounts, even if the items are worthless, hazardous, or unsanitary...
, for which she received therapy. "At one time I had 27 storage units. I don't have a big enough house!" she said. "My mom had it, it's my mother's fault. She saved the diaper I came home from the hospital in!"
Filmography
- Drop Dead DivaDrop Dead DivaDrop Dead Diva is an American legal comedy-drama/fantasy television series that debuted on Lifetime on July 12, 2009. The hour-long series, which was created by Josh Berman, is produced by Sony Pictures Television...
(2009) - Southern Baptist Sissies (2007) (post production)
- Good Boy!Good Boy!Good Boy! is a 2003 film produced by Jim Henson Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, starring talking alien dogs. The film stars Liam Aiken as Owen Baker, as well as Matthew Broderick, Delta Burke, Donald Faison, Cheech Marin, Brittany Murphy, Vanessa Redgrave, and Carl Reiner were the voice cast for...
(2003) - Going for Broke (2003)
- Hansel and GretelHansel and Gretel"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
(2002) - Dangerous ChildDangerous ChildDangerous Child is a 2001 made-for-TV movie starring Delta Burke and Ryan Merriman. Merriman won a Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a TV Movie or Special - Leading Young Actor" for his role in the film...
(2001) - Sordid LivesSordid LivesSordid Lives was a 2000 independent film, written and directed by Del Shores. The movie is based on Shores' play of the same name and includes elements of his life, according to the director's DVD commentary...
(2001) - What Women WantWhat Women WantWhat Women Want is a 2000 American romantic comedy film, directed by Nancy Meyers and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The movie was a box office success with a domestic gross of $182,811,707 and a worldwide gross of $374,111,707, against a budget of $70 million.-Plot:Nick Marshall, a Chicago...
(2000) - Popular (TV series)Popular (TV series)Popular is an American teenage comedy-drama on The WB Television Network in the United States, created by Ryan Murphy and Gina Matthews, starring Leslie Bibb and Carly Pope as two teenage girls that reside on polar opposite sides of the popularity spectrum at their high school, but are forced to...
(1999) - Melanie Darrow (1997)
- A Promise To Carolyn (1996)
- Maternal Instincts (1996)
- Women of the HouseWomen of the HouseWomen of the House is an American situation comedy television series. It is a spin-off of Designing Women and stars Delta Burke, who had reconciled with producers after a bitter, highly publicized, off-screen battle.- Premise :...
(1995) - DeltaDelta (TV series)Delta is a short-lived U.S television sitcom series produced by ABC starring Delta Burke. Burke plays a woman who leaves her life behind to pursue her dream as a country music singer...
(1992) - Where The Hells' That Gold? (1988)
- Designing WomenDesigning WomenDesigning Women is an American television sitcom that centered on the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993. The show was created by head writer...
(1986) - 1st & Ten (1984)
- Murder Me, Murder YouMurder Me, Murder YouMurder Me, Murder You is a made-for-TV movie starring Stacy Keach as Mickey Spillane's iconic hard-boiled private detective, Mike Hammer. The movie marks the first time the fictitious gumshoe would be portrayed on the small-screen since Darren McGavin played the part in the black-and-white version...
(1983) - Filthy Rich (1982)
- RoosterRooster (TV film)Rooster is a 1982 made-for-TV film, starring Paul Williams and Pat McCormick. Rooster is an unsold television pilot written and produced by Glen Larson for 20th Century Fox Television and broadcast as a two hour movie on the ABC Television Network in 1982....
(1982)
Nonfiction
- Delta Style: Eve Wasn't a Size 6 and Neither am I (1998, St. Martin's Press ;ISBN 0-312-15454-2 )