Born and raised in Big Spring, Texas

Won the Miss Texas title

Competed in the Miss America Pageant

Worked for a year as a reporter for the Fort Worth Press

Stage acting debut in a musical, "1776"

Made London stage debut in "Promises, Promises"

TV debut in PBS production of "The Devil's Work"

Feature film debut as the gym teacher in "Carrie"

Had featured role in the busted NBC pilot "The Rubber Gun Squad"

TV series debut as regular, "Eight Is Enough"; played stepmother Abby Bradford on the ABC series

Was uncredited singer on the soundtrack to Milos Forman's "Hair"

Appeared in first network TV-movie "The Ordeal of Bill Carney"

Cast in "Cats", sang the song "Memory" which became her signature song; won Tony Award as Featured Actress in a Musical

First lead in a feature, "Tender Mercies"

TV debut in a miniseries, "Evergreen"

Had the title role in Rupert Holmes' award-winning musical "The Mystery of Edwin Drood"

Replaced Bernadette Peters in the lead role as Emma in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "Song & Dance"

Starred as Margaret White, the mother of the title character, in the ill-fated musical adaptation of "Carrie"

Co-starred as Harrison Ford's wife in Roman Polanski's "Frantic"

Appeared as Norma Desmond in Lloyd Webber's stage musical "Sunset Boulevard"; first played the role in London and later on Broadway

Played the matriarch of the Earp family in Lawrence Kasdan's "Wyatt Earp"

Made concert debut at Carnegie Hall (June 10)

Filmed cameo role in Robert Redford's "The Horse Whisperers"; part cut from final release

Returned to Broadway in "Triumph of Love"; show closed after a short run; received Best Actress in a Musical Tony nomination

Starred as Mama Rose in "Gypsy" at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey

Had supporting role as Sarah Michelle Gellar's aunt in the feature "Simply Irresistible"

Made rare non-singing stage appearance in the Off-Broadway production of Nicky Silver's "The Eros Trilogy"

Had recurring role on the HBO drama "Oz" as the birth mother of prisoner Ryan O'Reilly

Appeared in the Sundance-screened independent feature "Noon Blue Apples"

Acted in the play "Buffalo Gal" in its premiere in Buffalo