Sharon Lawrence has had a very steady career as a Hollywood actress since the early 1990s.
Her biggest hit was playing brilliant Assistant District Attorney Sylvia Costas on the cop show NYPD Blue.
The North Carolina native was on the series for six seasons from 1993 until 1999 as she costarred with Dennis Franz, who played her boyfriend Detective Andy Sipowicz.
In one of the show’s most shocking moments, her character was fatally shot in a courthouse leaving Sipowicz to raise their child alone.
She has also worked with Angie Harmon on Rizzoli & Isles, Katherine Heigl on Grey’s Anatomy and Ashton Kutcher on The Ranch.
The 64-year-old star made a rare appearance at the Gracie Awards this week as she managed to look incredibly youthful in an elegant black gown. See her now.
Sharon Lawrence has had a very steady career that began with playing Assistant District Attorney Sylvia Costas on the cop show NYPD Blue; seen in 1993
Lawrence, far left, with James McDaniel, Nicholas Turturro, Jimmy Smits,, Dennis Franz, Gail O’Grady and Gordon Clapp on NYPD Blue
After getting her journalism degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill she headed to New York City to star on Broadway in the 1987 revival of Cabaret.
Then she had a role on the classic Fiddler On The Roof.
Next she headed to Hollywood to appear on TV shows such as Cheers, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Star Trek: Voyager.
In 1993 she was cast as Costas on NYPD Blue which would be the job of a lifetime for her but exited the show in 1999 after her character was murdered.
The show went off the air in 2005.
Lawrence also had a role opposite Betty White and Alfred Molina on Ladies Man from 1999 to 2001 before landing a part on the supernatural drama Wolf Lake from 2001 to 2002.
She played the prostitute Maisy Gibbons opposite Teri Hatcher and Eva Longoria during season one of Desperate Housewives.
The North Carolina native was also a red carpet darling; seen left in 1994 and right in 1995
Lawrence during premiere of Copacabana in Las Vegas in 1995
She also appeared in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Boston Legal, Monk, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Mentalist and Body Of Proof.
Lawrence starred in the TV movie Atomic Twister as Corrine McGuire and popped up on Hidden Palms in 2008 then The Line in 2009.
Then she had a role as Izzie Stevens’ mother on Grey’s Anatomy in 2009. Stevens was played by Heigl.
The next year she played Sylvia Baker on One Tree Hill.
She also was the lead character’s mother in the comedy-drama Drop Dead Diva from 2009 to 2013 then came her part on Rizzoli & Isles. She was subsequently in The After and Mix.
In 2017, Lawrence starred in the short-lived comedy series Me, Myself and I.
Seen as prostitute Maisy Gibbons on Desperate Housewives; she was on the show for one season
She also played Izzie’s mother on Grey’s Anatomy; seen with Justin Chambers
Also in 2017, she had a recurring role as Dawn-Lyen Gardner’s character mother in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Queen Sugar and was on The Ranch.
From 2016 to 2019 she had a recurring role as a real estate mogul Margo Mierzejewski in Shameless with Emmy Rossum and William H Macy.
Lawrence popped up on the Dynasty redo and was Louise Garbeau in On Becoming A God In Central Florida in 2019.
In 2021, she appeared on Punky Brewster and Rebel then later worked on Joe Pickett.
As far as her love life, Lawrence married Tom Apostle in Los Angeles in 2002.
The star made a rare appearance at the Gracie Awards in Beverly Hills this week
The 64-year-old managed to look incredibly youthful in an elegant black gown
