5 Heather Locklear TV Roles You May Have Forgotten — Plus Where to See Her Soon
Heather Locklear turns 65 on September 25. For many TV fans, you may remember her as Sammy Jo on Dynasty, Officer Stacy Sheridan on T.J. Hooker or Amanda Woodward on Melrose Place. She even guest-starred on her past costar’s William Shatner’s show Boston Legal and Charlie Sheen‘s Two and a Half Men.
Her career also includes a Stephen King adaptation, a monster-movie romance, and a sitcom that lasted just one season. To celebrate her birthday, here are five roles you may have forgotten she played.
Heather in Return of the Beverly Hillbillies (1981)
One of Locklear’s early credits put her in a movie with Jed Clampett and Elly May. She had a small role as a character named Heather in this television reunion, which brought Buddy Ebsen, Donna Douglas and Nancy Kulp back to their familiar parts.
The story follows Miss Jane as she works for the federal government and tries to solve the energy crisis with help from the Clampetts and Granny’s moonshine recipe. Locklear appeared in the movie the same year she began playing Sammy Jo on Dynasty.
Vicky McGee in Firestarter (1984)
Universal Pictures/Everett Collection
Drew Barrymore is the face most people remember from Firestarter, but Locklear played her mother, Vicky McGee. David Keith played her husband, Andy, in the adaptation of Stephen King’s novel about a little girl who can start fires with her mind. The parents’ participation in a government experiment helps explain their daughter’s dangerous abilities.
The movie marked Locklear’s feature-film debut, while she also appeared on Dynasty and T.J. Hooker. Decades later, she and Barrymore revisited the film during a 2021 interview on The Drew Barrymore Show.
Abby Arcane in The Return of Swamp Thing (1989)
Millimeter Films/Everett Collection
Locklear played Abby Arcane, a florist who travels to Florida to question her stepfather about her mother’s mysterious death. Her stepfather is Dr. Anton Arcane, played by Louis Jourdan, a scientist whose experiments combine human and animal DNA in pursuit of immortality.
Abby finds an ally and a love interest in Swamp Thing, played by Dick Durock. The movie followed the original Swamp Thing from 1982, with Durock and Jourdan returning to their roles. It also gave Locklear her first leading role in a theatrical feature, according to the American Film Institute. Locklear told a panel at ’90s Con in 2024 about the role, “I was very embarrassed the whole time, because I had to be in love with this stuntman with all this green stuff on, and dripping, and then sweating … it was just weird. It was a weird thing.”
Alex Burton in Going Places (1990-91)
Lorimar Television / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Between Dynasty and Melrose Place, Locklear joined the cast of Going Places. She played Alex Burton, one of four comedy writers who work together and share a house in Los Angeles. They write for Here’s Looking at You, a hidden-camera television show.
Alan Ruck, Jerry Levine and Hallie Todd played the other writers, with Holland Taylor appearing as their producer. Ruck was already familiar to movie fans as Cameron in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Despite the recognizable cast and a spot in ABC’s TGIF lineup, Going Places lasted only one season.
Grace Cipriani in Money Talks (1997)
New Line Cinema/Everett Collection
Locklear and Charlie Sheen worked together before they shared the screen on Spin City. In Money Talks, she played Grace Cipriani, the fiancée of Sheen’s television reporter, James Russell. His wedding plans get complicated when he becomes involved with Franklin Hatchett, a fugitive played by Chris Tucker.
Paul Sorvino and Veronica Cartwright played Grace’s parents, who meet Franklin when James brings him to the wedding rehearsal dinner. The film arrived during Locklear’s run as Amanda on Melrose Place. She and Sheen later reunited on Spin City, where she played campaign manager Caitlin Moore and he played deputy mayor Charlie Crawford.
According to IMDb, it doesn’t look like she has any upcoming projects, but she has recently been romantically linked with fellow soap star and longtime friend of 40 years, Lorenzo Lamas. She recently told TMZ that it is exactly the right time for them to be together. If you’d like to meet the Melrose star, she and Lorenzo will attend the Hollywood Show for its triumphant return to the Midwest in Chicago alongside the Chicago Sports Spectacular November 20-22.
What other obscure roles would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments!
Remind 
February 2021
1990s Rom-Coms
Pop some popcorn and cozy up to feel-good movies and TV shows from a generation ago.
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