Kim Delaney is disturbed when kids recognize her as a star of NYPD Blue. Given its raw language, gruesome crimes and explicit love scenes, Delaney says the police drama unquestionably deserves its red-flag TV-14 rating (may be inappropriate for children under 14).
Still, she knows NYPD Blue has loyal underage viewers. Recently, when Delaney volunteered to help serve meals to the needy in Los Angeles, "all these little kids were saying they watched the show. I said, 'What are you doing up [at 10 p.m.]? You're not supposed to know who I am!' They just shrugged." As the mother of a 7-year-old, Delaney, 33, believes that "parents should be watching what children watch."
Last year Delaney won the best supporting actress Emmy for her Blue role as a detective who is a recovering alcoholic and incest victim. A former teen model who appeared on the cover of magazines like Glamour and Redbook, she now is a Revlon spokeswoman.
Delaney got her start as an actress in 1981 playing virginal Jenny Gardner on All My Children. It took four years and a wedding ring before she had a bedroom scene. When she joined Blue in 1995, as the love interest of detective Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits), she had a sex scene in her first episode.
Her character recently learned she was pregnant, but Delaney can't confirm there will be a baby. "It's not going to be marital bliss," she says. Offscreen, the actress is engaged to television producer Alan Barnette. It will be her third marriage.
Delaney often picks up son Jack after school and brings him to the NYPD Blue set. But Jack (born to Delaney and her second husband) doesn't watch her love scenes or wander around staged crime scenes. He stays with a nanny in his mom's trailer, doing homework or watching kids' videos. And on Tuesday nights, when other children watch Blue, he knows: It's past his bedtime.
Why women should feel comfortable in "the boys' club": Having four brothers, Delaney feels at home in "the boys' club" of NYPD Blue actors and crew. "I know how guys talk, so I'm not easily offended. And guys can fight and be best friends five minutes later. Women have to air it out, hold on to it, work on it."
To catch up on soaps: "Go online and ask what's happening," says the former soap opera star. "Someone will answer you."
On unions: "I was raised with the very democratic ideal of taking care of the working person."
To lose a Philly accent:
"You have to open your mouth and pronounce every syllable," says this Philadelphia native, who finessed her speech by reading newspapers aloud. "The bottom lip doesn't move as much in a Philly accent."