CATCH A FALLING STAR
Hollywood can be an unforgiving place, but perseverance and patience can pay off,
as in the case of the talented Sela Ward.by Polly Vonetes
Sela Ward, star of ABC's popular series "Once And Again," stars in CBS' Sunday Night Movie, "Catch A Falling Star." The lighthearted romantic comedy also stars John Slattery, the multi-talented Jane Curtin, Rebecca Jenkins and Andrew Jackson.
The story revolves around a spoiled Hollywood mega star, Sydney Clarke (Ward), who wants a taste of reality and to be loved for who she really is. The question is, who is she? Is she the Sydney Clarke or Cheryl Belson, the down-to-earth Mississippi gal who loves swing dancing and chocolate fudge?
As Sydney shoots her latest film on location in a small New England town, the media is typically relentless about her impending wedding to Hollywood leading man Ryan Stern (Jackson). Then, when things go awry on the set, Sydney looks for solace only to find her fiancé in the arms of her stand-in. Frustrated, angry and humiliated, she storms into the nearby woods, where she gets lost.
She eventually finds herself stranded in a small mill town. There she decides to take anonymous refuge for a while, and in so doing discovers the true meaning of friendship and love. Torn between wanting a normal life and the all-consuming high profile career she's worked so hard for, Sydney soon finds that making decisions without a script and her personal manager, Fran Kavner (Curtin), is a complex, frightening, but ultimately empowering, experience.
Emmy-winner Sela Ward brings a wonderful combination of timeless beauty, talent, grace and humanity to every role she plays. She won the Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series in 1994 for her role as Teddy, the struggling artist and recovering alcoholic on "Sisters." She also won the hearts and devotion of many fans.
Born in Meridian, Mississippi on July 11, 1957, the southern beauty graduated from the University of Alabama and was a cheerleader for the Crimson Tide's football team when it was still coached by the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant. One day, she even got a chance to meet with the "Bear." "I had to go to his office," she recalled, "and he looked up at me and said, 'If I knew you were coming, I would have ordered some fried chicken.' To this day, that's a highlight of my college years."
After graduation, she headed to New York to a job that didn't pan out, so she turned to modeling in an effort to pay her rent. Thanks to the Screen Actors Guild strike, she was offered commercials. While her face became known, pronouncing her name, Sela, became a problem. "My name is from the Bible. It means hallelujah or Amen," she says, "and is pronounced See-lah." The name problem has since disappeared.
Today, at 42, she is basking in the limelight again as her ABC series climbs the rating charts. "At one point in my life, I thought my career was over. There is so much pressure in Hollywood not to reveal your real age. We are living in this youth-obsessed culture where the message we get is that our life is over at 40. And I resent that. I am happier now than I have ever been. I feel that my life is just beginning. I don't think I have ever been happier. I feel right. I feel yummy. I feel incredibly intelligent. I am comfortable with who I am and where I am at this point in my life."__Onsat.com (February 28, 2000)
