Allene Damian "Ally" Walker (born August 25, 1961) is an American actress. She made her television debut in the NBC daytime soap opera Santa Barbara (1988) before landing the leading roles on the short-lived dramas True Blue (1989–1990), and Moon Over Miami (1993).
Walker was born in Tullahoma, Tennessee, to James Joseph Walker, a physicist, and Louhannah (née Mann) who would become an attorney.[1] She grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where her father worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Originally intending to become a scientist, she attended the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she earned a degree in biochemistry in 1983.[2][3] While spending a semester at Richmond College of Arts in London, UK, she discovered an interest in performing. After graduation, she worked for a time sequencing DNA at a genetic engineering company, but then sold all her possessions, traveled to Australia, surfed, and worked a series of jobs before returning to Los Angeles.[2] Although she planned to enter medical school, instead she became a model and obtained roles in commercials including as Clairol’s “Nice & Easy Girl”.[2] Her acting career began when she was cast in the film Aloha Summer (1988), but her scene was cut from the final version.[3][4][dead link]
Career
In early 1988, Walker joined the cast of NBC daytime soap opera Santa Barbara, playing Andrea Bedford.[3] Later that year, she began appearing on primetime television. During the 1989–90 television season, she played the female lead in the short-lived NBC crime drama series True Blue. She later guest-starred on Matlock, L.A. Law, and Tales from the Crypt. She starred in the 1991 NBC television movie Perry Mason and the Case of the Fatal Fashion as murderer Julia Collier; the devious daughter of Diana Muldaur's character. In 1993, she starred alongside Billy Campbell in the short-lived ABC comedy-drama, Moon Over Miami.[4][5]
In 2007, Walker starred in the HBO drama series about sexual relationships, Tell Me You Love Me.[19] The series was cancelled after a single season.[20] In 2009, she co-starred in films Toe to Toe and Wonderful World opposite Matthew Broderick. From 2008 to 2010, Walker had the recurring role as ATF Agent June Stahl, a major antagonist on the FX crime drama series Sons of Anarchy.[21]
In 2011, Walker played the leading role in the Lifetime police drama series The Protector, which revolves around a single mother who struggles to balance her family and professional life as an LAPD homicide detective.[22][23] The series was canceled after one season.[24] In 2014, she played the mother of Chyler Leigh's lead character in the short-lived NBC police procedural, Taxi Brooklyn.[25] She made her feature scripted film directing and writing debut with Sex, Death and Bowling starring Selma Blair.[26][27] In 2015, she was cast in the recurring roles in the Netflix crime drama Longmire,[28] and USA Network thriller, Colony.[29] Most recently she appeared as Captain Ava Lafrey in the short-lived Fox horror-comedy sitcom Ghosted (TV series) from 2017-2018.[30]
Personal life
On June 14, 1997, Walker married John Landgraf, then a producer for NBC, at her parents' home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The couple have three sons: Walker, Will, and Cal. She has a sister named Elizabeth and a brother named Jim.[31]
^ abcHermann, Paula (December 21, 2021). "Hollywood trailblazer: Ally Walker". UC Santa Cruz Newscenter. Regents of the University of California. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
