Tragic Details About Cybill Shepherd
Back in the day, Cybill Shepherd was a force to be reckoned with. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1950, the young star managed to climb her way up the ladder to Hollywood over the years. From her first glimpse of the spotlight as Miss Teenage Memphis and winner of a Model of the Year contest in the late '60s to her breakout role alongside Jeff Bridges in 1971's "The Last Picture Show," which introduced the world to the blonde up-and-comer. It was clear early on Shepherd was made for stardom.
The actor nabbed role after role throughout the '70s and '80s, even landing her own sitcom "Cybill" in the '90s. But as the years have gone on, Shepherd has made fewer public appearances, leaving people wondering whatever happened to her.
Although Shepherd is still working, she has experienced a string of health issues and other unfortunate circumstances in more recent years. Plus, there's been some harsh criticism of her early work, difficult periods of heartbreak, and even a near-death experience that she's had to overcome.
Cybill Shepherd faced criticism for her work early on
Still in her early 20's, Cybill Shepherd had already appeared in a handful of films by the time she was cast in the musical rom-com "At Long Last Love" in 1975. The film, which stars Bert Reynolds, focused on socialite friends who decide to swap dates in order to make each other jealous. Unfortunately, the movie wasn't received well (as of this writing, it holds a 22% on Rotten Tomatoes) and Shepherd received the brunt of the criticism.
In speaking with RogerEbert.com in 2013, the actor explained, "['At Long Last Love'] was reviewed so harshly, me in particular. One critic said, 'Cybill Shepherd can't walk or talk, much less sing.' (Former 'Today' Show) film critic Gene Shalit held up a sign that said, 'Bomb.' Another wrote that I had all the charm of a hamster. That was pretty vicious." Understandably, these remarks stuck with Shepherd, but she's maintained that her singing wasn't worthy of criticism.
In the biography section of her website, Cybill.com, the actor referenced the critic who had deprecated her walking, talking, and singing. "He was right about the walking and talking part," she wrote, "but I actually sang pretty well considering it was all done live without overdubs."
An affair early in her career marred her reputation
During her RogerEbert.com interview, Cybill Shepherd suggested that the criticism for "At Long Last Love" was largely influenced by her scandalous relationship with writer and director Peter Bogdanovich. "We said that being married was not as sexy as not being married and that was really hated," she joked. However, it probably wasn't just the silly remarks that had the public up in arms over their relationship — it may have been the fact that their love story began with Shepherd as the other woman.
Her first film, "The Last Picture Show," was directed by Bogdanovich and he and Shepherd quickly fell for one another on set — despite the fact that Bogdanovich's wife was working as the production designer on the movie and Shepherd had been dating her co-star, Jeff Bridges. In a January 2022 interview with Vulture, Bogdanovich explained that his wife was aware of the affair, saying, "She thought it would be over when the movie was over. I did too, so did Cybill. But when we got back to our lives, we just couldn't stop seeing each other." Although he left his wife for Shepherd, the Hollywood romance only lasted a few years because, as he admitted to Vulture, he cheated on Shepherd, too.
Today an affair between an actor and a director may not mark the end of a career, but the press was less forgiving 50 years ago. In October 1986, Rolling Stone wrote that Shepherd had been "virtually blacklisted" from Hollywood.
She left Hollywood and moved back home in 1978
The City of Angels hadn't been all Cybill Shepherd thought it would be, and with the scandals and drama surrounding the young actor, she'd had enough of it. In the midst of it all, she reached out to her mother, which she detailed in her 2000 memoir "Cybill Disobedience." Shepherd wrote, "Like a wounded animal, I called my mother, who listened, mostly silent, as I poured out my unhappiness. I heard my voice rise and soften like a little girl through sniffles and sobs. Finally my mother spoke, strong and reassuring. 'Cybill,' she said, 'come home.'"
Shepherd did just that, returning to Memphis in 1978 and leaving the glamor and dissatisfaction of Hollywood behind. There, she fell in love with auto parts dealer David Ford and the two married eight months later, in November of that year. The couple had a daughter in June 1979, whom they named Clementine after Shepherd's favorite film "My Darling Clementine." Clementine would later grow up to become an actor herself.
The slower pace of life left in Tennessee left the "Taxi Driver" actor unfulfilled, and it didn't take long before she returned to Hollywood to take another crack at a career in the limelight.
Cybill Shepherd struggled with her return to Hollywood
By 1982, Cybill Shepherd was ready to give her acting career another shot, but it wasn't as simple as relocating and picking up where she left off. As Shepherd revealed in a November 1985 interview with People, the actor's former agent issued her a reality check: "Cybill, you've been in Memphis for four years. You might as well be dead." But, she wasn't willing to give up quite that easily. Shepherd booked a couple of TV spots before landing a recurring role on "The Yellow Rose."
The actor continued, saying, "The show went by the wayside, but I didn't. I looked great. I had confidence. For the first time people in the business saw that I was standing on my own two feet, and I was no longer Peter Bogdanovich's girlfriend." Shepherd had made an astonishing comeback and suddenly she was receiving astonishing reviews, as well.
According to an October 1986 article by Rolling Stone, "A little less than a decade ago, a Hollywood writer concluded Shepherd had come to be viewed in that town as 'a no-talent dame with nice boobs and a toothpaste smile and all the star quality of a dead hamster.' These days she's being hailed as the new Carole Lombard." Shepherd was finally able to leave her unsavory introductory years in the industry behind. She landed her starring role in "Moonlighting" in 1985 and went on to star in several movies before securing her own sitcom in 1995.
Both of her marriages ended in divorce
Cybill Shepherd's hiatus in Memphis resulted in a husband and her first child, but after four years of marriage, her and David Ford's relationship fizzled out. "I didn't want to be married anymore," she said in her 1985 People interview. "I drove him crazy," she added. Their divorce was finalized in 1982, with Shepherd receiving custody of Clementine and Ford being granted $15,000 in the settlement.
The actor had been unlucky in love more than once at this point, but she didn't give up hope. While working on ABC's "Moonlighting," Shepherd developed headaches and stiffness in her back that resulted in her scheduling an appointment with a chiropractor. Little did she know that the man performing her adjustments, Dr. Bruce Oppenheimer, would become her second husband. They were married in March 1987 and announced around the same time that they would be having twins. Ariel and Zachariah were born that October, and they became a family of five — until Shepherd and Oppenheim divorced just two years later.
In her memoir, "Cybill Disobedience," Shepherd explained that watching her parents argue as a child taught her little about arguing in a productive way. "I had no sense of two people being able to negotiate conflict and come to a reasonable compromise. Operating under a veil of exhaustion and frustration from work, I gave up on my marriage."
She developed health issues while pregnant
Many actors have had to hide their pregnancies while filming shows and movies — perhaps most notably Julia Louis-Dreyfus in "Seinfeld." Usually, this is because their character's pregnancy wouldn't work as part of the plot, though there have been some productions that utilized their actor's pregnancies. Unfortunately, Cybill Shepherd found herself fighting with the showrunners of "Moonlighting" when she became pregnant with twins, impacting the outcome of her character during Season 4. "My pregnancy further widened the chasm between me and the producers, who reacted as if the news was a thoughtless inconvenience," she wrote in her memoir.
In addition to the tension between her and the producers, Shepherd had health issues arise that prevented her from filming. "Despite the fact that I developed gestational diabetes and was forbidden to work during my last trimester, I occasionally went to the studio against doctor's orders. ... I had doctor appointments every few days to ensure that the twins, whose welfare was compromised by the diabetes, were healthy and developing on schedule," she added in her book. Luckily for her co-star Bruce Willis, the break in filming allowed him to accept his role in "Die Hard," making him a household name.
Cybill Shepherd was painted as a diva by the male-dominated set of Moonlighting
Cybil Shepherd's pregnancy was far from the only issue that arose between herself and producers while filming "Moonlighting." While today celebrities are more likely to speak publicly about sexism in Hollywood, that wasn't the case in the '80s.
Decades after "Moonlighting," Shepherd's co-star Curtis Armstrong pointed out in his book "Revenge of the Nerd" how unfairly Shepherd had been treated on set. She had apparently been labeled a diva. "Cybill, they said, was always a b***h. But Bruce, he was one of us, whoever the 'us' was they were referring to," Armstrong wrote. He also referred to the set as having a "boy's club" atmosphere, which made filming even more disastrous when Shepherd and Willis had a falling out.
Despite some of her unfortunate experiences filming the show, Shepherd still looks back on this time fondly. "Moonlighting" was undeniably a smash success, and in October 2023, she told the New York Post about what made it so. "We broke all the walls. There wasn't a wall that we left unbroken. It was just an extraordinary combination of the right casting and a brilliant creator," she explained.
Her show was canceled after she rejected the CEO of CBS
"Moonlighting" was canceled after Season 5 in 1989 when ratings dropped dramatically. Despite portraying Maddie Haynes for over 60 episodes, Cybill Shepherd moved on easily and continued booking roles without a hitch. She starred in about a dozen more projects before she secured her aptly named CBS sitcom "Cybill," in which she played a twice-divorced struggling actor living in Los Angeles. Shepherd was back on top in the world of television, and her performance won her a third and fourth Golden Globe.
Unfortunately, "Cybill" only ran for four seasons, with CBS pulling the plug in 1998 for potentially nefarious reasons. In December 2018, Shepherd revealed on "The Michelle Collins Show" that her sitcom was canceled shortly after she declined the advances of CBS CEO Les Moonves. "My show could've run for another five years, but I didn't fall on the right side of Les," she explained. Shepherd went on to say that her and Moonves' assistants arranged a dinner date between the two, and that's when he came on to her.
"He was telling me his wife didn't turn him on, that some mistress didn't turn him on, and I'm watching him drink alcohol. And ... he says, 'Well, you know, why don't you let me take you home?'" Shepherd declined the ride, and shortly after, "Cybill" was scrapped. Moonves was fired from CBS for his sexual misconduct against multiple women just a couple months before Shepherd told her story.
She was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer
Cybill Shepherd has had more than her fair share of health issues arise over the years, including a cancer diagnosis in 2002. Trying to get ahead of the rumor mill, the actor's representative told The Star in August of that year, "[Shepherd] had a benign growth removed from her back seven months ago — that's all" (via New York Post). However, it was reported that she had been diagnosed with melanoma, the most fatal form of skin cancer, and had to receive plastic surgery for the unsightly scar the procedure left. She was required to keep up with regular appointments to prevent a recurrence.
Shepherd's mom Patty Micci told The Star around this time that skin cancer runs in their family. She explained, "When Cybill was young, she went out in the sun a lot. We lived near a lake, and she used to bake in the sun on a dock, applying lots of suntan oil. Back then, we had no idea just how damaging the sun's rays could be, so we encouraged our kids to sunbathe."
Two years later, Shepherd clarified her diagnosis when speaking to the Irish Examiner. "I had a rare form of skin cancer called dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans," she said. However, she revealed that she would be celebrating being three years cancer free come January 2005.
Cybill Shepherd suffered with IBS symptoms for years without knowing what it was
Between 10% to 20% of American adults are believed to suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), according to Yale Medicine. Sadly, it isn't always easy to diagnose, and Cybill Shepherd dealt with symptoms, including chronic constipation, bloating, and discomfort, for years before she learned what her condition was.
In speaking with HealthDay during an October 2004 interview, the actor said, "I kept it a secret because I didn't want it to interfere with my work — and I made sure it didn't interfere with my work. ... All the doctors told me that it was in my mind — a psychological or emotional thing." It wasn't until six months prior to this interview that Shepherd switched to a new doctor, who determined she had IBS with constipation. Shepherd began taking medication for her condition, which she claimed helped with her symptoms.
Since then, she fearlessly become an advocate for women dealing with this syndrome, as millions are believed to suffer from it yet most are undiagnosed. Shepherd also encouraged the public to see their doctors if they were experiencing symptoms. Shepherd continued, saying IBS is "one of those unmentionables. Even to say 'constipation,' it's embarrassing. But I've long worked at being an advocate for women's health."
She had a near-death experience
Back in 2004, Cybill Shepherd endured yet another tragic experience that made a huge impact on her life. While she's never revealed the full circumstances around the situation, she has given glimpses into the frightening ordeal that led her to call for emergency services. In January 2007, Shepherd told TV Guide, "Three years ago, I almost died. It was a 911 situation. I had to have my colon [resected]. They got to the house very quickly, but I was in so much pain I couldn't get up, so I had to crawl headfirst down the stairs. When I was in that ambulance, I thought, 'I wonder if I am going to make it through this?'"
Shepherd's near-death experience could have been related to a similar incident back in October 1998, when she had to undergo an emergency surgery due to an intestinal blockage. She spoke more on the 2004 incident during an interview with "Today" in March 2015, in which she described what it felt like to be almost dying. "I felt my soul went up to a star. And then I said, 'You can't go there; you have three children. Get back down there. You've got to stay alive,'" the actor recalled.
Her co-star Ryan O'Neal died in 2022
Ryan O'Neal had about a decade of acting experience over Cybill Shepherd when they filmed the 1989 romantic comedy "Chances Are," but they complemented one another's talents well. Around the time the film was released, O'Neal spoke with The Oklahoman about what a joy it was to work with Shepherd. "I had known [Cybill] for 18 years. She was almost on 'Nickelodeon.' And I almost was in 'At Long Last Love,' but 'Barry Lyndon' ran over. So when we got together, it was fresh. I think she's wonderful," the actor remarked.
Tragically, Shepherd and O'Neal never had a chance to co-star in another project before he died at the age of 82 in December 2023. The "Paper Moon" star had been diagnosed with leukemia in 2001 and, over a decade later, prostate cancer. In 2013, his cancer went into remission. His cause of death was not cancer; it was reported to be congestive heart failure. While surely saddened by the news of O'Neal's death, Cybill Shepherd did not share her condolences publicly.