Sharon Gless a Golden Globe in 1986 and Emmys in 1986 and 1987 for "Cagney & Lacey", and a second Golden Globe in 1991 for "The Trials of Rosie O'Neill". Gless received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995. A fifth-generation Californian, Sharon Gless was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Marjorie (McCarthy) and sportswear manufacturing executive Dennis J. Gless. She was raised Roman Catholic. She has two brothers, Michael and Aric; and her parents divorced when she was in her teens. Her maternal grandfather was Neil McCarthy, a prominent Los Angeles attorney for Howard Hughes, who also
Sharon Gless had a large clientele of major film studio executives and actors. Wanting to become an actress, she sought her grandfather's advice and he told her, "Stay out of it, it's a filthy business!" A few years later, though, when she spoke to him again about acting, he encouraged her, and gave her money for acting classes. She worked as a secretary for the advertising agencies Grey Advertising and Young & Rubicam, and then for the independent movie production companies Sassafras Films and General Film Corporation. While she worked as a production assistant, Gless studied drama with acting coach Estelle Harman,