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| Vonda Shepard |
Shepard success reaches from overnight to prime time
Web posted on: Tuesday, May 26, 1998 5:58:09 PM EDT
From Correspondent Mark Scheerer
HOLLYWOOD (CNN) -- Sometimes it takes years to achieve overnight success. Vonda Shepard is living proof of that.
At 24, she signed with a major record label. Now, 10 years later, Shepard is a regular on one of TV's hottest shows and can lay claim to her first top 10 album, "Songs from 'Ally McBeal' Featuring Vonda Shepard."
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| Shepard rehearses |
The road to success
As is the case for most who make it big, Shepard worked her connections to land her initial "Ally McBeal" gig, which led to a regular part in the Fox show, which led to her latest Billboard hit release.
She says she was friends with actress Michelle Pfeiffer before Pfeiffer hit it big; Pfeiffer and her husband, David Kelley -- the creator of "Ally McBeal" -- also used to go hear Shepard perform.
So a couple of Shepard's songs were featured in the initial shows, and when Fox picked up the pilot, Shepard was on the road to success.
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Hear a clip of "Searchin' My Soul" |
'She is extraordinary'
"I'm Ally's musical conscience," Shepard explained. "I'm her Greek chorus, her inner thoughts. We supposedly have some of the same emotional makeup when it comes to my lyrics."
Her co-stars on "Ally McBeal" says she deserves every bit of praise she receives.
"She is extraordinary," said Peter MacNicol, who plays fidgety law firm partner John Cage on the show. "She would be extraordinary in any venue, in any kind of setting"
Gil Bellows, who plays attorney Billy Thomas, agrees.
"The fact that she exploded from obscurity is a testament to what everybody in our business has to go through, which is years and years and years of hard work, and struggle," the actor said. "And then somebody says you are the one and fortunately for us, and fortunately for her, it was this show and now."
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| On TV, Shepard plays in a club frequented by the "Ally McBeal" cast |
Relating to Shepard
Shepard is proud she has capitalized on this chance by making a successful album.
"It's like a little memento for the show, and it seems like a lot of people really want to have that for their collections because they can relate to the show so much," Shepard said.
Perhaps after more than a decade of struggling for recognition, people are finally relating to Vonda Shepard.
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