Jacalyn Jacky O Shaughnessy
American
in New York, New York, USA
BIOGRAPHY
Jacalyn O’Shaughnessy is an award-winning actress who grew up in Connecticut and New Jersey. After graduating from Monmouth Regional High School in 1969, she immediately went to work as a gal Friday in Manhattan before attending New York University Tisch School of the Arts where she was fortunate enough to study acting with Lloyd Richards and Peter Kass. After NYU she continued her studies for five years with Uta Hagen at HB Studios in the West Village. Summer Stock brought diverse roles in such shows as Mandragola, Springtime For Henry, Come Blow Your Horn and Dark Comedy. Off-Off Broadway credits include lead roles in the world premiere of The American Flu, Voice of the Turtle, and Separate Tables. Jacalyn played two roles in Deborah Pearl’s About Sex: A Ganglia Of Short Plays at the MET Theatre in Los Angeles. She moved to Los Angeles in 1987 to pursue television and film.
Television credits include guest star roles on Night Court (3 episodes) opposite John Larroquette, Growing Pains, Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Ned & Stacey with Debra Messing, Love & War, and Moonlighting with Bruce Willis. Jacalyn portrayed a 1940’s movie star and a nurse in the film teasers for both Addams Family movies directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Jacalyn played Wanda in Lisa Loomer’s The Waiting Room which premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 1994 garnering rave reviews from Laurie Winer, theatre reviewer for the Los Angeles Times. Ms. Winer hailed her performance as “stunning, with the timing of a standup comic.†Jacalyn also received high praise for her portrayal of Marlys in Jon Klein’s Dimly Perceived Threats To The System at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in 1998. The then-Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala invited her to breakfast and for a private tour of the White House. Ms. O’Shaughnessy moved back to New York City in 2012. Jacalyn (aka Jacky) was discovered by American Apparel while eating in a restaurant in Greenwich Village. Soon after, Ms. O’Shaughnessy began modeling for American Apparel with ads also featured in the 2012 Fall/Winter Edition of The Gentlewoman.
Television credits include guest star roles on Night Court (3 episodes) opposite John Larroquette, Growing Pains, Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Ned & Stacey with Debra Messing, Love & War, and Moonlighting with Bruce Willis. Jacalyn portrayed a 1940’s movie star and a nurse in the film teasers for both Addams Family movies directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Jacalyn played Wanda in Lisa Loomer’s The Waiting Room which premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 1994 garnering rave reviews from Laurie Winer, theatre reviewer for the Los Angeles Times. Ms. Winer hailed her performance as “stunning, with the timing of a standup comic.†Jacalyn also received high praise for her portrayal of Marlys in Jon Klein’s Dimly Perceived Threats To The System at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in 1998. The then-Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala invited her to breakfast and for a private tour of the White House. Ms. O’Shaughnessy moved back to New York City in 2012. Jacalyn (aka Jacky) was discovered by American Apparel while eating in a restaurant in Greenwich Village. Soon after, Ms. O’Shaughnessy began modeling for American Apparel with ads also featured in the 2012 Fall/Winter Edition of The Gentlewoman.