Sue Ellen Ewing

Sue Ellen Ewing (née Shepard; later Lockwood) is a fictional character and one of the female leads in the CBS primetime soap opera Dallas. Sue Ellen is portrayed by actress Linda Gray, and has appeared on the show since its pilot episode, first broadcast on April 2, 1978. Dallas follows the trials of the wealthy Ewing family in the city of Dallas, Texas, into which Sue Ellen married when she wed the notoriously evil J. R. Ewing. Gray played Sue Ellen until the twelfth season of Dallas, when her character finally leaves Texas after beating J.R. at his own game, seen in the episode "Reel Life". However, Gray later returned for the series finale "Conundrum Part II", the subsequent Dallas telemovies ("J.R. Returns" and "War of the Ewings"), and the reunion special entitled Dallas Reunion: The Return to Southfork, which aired in 2004, and reunited her with former castmates.

Sue Ellen's storylines in the first season focus on the character's bout with alcohol and her slowly deteriorating relationship with her husband. The final episode of the season focused on the birth of her son with J.R., John Ross Ewing III. While her relationship with J.R. is not always harmonious, it's a significant aspect of her overall character. As the series progressed, Sue Ellen came into her own as an individual character. The actress has said of her character's personality: "I never wanted her to be boring. She was never boring before - she started out kind of boring, but I think that's the kiss of death because people will expect her to be interesting." Gray later described Sue Ellen as being, "one of the most interesting characters on TV in the 1980s. She was the original Desperate Housewife. She led the way for all those girls."

For her work as Sue Ellen, Gray was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the category "Best Actress in a Drama Series" in 1981 (Barbara Bel Geddes who played Miss Ellie Ewing was also nominated in that category for Dallas that year). Gray was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award in both 1980 and 1981 in the category of "Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama" respectively. In 2010, TNT (sister company to Warner Bros. Television, the current copyright owners of the series) announced they were producing a new, updated Dallas series. It is a continuation of the original series and will primarily center around Sue Ellen and J.R.'s son John Ross Ewing III, and Bobby and Pamela's son Christopher Ewing, though various stars of the original series will be reprising their roles. Gray agreed to return to the new series and once again assumed the role of Sue Ellen.