Linda Gray became one of television's most recognizable stars playing the glamorous but troubled Sue Ellen Ewing on Dallas – and almost five decades after she first arrived at Southfork, the actress looks incredible. Linda celebrates her 86th birthday on Saturday, September 12, 2026, and remains every inch the Hollywood icon, with her trademark auburn hair, megawatt smile and effortlessly elegant style. Born in Santa Monica, California in 1940, she began her career as a model before finding worldwide fame on the long-running primetime soap.
© Getty Images for Farrah FawcettThe star looked radiant at one of her most recent public appearances, attending the Farrah Fawcett Foundation's Tex-Mex Fiesta in Dallas. Wearing her hair in its familiar shoulder-length style, Linda smiled for photographers in a silky bronze ensemble as she supported the charity established in honor of her late friend Farrah Fawcett.
And Linda has made no secret of the fact that she is embracing getting older, saying that these days she focuses less on the inevitable physical changes that come with age and more on enjoying life. In an exclusive interview with HELLO!, she said: “You get to a point where you don't care that they talk about how old you are so my whole thing is to live life to the fullest. I have so many friends who have died and family members have died, and my son died of cancer and my sister, and they had a beautiful life."
© Alamy Stock PhotoIt was, of course, Dallas that transformed Linda into an international star. She joined the show as Sue Ellen Ewing, the wife of ruthless oil tycoon J.R. Ewing, played by the late Larry Hagman, when the series launched in 1978. What initially appeared to be a supporting role became one of the show's most compelling characters, as viewers watched Sue Ellen navigate her tempestuous marriage, struggles with alcohol and increasingly complicated relationship with the Ewing dynasty.
© Getty ImagesThe role earned Linda an Emmy nomination and two Golden Globe nominations, while Dallas became a worldwide phenomenon. Linda didn’t pull any punches about the hit show, however. "It was a very chauvinist show, frankly. The producers, the writers - they had a few women writers but they were just a token," she said.
© Getty ImagesLong before Southfork, however, Linda had already unknowingly become part of movie history. While working as a model in the 1960s, it was Linda's stocking-clad leg that appeared on the famous poster for the 1967 Dustin Hoffman movie The Graduate – not that of its star Anne Bancroft. Linda later revealed she was paid just $25 for the shoot.
In a neat full-circle moment, she went on to play Mrs. Robinson herself in the West End stage production of The Graduate more than three decades later. Linda would also return to her most famous character when Dallas was revived in 2012, reuniting with Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy for the continuation series. Even now, Sue Ellen clearly remains close to her heart. Linda teamed up with Julien's Auctions for its Ladies of the '80s sale in August 2026, parting with pieces from her personal Dallas collection while looking back on the role that changed her life.
