(Actress - Three's Company; Dallas; Curse III) *Appearing Courtesy of The I.P.A. Network
Jenilee Harrison is possibly best known for her role as replacement blonde roommate Cindy Snow on the hit sitcom Three's Company from 1980–1982 and Jamie Ewing in Dallas from 1984–1986.
Harrison was born in Northridge, California. She was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority (Epsilon Chapter) at the University of Southern California.
Before being cast in Three's Company, Jenilee was a cheerleader from 1978–1980 for the Los Angeles Rams. Harrison can be seen in the opening moments of the highlight film for Super Bowl XIV, which shows the Rams cheerleaders in their dressing room before the game.She can also be seen in a second season episode of Chips when Jon and Ponch pull over a vanload of Rams cheerleaders.
After Suzanne Somers' ("Chrissy Snow") firing Three's Company during season five following a bitter salary dispute, Harrison served as the replacement "dumb blonde" roommate. Her character "Cindy" was Chrissy's cousin and a klutzy farm-girl version of Chrissy. The similarity between the two cousins was strong enough so the show could use the scripts that were already written with Chrissy in mind. In addition, Harrison and costar John Ritter worked well together, as her character's clumsiness often set up many of the physical gags that Jack Tripper was famous for on the show.
For the sixth season a new blonde roommate named Terri Alden (Priscilla Barnes), a smart nurse, took Cindy's place in the apartment. Harrison was retained in the show and this time given star credit; however, she now had a lesser role, appearing less frequently in the series while actually living at UCLA. By the end of the season, Harrison's character was deemed obsolete, and with no explanation, Cindy Snow disappeared from the series (her last appearance was in "Janet Wigs Out.")
In the TV movie of Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company, Harrison was portrayed by Liz Crawford.
Harrison later portrayed Jamie Ewing Barnes on the hit drama Dallas. Beginning in 1984, she was a recurring character in the series, first appearing in the episode titled "Jamie." She played the role until 1986 when she decided to leave the soap. Her character was actually killed off twice, first when she starts the car belonging to her brother Jack Ewing in the episode "Blast from the Past," and it explodes killing her. Turns out, the whole season was all a dream, so Harrison agreed to return long enough for her character to die again. Early in 1987 Jamie was killed in a mountain climbing accident.
In 1984, Harrison played a reluctant prostitute in the movie Tank alongside James Garner and C. Thomas Howell.
Harrison also guest-starred on That '70s Show in 1999.
As of 2005, Harrison is starring on infomercials for the Ultimate Chopper with Chef Tony. In her personal life, she dated NFL Offensive Lineman Dennis Harrah in the early 1980s. She is married to actress Cybill Shepherd's ex-husband Bruce Oppenheim and is a stepmother to Cybill and Bruce's children, Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim and Zachariah Shepherd-Oppenheim.
