Granddaughter of famed English actress Dinah Sheridan, Nicollette was born in Sussex, England, on November 21, 1963. She was raised in London before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting, like much of the rest of her family.In 1978, she met and wooed musician Leif Garrett, and proceeded to move in with him under his mother's roof even though she was only 15. The romance lasted six years, ending just as Nicollette's acting career was getting serious. 1984 marked the debut of her television career, as she landed a small role on the series Paper Dolls. Following a couple of other small gigs and a spot in the film The Sure Thing (1985) with John Cusack, Sheridan hit the jackpot. In 1986, she got the part of Paige Matheson on Knots Landing, which was already a well-established primetime soap opera.

For seven years, Sheridan spiced up Knots with her saucy portrayal of the beautiful and conniving Matheson. She made headlines outside of the show as well, as her name was often romantically linked with the stars of the day, including Michael Bolton and Scott Baio. In 1990, People magazine voted her one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world. The next year, she married Harry Hamlin of L.A. Law fame. They divorced in 1993 without having had any children.

Following her run on Knots Landing, Sheridan showed up in made-for-TV-movies like A Time to Heal (1994), Virus (1995) and The People Next Door (1996). Don't remember those appearances? Neither do we…

Nicollette had higher profile roles over the course of the next two years, showing up with Leslie Nielsen in Spy Hard (1996) and with Chris Farley and Chris Rock in Beverly Hills Ninja (1997). There was a subsequent rut in Sheridan's career, with low-rated TV performances coming one after the other. Those curious enough to check out the B movies she made may have seen Raw Nerve (1999) with Mario Van Peebles or Lost Treasure (2003) with Stephen Baldwin.

Fortunately for Nicollette, the magic of Knots Landing was revived in 2004, when ABC's Desperate Housewives hit the air. Sheridan landed the part of Edie Britt, a saucy divorcee bent on teasing all the neighborhood's men.

As Housewives' ratings climbed, ABC took more and more risks with the characters of the show. As a promo for an upcoming episode, they sent Sheridan to do an intro for a Monday Night Football Dallas versus Philadelphia game in 2004. In the skit, Nicollette appeared in the players' locker room wearing only a towel, flirted with star Philadelphia receiver Terrell Owens, then dropped her towel and jumped into his arms.

This display, nicknamed "Towelgate," was TV's biggest scandal since Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl. It boosted Desperate Housewives' ratings, created a lot of controversy, and increased attention for Sheridan.