This seldom-seen actress looked unrecognizable when she was pictured out in Los Angeles this week in photos obtained by the Daily Mail.
Though she has a diverse set of credits, she’s best known for her connection to two other popular stars.
This actress’s biggest role was in a cult-classic teen drama in the 1990s that starred a young Claire Danes, 47, and Jared Leto, 54.
The show was a hit with critics and even won high-profile awards, but it was canceled after just a single season.
In addition to that enduringly popular series – which had a virtual reunion in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic – this actress has also starred in multiple films.
Can you guess who this ’90s TV star is?
This seldom-seen actress looked unrecognizable when she was pictured out in Los Angeles this week in photos obtained by the Daily Mail
This actress’s biggest role was in a cult-classic teen drama in the 1990s that starred a young Claire Danes, 47, and Jared Leto, 54. Can you guess who she is?
She’s Devon Odessa, one of the stars of the beloved series My So-Called Life.
The 52-year-old actress was pictured running errands in Los Angeles earlier this week.
She kept her look casual with a black zip-up hoodie over a matching black shirt.
Odessa had her biggest role to date from August 1994 through January 1995, when My So-Called Life aired on ABC.
Danes led the series as Angela Chase, a 15-year-old high school sophomore who had to navigate many of the darker issues of adolescence that had only been approached glancingly on earlier TV shows.
Leto was the other breakout star of the show as Jordan Catalano, the bad boy junior who struggles with abuse at home and skips numerous classes due to what is eventually diagnosed as a learning disorder.
Angela was infatuated with Jordan throughout the series, but she also had her childhood friend Sharon (played by Odessa) to lean on.
Sharon had to contend with Angela’s desire to make new friends in high school, and her struggle to accept her body was depicted in an early episode in which she got embarrassed about how people noticed her large breasts.
She’s Devon Odessa, one of the stars of the beloved series My So-Called Life. She played Sharon, the childhood friend of Angela Chase (Danes); (L–R) Devon Dummersall, A.J. Langer, Danes, Wilson Cruz and Odessa on My So-Called Life
The 52-year-old actress was pictured running errands in Los Angeles earlier this week
In a 2022 oral history of My So-Called Life published in Elle, Odessa revealed that the storyline about her body-image issues was inspired by her own insecurities as a teen.
‘I always hated my boobs. I thought they made me look heavy, and I just hated them,’ she shared. ‘I talked to [series creator] Winnie [Holzman] about that and then she incorporated it into the show. And she was so respectful – she talked to me first, like, is it OK if we touch on this?’
Odessa also revealed that the close relationship they developed led Holzman to later officiate her 2008 wedding with Jeffrey Baldinger, with whom she shares two children.
Angela and Sharon ended up seeing more of each other than ever after Sharon’s father suffered a heart attack, forcing her to move in with the Chase family.
In addition to addressing the abuse Jordan receives at home, My So-Called Life was considered groundbreaking because of how it depicted other issues, including homophobia, substance abuse and school violence as ongoing issues, rather than as a controversy to be explored in a single issue before being dropped.
In addition to receiving praise from critics, My So-Called Life attracted multiple award nominations and wins.
Jared Leto (top left) was the other big breaktout star of My So-Called Life.
In a 2022 oral history of My So-Called Life published in Elle , Odessa revealed that a storyline about her body-image issues was inspired by her own insecurities as a teen about the size of her breasts
The show was nominated for Emmys for Danes’ acting, as well as for outstanding direction, writing and main title theme music at the 1995 Emmys, and Danes won the award for best actress in a television series drama at the Golden Globes.
The show was also honored for its depiction of gay characters at the GLAAD Media Awards, where it won outstanding drama series, and it earned three honors at the 1994 Young Artist Awards.
In Elle’s oral history, Odessa revealed that she originally wanted to audition for the role of Angela’s edgier new friend, who struggles with an addiction to alcohol.
‘I always played the naughty girl. So I went in for Rayanne… and then they handed me the sides for Sharon,’ Odessa said.
She also noted that the teen cast looked radically different at the beginning of the one-season series compared to the end of it because there were long breaks between the pilot and the next six episodes, as well as a sizable pause before filming the remainder of the season while the cast and crew waited for ABC to order the final episodes.
‘I was 19 when I booked the show, and we wrapped when I was 21. That’s why we all look so different [by the end],’ she explained, adding that she had time to shoot an entire season of another show in 1993 while waiting for shooting to finish on My So-Called Life, which premiered in the summer of 1994.
Looking back on the series, Odessa joked that My So-Called Life managed to worm its way into the consciousness of its viewers.
‘Everyone I meet thinks they went to high school with me. It’s really funny,’ she said.
Odessa – who was born in West Virgina and later lived in New Orleans before settling in LA – had already had a varied career before My So-Called Life, including guest appearances on Highway To Heaven, The Facts Of Life and Small Wonder in the ’80s, as well as a role in the cult 1988 horror film Pumpkinhead.
She later had guest parts on Full House and The Wonder Years.
After My So-Called Life was canceled, she appeared in Gregg Araki’s acclaimed teen satire Nowhere (1997) and had numerous guest roles on TV and parts in low-budget films.
Odessa’s work on film and television slowed down in recent years.
After appearing on a 2011 episode of Private Practice, she wasn’t credited again until appearing in a 2018 short film, and her next — and most recent — role was in the 2024 film Shark Girl.
