As the only girl sharing a roof with three brothers, ex-Texan Tracey Needham found her height gave her a leg up when she played football with the boys. "I grew up being very competitive with guys," says Needham, who is 5'11". "I was always jumping into football games and wanted to be treated equally and not have boys take it easy on me because I was a girl. But I usually ended up with a bloody nose."
Drawing on her own experience, Needham finds parallels with her role of a Navy JAG attorney. "Meg is a bright, strong woman constantly trying to prove herself in a largely male environment," she says.
Needham was born on March 28 in Dallas, TX, where her father was a home builder. When she was eight, the family moved to Denver and her father's work dictated that the family move back and forth between two cities. Needham was fully grown by the eighth grade, and later, when she took to heart a high school theatre director's snippy advice that she was too tall to appear on stage, she worked on theatrical crew instead.
After her high school graduation, Needham traveled through Europe and Australia. In 1988, she arrived in Los Angeles to study acting and audition for roles. She made her television acting debut in the drama series "Jake and the Fatman." After a few more acting classes, she landed the part of Paige Thatcher, the big sister on "Life Goes On" (1989-1993), beginning in the series second season. "On `Life Goes On', I learned for the first time how to hit a mark, developed confidence and became comfortable with myself," she says.
Needham's other TV credits include a guest starring role on "Shannon's Deal" and recurring roles on "VR.5" (as star Lori Singer's sister) and "Coach." She starred as Bonnie Parker in the TV version of "Bonnie and Clyde" (with Dana Ashbrook) as well as the TV movies "Prophet of Evil," "Lush Life" and "Sensation."
Needham is newly married to actor Tommy Hinkley and the couple resides in Los Angeles. In her leisure time, she enjoys playing cards, shooting pool, Western horseback riding, playing with her two Wheaton terriers, and traveling by car ("We just got back from a 9,000 mile road trip through the South -- it was great!")
Tracey Needham left JAG after the first season and then starred in the ABC show called "Total Security" which has now been cancelled.
