Sabrina Lloyd
Biograthy
Sabrina Lloyd was born on November 20th, 1970 in Mt. Dora, Florida. As a child, she spent a lot of time outdoors including horseback riding and participating in shows. At age 12, she started her acting career by appearing in a local theater production of Annie. There, she played Pepper, because she wanted to be a bully, having been bullied all her life. From then on, she knew she wanted to be an actress. She continued to perform in local theater such as the BaystreetPlayers in Eustis, and the Ice House Theater in Mt. Dora, appearing in productions of Grease , Crimes of the Heart, and Wizard of Oz . When she was 15, she also participated in a student exchange program which allowed her to spend a year in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. While there, she got some training at the Brisbane Royal Theatre Company. At 18, Sabrina moved to New York. She spent some time as a bartender while knocking on doors and auditioning for roles. Her first big break was a guest appearance on an episode of Law and Order called "Intolerance," which got her a new agent and launched her career. Her first breakout role in feature films was the movie Chain of Desire , followed by a starring role in Father Hood with Patrick Swayze. Sabrina also made appearances on television starring in the TV movies The Coming Out of Heidi Leiter and Off-Limits . In 1995, Sabrina auditioned for the role of Wade Welles in the pilot episode of Sliders. Every actress she knew tried out for the part, but there was something about Sabrina that caught the eye of the producers, Tracy Torme and Robert K. Weiss. They had her audition five times, but the producers knew that they had found their star. Sabrina won the part. From the beginning, Wade Welles was a bold character. Despite the fact that she was the only woman in the group, Wade broke the stereotypical female character for television. Wade was tough and bold, often striding into danger and adventure before the men did. She had a clear love of life and excitement that made her a joy to watch. Wade was also in love with Quinn, who seemed afraid to go beyond their platonic relationship, and their relationship added romance to the series. But Sabrina was unhappy with her role. She felt the writers had made very little effort to expand Sabrina's character beyond her lovestruck persona. When the series was renewed, Sabrina showed a little of her own boldness by daring to talk to the writers about changing her character. She asked them to take out the romantic aspect of the series. This was a huge move, since the romance was considered an integral part of the series. But Sabrina showed a great sense of direction for her character. Without the romance crutch to lean on, the writers were forced to develop her role in the group. What they settled on was making Wade the counterpart to Professor Arturo. Where Arturo was cold and analytical, Wade was emotional and headstrong. Where Arturo was focused on science, Wade had a keen interest in the paranormal. Wade Welles became more than just "Quinn's girlfriend." She became a unique character of her own. In its third season, Sliders slowly grew to embrace a larger audience, but the series was still cancelled by Fox. The show was picked up by the Scifi Channel, but Sabrina decided to option out of her contract to pursue new roles. She quickly landed a co-starring role as associate producer Natalie Hurley in the ABC sitcom, Sports Night , which satires sports and news coverage. In Sabrina's hands, the role has evolved from a somewhat stereotypical "plucky sidekick" to a fully-realized character with a strength and flaws all her own. Thanks to strong writing and storylines by the show's creators, it is our hope that the show will give a larger audience a chance to see her marvelous acting skills. Sources for this biography include Sabrina Lloyd interviews featured in Cult Times and TV Guide magazine, the biographies featured at the Universal and Fox Sliders websites, online interviews, and the alt.tv.sliders newsgroup.