Marcia Anne Cross is an Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated American actress, currently starring as Bree Hodge on the hit TV show Desperate Housewives. She is also well-known for her role as Dr. Kimberly Shaw on the prime-time soap opera Melrose Place.
Cross graduated from the Juilliard School in New York, and earned master's degree in psychology at LA's Antioch University. She began her television career in 1984 on the soap opera The Edge of Night. She then moved from New York to Los Angeles, and soon landed roles in television movies such as The Last Days of Frank and Jessie James, co-starring with Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson. In 1986 she joined the cast of the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live, where she played Kate Sanders, until 1987.
In 1991, Cross guest-starred on the 13th season of Knots Landing as the mysterious wife of Pierce Lawton (Bruce Greenwood). Ironically, she spent most of her screen-time on the show confronting Paige Matheson, played by her future Desperate Housewives co-star Nicollette Sheridan.
In 1992, Cross was cast as Dr. Kimberly Shaw on the FOX drama series Melrose Place. Initially cast for one season, she so impressed the producers that they kept bringing her back for more episodes, although she curiously didn't become a full-fledged cast member in the opening credits until the fourth season. Cross' character started off as a love interest for the character of Dr. Michael Mancini, but gradually became more and more mentally unbalanced, providing some of the show's most memorable moments, which included blowing up the apartment building, trying to kill Michael, and stealing her neighbor Jo's baby. Her character's increasingly outrageous and disturbing behaviour made her a firm fan favorite and one Melrose Place website listed her as the most popular character on the show. She left the show in 1997, after five seasons.
Cross was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts and is of English descent. She was the long time companion of Richard Jordan. Jordan died from a brain tumor on August 30, 1993.
In early 2005, the Internet and tabloids swirled with rumors that Cross was gay and in a long-term relationship with another woman, and planning to come out of the closet. Cross actually appeared on the television show The View to deny the reports, but stated that she was very supportive of the gay community.
In August 2005, Cross's publicist also told the American celebrity newsmagazine Us Weekly that Cross had accepted the proposal of Tom Mahoney, a stock broker whom she had been dating for six months, and that the couple were engaged to be married. The couple got married on June 24, 2006, in front of 200 guests at the Church of Our Savior Episcopal Parish in San Gabriel, California. "It was a beautiful ceremony," a representative for Cross told People.