Sela Ward was born in Mississippi on July 11, 1956. Her mother Anni Kate is a housewife, and passed away in 2002 to ovarian cancer. Her father, Granberry Holland, is an engineer. Sela Ward is the eldest of four, and studied art and advertising at the University of Alabama. She was an active cheerleader and sorority girl of the Chi Omega. She went to New York for work in an advertising agency, but it was there where she got discovered and got into modeling.

With her 5’7 frame, beautiful dark hair and strong features, Sela Ward easily got commercials and modeling work. She soon started appearing in Maybelline commercials, and about 20 more television commercials. Sela Ward then moved to Los Angeles, realizing that she wanted to study and pursue acting. Her first film was 1983’s The Man Who Loved Women. This was then followed by her role in Edward Point, Nas, a television series where she starred as Hilary Adams.

In 1991, she starred on the television series, Sisters, the show that launched Sela Ward into the consciousness of the American audience. The show lasted 6 seasons, and she got many awards and nominations for this. She won a 1994 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series in a Drama, and a Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, all for Sisters.

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