Nicollette Sheridan: A Desperate Blonde Haired Housewife

Just when you thought that Nicollette Sheridan had vanished from TV Land forever, she's risen to A-list status on the smash ABC hit, Desperate Housewives. The eternally pale blonde Scorpion actress (November 21, 1963) first appeared on the scene in 1984's Paper Dolls.

In 1985 she generated major movie star buzz in The Sure Thing with John Cusack. She then burst onto the Knot's Landing scene in 1986 as sizzling sex kitten Paige Matheson to stir up lots of trouble until her departure in 1993.

Although she found fan adoration and fortune on Knot's Landing, she achieved more fame for her hot on again/off-again romances with singer Michael Bolton and actor Harry Hamlin (Veronica Mars), who she married for a brief time in 1991.

During that same period she was chosen by People Magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People In The World and men literally swooned at her feet. Nicollette made media tidal waves ala Paris Hilton with her provocative, skin-baring outfits and racy blonde locks.

All good things usually come to an end and just two years after marrying Hamlin, she was divorced. She made a series of B movies after she left Knots Landing in 1993 but her career steadily lost steam. Her relationship with Michael Bolton ended, although they have remained friends and she seemed to fade from the public eye.

Continued below ↓

advertisement

Forty & Fabulous

2004 was Nicollette's year. Not only was she picked to be part of the stellar Desparate Housewives cast that resided on Wisteria Lane, she also got engaged to a gorgeous new love, Swedish beau, Nicklas Soderblom.

Nicollette was photographed in the January 24th issue of Star Magazine with her fiance Nicklas and her two other loves her dogs mixed breed Fatty and yellow lab Oliver. Nicollette includes her dogs in every aspect of her life and most likely they will part of her upcoming wedding.

Although has Nicollette admitted that she wanted Teri Hatcher's part, who better to play vampish Edie Britt, the resident real estate agent that is eternally on the prowl? It almost seemed like Edie was written with seductive Nicollette in mind.

Nicollette's initial portrayal of Edie as the shallow man-chaser of the neighborhood has changed during the course of the first season. Her acting skills have fascinated fans as she carefully developed a more complex character. A whole new generation of fans are falling in love with Nicollette as Edie, just as they did with Paige Matheson, eighteen years ago.

Imported Sexpot

Even though you might expect the eternally blonde, fair skinned beauty to be a California Girl, in reality she was born in Worthing, Sussex in England. Her mom is the well-known English actress, Sally Adams. The fact that Nicollette has no trace of an English accent when she portrays Edie is further indication of her acting skills.

If you think about it, Nicollette and the devious Edie have a lot in common. Both are ultra sexy, flirty and outrageous. Both ladies definitely have carefully cultivated that man killer reputation.

Nicollette is also quite outspoken. In December it was reported by the New York Post that Nicollette had claimed that the is "the poorest actress on television" and hoped that "ABC would cough up a Porsche for her role in the hot new show". Definitely behavior that loud mouth Edie might display in the neighborhood.

Very Blonde, Shoulder Length & Sleek

Maybe Nicollette is perfect as Edie because she has worked hard at developing her uber bitchy Paige Matheson character on Knots Landing from 1986 until 1993. Not only did she wreck havoc as Mack MacKenzie's (Kevin Dobson) surprise daughter, she had a steamy affair with Greg Sumner (William Devane) who was old enough to be her father.

As her current popularity has skyrocketed along with the Housewives' ratings, Nicollette's red carpet appearances have also accelerated along with the other Housewives.

It is interesting to note that while known to wear her tresses up in ornate styles for special events, Nicollette definitely appears to prefer wearing her shoulder length, light blonde tresses in a variety of straight, sleek and looser styles. Nicollette may sometimes add a few curls or waves around her face or along the ends. Basically she stays close to her basic soft and straight sex-kitten signature style.

Now that she is back in the spotlight, Nicollette has the option to work with some of the best hair and makeup people in Hollywood.

Wasting no time in getting the royal treatment, Nicollette was treated to hair pampering and styling during the 2005 Golden Globe Awards weekend as part of Matrix Biolage's Get Glam/Do Good suite at the post L'Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills. In addition to getting her tresses attended to by Matrix celeb stylists Enzo Angileria and Dan Csicsai, she had her makeup done.

How To Steal Nicollette's Look

Blonde hair screams sexy. It's clean and cool yet almost mysterious. Or course blonde hair has always been tied to sexy women, including Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Fonda, Marlene Dietrich and Madonna.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes seems to have an element of truth and Nicollette obviously understands how to use her blonde tresses to be glamorous, stand out in the crowd and of course attract all those gents.

According to US Weekly Magazine,hairdresser Jim Wayne. The owner of the Los Angeles Jim Wayne salon was quoted by US as saying that he snips Nicolette's strands into "long layers for a young, sexy, hot look".

Nicollette's heavily highlighted blonde strands are constantly exposed to hot lights on the Housewives set. Although her hair takes both professional and environmental abuse, it appears that she takes good care of her strands. Nicollette's hair has a good natural bend with a bit of natural wave.

To achieve Nicollette's sleek and straight styles complete the following steps:

STEP 1

Nicollette's hair on Red Carpet appearances appears shiny and glossy. Over the years she has stayed close to her favorite blonde shades and away from drastic color changes which has been beneficial to her tresses. She is required to do hair changes for her Edie role.

This means that she still has to pay attention to using gentle shampoo formulas to carefully nurture her blonde hues and keep her chemically processed hair silky and full of movement.

Start with a hair treatment program designed to protect and maintain delicate blonde hues. Or select a blonde enhancing shampoo designed to maintain and protect your blondness. (Check out the John Frieda Blonde line)

For ultra dry or super fragile strands, select a super moisturizing shampoo formula like Phytojoba or one designed for your specific hair type, texture and current condition. Experiment with diluting the shampoo for extra gentleness.

STEP 2

Gently squeeze excess water out of the strands. Apply your favorite leave-in conditioner with your fingers. Match the conditioning product to your hair type, texture and condition.

Work the conditioner into the driest parts of your hair. Leave on for up to five minutes. Rinse well. Finish with a cool to cold water rinse.

STEP 3

Towel blot your strands to remove excess drippage. Apply your favorite detangling product or leave-in conditioning product based on your type, texture and current condition of your strands.

Keep in mind that if you have fine or thin strands, you will want to use a very light detangling spray. For medium to thicker strands, use a heavier conditioning product.

If you are prone to frizz, experiment with frizz fighting formulas like Phytodefrisant or John Frieda Frizz Ease that help provide a sleeker smoother finish.

STEP 4

If you want to go for Nicollette's sleek straight style, be sure to either apply a defrisant product like Phytodefrisant or a straightening balm like Robert Hallowell's Flat Factor.

Distribute a dime-sized dollop of the product of your choice into the palms of your hands and mix well. Use your fingers to work the product completely through your tresses.

STEP 5

Separate your hair into 2" sections and blow dry with a large round brush, starting near the back of the head and working around to the front on either side.

Beginning at the back of your head, blow-dry hair in half-inch pieces using a large round brush. To create extra volume, hold brush in the hair near the scalp until the hair cools (about five seconds), then move the brush down and through to the ends of the hair.

STEP 6

To create a super straight finish, use a hot flat iron to touch up any sections that require a smoother texture.

STEP 7

If desired, spray lightly with the hairspray of your choice. Finish with a shine serum or spray. Apply to the palms of your hands and lightly brush across the surface of your hair.

Optional Looks

If you prefer to go with Nicollette's casual ponytail like she wore recently at the Cold Stone Creamery, follow all of the styling steps as listed.

Brush hair back into either a low ponytail and attach a "hair friendly" pony elastic in the same hue as your strands. Take one 1/2" strand and wrap up and around the pony elastic and then bobby pin to the underneath to hide the pin. Use a 1" to a 1 1/2" barrel curling iron to add soft waves and tendrils around the face. Remember that the larger the curling iron or hot rollers, the bigger the curls.

When all the curls are completely cool, spray well with your favorite hairspray and then use your fingers to gently separate and tousle the curls. Finish with a light application of your favorite shine product.

Summary

Nicollette definitely sizzles as the domestic goddess of the year. But don't hate her because she's so beautiful.

Nicollette was quoted by InStyle Magazine as saying "I grew up feeling like the ugly duckling, and things have not changed much. For some reason Hollywood seems to have painted me as the gorgeous vixen. I don't get it"

Nicollette, don't look now, but your fans agree that the title of gorgeous vixen suits you well.