Cynthia Geary

Cynthia Geary
Cynthia Geary (center) at the 1992 Emmy Awards
Born	(1965-07-26) July 26, 1965 (age 51) Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Years active	1982-present
Spouse(s)	Robert Coron (1994-present); 2 children

Cynthia Geary (born March 21, 1965, Jackson, Mississippi) is an American actress best known for her role as Shelly Tambo in the television series Northern Exposure. In her Emmy-nominated role, she played a former Miss Northwest Passage beauty queen living with a decades-older lover, Holling Vincoeur (played by John Cullum). Together they ran Cicely, Alaska's tavern and restaurant, The Brick.

Encouraged at an early age by her mother (a voice and music teacher), Geary studied ballet, voice, and piano. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in vocal performance from the University of Mississippi, where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority.

Her acting career began with a series of national commercials, including spots for Coca-Cola and General Motors. She soon had numerous guest starring roles on a variety of television programs, made-for-television movies and independent films, including a small part in Smoke Signals, a film based on the short stories of Native American author Sherman Alexie. Geary played the mother of the Olsen twins in their 1992 made-for-TV movie To Grandmother's House We Go, appeared in the 1997 movie When Time Expires, and is the female lead in 8 Seconds. She voiced the character of Katia Anderson in the second game of the Professor Layton video game series, Professor Layton and the Diabolical/Pandora's Box.