Lorraine Gary

Actress, philanthropist, and New York native Lorraine Gary grew up in Los Angeles but returned to New York to study political science at Columbia University.

An avid stage performer since childhood, including award-winning work at the Pasadena Playhouse at age 16, she began working in television in the 1960s on series such as Dragnet 1967, Ironside, The Bold Ones, McCloud, The Virginian, McMillan & Wife, Night Gallery, The F.B.I., Kojak, Marcus Welby, M.D., and The Rookies.

Her most famous role came in 1975 as the wife of Amity Island police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) in Steven Spielberg’s JAWS (1975) as well as the sequels Jaws 2 (1978) and Jaws: The Revenge (1987).

She also appeared in Michael Schultz’s Car Wash (1976), I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977), Zero to Sixty (1978), and Spielberg’s World War II-set comedy 1941 (in 1979).

She later worked as a literary agent and television producer through her company New Hope Productions.

In 1956, Gary married her “forever love,” Sidney Sheinberg, who later became the president and chief operating officer of MCA; they remained married for 64 and an half years.

Together, they used their influence to advocate for human rights causes including women’s and children’s rights, and in 1995 were jointly awarded the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Humanitarian Award.

Gary is a member of the Human Rights Watch Women’s Rights Advisory Committee and is an advisory board member for Ms. Magazine for which she produced and directed a series of educational videos; and Girls Learn International.

Lorraine Gary has spent over thirty years supporting the Feminist Majority Foundation. Her life today is focused on activism, world travel, dogs, and family, including her two sons, film producers Bill and Jonathan Sheinberg, and her beloved grandkids.