A beautiful actress with a distinctive, honeyed, husky voice, Leoni developed an interest in acting at an early age encouraged by her grandmother, a Broadway performer. She dropped out of college to tour the world and upon her return to the US, was cast in the busted pilot “Angels ’88″, a remake of the 1970s “Charlie’s Angels”. She made her film debut as the “dream girl” in Blake Edwards’ gender-bending “Switch” (1991). Leoni garnered rave reviews for her non-stereotypical portrayal of a flamboyant blonde bombshell in the Fox sitcom “Flying Blind” (1992-93). She was criticized for an infamous interview in connection with that show in which she said there wasn’t enough sex on TV, at least not enough “all-American, healthy, fun sex.” With her great looks and flamboyant style, Leoni landed the title role in the Fox TV-movie “The Counterfeit Contessa” (1994). As Gina, a streetwise Brooklyn woman swept into New York society and romance with an attorney when she is mistaken for an Italian countess, Leoni earned critical kudos. She and producer Chris Thompson developed the idea for “The Naked Truth” (ABC, 1995-96; NBC 1996-98) in which Leoni created the role of Nora Wilde, a formerly rich divorcee forced to become a tabloid newspaper photographer.
