Dixie Carter
Dixie Virginia Carter (May 25, 1939 – April 10, 2010) was an American film, television, and stage actress, best known for her role as Julia Sugarbaker in the CBS sitcom Designing Women (1986–1993). Carter made her professional stage debut in a Memphis production of the musical Carousel in 1960, before moving to New York in 1963. Having stopped acting for several years to look after her children, she returned in 1974 and made her Broadway debut in the musical Sextet. She then starred as District Attorney Brandy Henderson on the CBS soap The Edge of Night (1974–1976), before returning to Broadway in the 1976 musical Pal Joey. After her seven seasons on Designing Women, she starred as Maria Callas in the Broadway play Master Class in 1997, replacing Patti LuPone. She then starred as Randi King on the CBS legal drama Family Law (1999–2002) and as Gloria Hodge on the ABC series Desperate Housewives (2006–2007), for which she received an Emmy Award nomination.