Look Back at Cybill Shepherd's Life and Career in Photos as the Actress Turns 75 Today

 From her pageant beginnings to an eponymous television show, see some of her biggest moments after more than 55 years in the business

Cybill Shepherd in 'The Last Picture Show.'. PHOTO: 

JOHN SPRINGER COLLECTION/CORBIS/CORBIS VIA GETTY

Cybill Shepherd has been dazzling onscreen for more than five decades!

The actress and singer, who turns 75 on Feb. 18, 2025, landed her first onscreen role in 1971 after already establishing herself as a model. From there, she went on to star in several big films and by the 1990s had landed her own eponymous show. Along the way, she also welcomed three children — including her twins who graced the cover of PEOPLE just weeks after they were born.

From her pageant beginnings to her return to the stage later this year, take a look back at Shepherd's life and career in photos.

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Cybill Shepherd's Early Life

Cybil Shepherd at the Model of the Year Pageant in 1968. 

CBS VIA GETTY

Cybill Shepherd was born on February 18, 1950 in Memphis, Tennessee. She stepped into the spotlight at an early age, first as a model, competing in the Miss Teenage America Pageant when she was 16 where she earned the title of Miss Congeniality.

In 1968 she was named model of the year and went on to have more than a dozen Glamour covers which was ultimately how she landed her first film role. The Last Picture show director Peter Bogdanovich saw her seventh cover in a supermarket in 1970 and remembers doing "a double take," he told PEOPLE in 1974.

"I owe my entire career to that cover," she said, per Glamour.

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Cybil Shepherd in 'The Last Picture Show'

Cybill Shepherd in 'The Last Picture Show.'. 

MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY

1971's The Last Picture Show marked Shepherd's first onscreen role, starring as Jacy Farrow alongside the likes of Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms and Cloris Leachman.

From there came a string of roles in big films including The Heartbreak Kid and Taxi Driver and by the early 1980s she had crossed over to television as well.

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Cybill Shepherd and Peter Bogdanovich

Peter Bogdanovich and Cybill Shepherd on the May 13, 1974 cover of People magazine.

Though Bogdanovich was married when they first met, he left his wife and moved with Shepherd into a Bel Air mansion, PEOPLE reported at the time.

“We have absolutely no thoughts of being married,” Shepherd said as part of the couple's PEOPLE cover story in 1974. Bogdanovich  said the question of marriage was “a chilling thought. Does she look like Mrs. Bogdanovich?”

The pair broke up in 1978.Cybill Shepherd Becomes a Mom

Cybill Shepherd and David Ford with their newborn daughter Clementine Ford. 

Donaldson Collection/Getty

In the late 1970s, Shepherd moved back to Memphis where she met auto-parts dealer David Ford. The two married after a few months and welcomed their daughter Clementine in 1979.

The couple's marriage ended in 1982, just before Shepherd jumped into her vibrant TV career.

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Cybill Shepherd on 'The Yellow Rose'

Sam Elliott and Cybill Shepherd in 'The Yellow Rose.'. 

RGR Collection/Alamy 

Her first big TV role came in 1983 with The Yellow Rose where she played Colleen Champion opposite Sam Elliott and David Soul.

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Cybill Shepherd on 'Moonlighting'

Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis in 'Moonlighting'. 

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty 

Just a few years later she landed the role of Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting. She and Bruce Willis starred together on the show for its entire five-season run. Her performance on the show earned her an Emmy nomination in 1986, as well as Golden Globe wins in 1986 and 1987.

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Cybill Shepherd at the Golden Globes

Cybill Shepherd at the 43rd annual Golden Globe Awards. 

Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

For her first Golden Globe win in 1986, Shepherd wore a blue velvet off-the-shoulder gown. She has won a total of four Golden Globes over her career including two in 1996 when her eponymous show Cybill won best television series - musical or comedy and she also took one home for her performance on the series.

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Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Oppenheim

Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Oppenheim. 

Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch via Getty

Shepherd met chiropractor Bruce Oppenheim in 1985 while she was getting treated for migraines. The two hit it off and wed two years later — after Shepherd found out she was pregnant with the couple's twins.

The pair split up in 1989, per the L.A. Times.