Hollywood has been home to several talented actors and actresses over the years and while some of them have gone on to have a long career, some of them have had limited ones, making their mark within a period before retreating to life behind the camera. Tracey Needham left her mark with her performances in the shows, Life Goes On and JAG – the latter for which she is most famous.
Although she is yet to make an official declaration of retirement from acting, Tracey Needham hasn’t appeared in front of the camera for a while, with her last notable credit coming in 2010 in the film, The Last Harbor.
Since then, fans of JAG and the actress have wondered where she is. We answer that question below as well as details about her career. Read on.
Tracey Needham’s Early Years
She was born Tracey Renee Needham on the 28th of March, 1967 in Dallas, Texas in the United States. Not much is known about her background but her father worked as a homebuilder while she had three brothers. Her father’s work as a homebuilder led to relocation to Denver, Colorado when she was eight years old.
Her interest in acting began as early as the eighth grade but at that time, Tracey Needham had grown to an adult height of 5 feet 11 inches which according to her high school teacher, was too tall to appear on stage. As a result, she worked behind the stage instead – with the technical crew.
Before she headed over to Los Angeles in pursuit of a career as an actress, she traveled through Europe and Australia. It is worthy of note that Needham never attended college.
Acting Career
After backpacking through Europe, Tracey Needham returned to the States to start an acting career and in 1988, she headed over to Los Angeles where she studied acting and began to audition for roles. She debuted onscreen for the show, Jake and the Fatman, appearing in an episode as Gloria Connor.
In the following year, she got a two-episode appearance on the show, Coach as Ann. At the start of the 90s, Tracey continued her appearances on television with Shannon’s Deal and one of her major works, as Paige Thatcher on Life Goes On. She appeared on the show between 1990 and 1993 across 40 episodes.
After a well-established career on television, Tracey finally made her appearance on the big screen via Bonnie & Clyde: The True Story in 1992, playing the character, Bonnie Parker. The film, which was directed by Gary Hoffman, had mixed reviews. She made a couple more appearances on the big screen before her long disappearance from acting but her career was primarily in television.
After Life Goes On ended, she appeared in the TV movie, 919 Fifth Avenue and in 1995, began to play Meg Austin on the show, JAG. Her character was a strong feminine lady who was a Navy judge advocate and a computer-weapons expert. For the role, Tracey Needham called on her experiences growing up with her brothers.
The show lasted for one season and she went on to appear in other works like VR.5, Buried Alive II, Total Security, The Division and CIS: Miami. As at her last appearance on the big screen as Sarah Sharpe on The Last Harbor, Tracey Needham had appeared in 28 movies and TV shows.
Aside from acting, Tracey Needham was also a producer, director, and writer. She has worked primarily in both roles on short films like Confession, Tupperware Party, and Escape.
Personal Life
Since January 1995, Tracey Needham has been married to a fellow actor, Tommy Hinkley. Not much is known about their relationship but since they got married, they have given birth to a daughter, Katie, who was born in 1999.
Her husband, Tommy Hinkley is a retired actor who was born in El Centro, California. During his career, he appeared in The Cable Guy, Ocean’s Thirteen, The Little Vampire, Mad About You and several others.
Where is Tracey Needham now?
Decades after making her debut in 1988, Tracey Needham made what appears to be her final appearance in 2010 in the film, The Last Harbor, playing the character, Sarah Sharpe.
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The film, which was directed by Paul Epstein was poorly received, failing to make its $8 million budget at the box office. Since the movie was released, Tracey Needham hasn’t made an appearance in either TV or Film.
She is believed to be temporarily retired from acting and is currently enjoying a quiet life away from the spotlight with her husband and daughter.
