Shelley Lee Long was born on August 23, 1949, in Indian Village, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, as the only child of Ivadine (Williams),a schoolteacher, and Leland Long, a teacher who previously worked in the rubber industry.
Shelley attended Kekionga Junior High for grades 6-9 and South Side High School for grades 10-12 before enrolling at Northwestern University in 1967 to study drama.
After her first job as a meal plan checker at the university, Shelley left to pursue a dual career in acting and modeling.
In Chicago, she became a member of the Second City troupe, co-hosted the popular magazine program "Sorting It Out" from 1975 to 1978, and won three Emmy Awards for Best Entertainment Show.
Shelley met her second husband, Bruce Tyson, on a blind date in 1979, and they were married in October 1981.
In 1982, she played the character Diane Chambers in the new NBC comedy series "Cheers," winning an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1983, a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1983, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 1985, and a Quality TV Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1986.
On her summer hiatus from "Cheers," Long made feature films, receiving a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress for "Irreconcilable Differences" (1984).
In 1987, she starred in the hit comedy "Outrageous Fortune" with Bette Midler.
Soon after, she left "Cheers" after five years to embark on a film career, but her films "Hello Again" (1987) and "Troop Beverly Hills" (1989) were not hits.
She returned to television, appearing in the final episode of "Cheers" in 1993 and then in her own television series "Good Advice" (1993),which was canceled.
She returned to feature films, playing Carol Brady in "The Brady Bunch Movie" (1995),which became a hit and spawned a sequel, "A Very Brady Sequel" (1996),which wasn't a hit.
Shelley then appeared in her own television series "Kelly Kelly" (1998),which was canceled after a few episodes.
She also played Diane Chambers a few times on "Frasier," the spinoff of "Cheers."
Shelley's personal life took a huge blow when her husband divorced her in 2004 after more than 20 years of marriage.
She recovered and continued on with her career, appearing in guest-starring roles on television, including a recurring role on "Modern Family" (2009).
Shelley supported her daughter Juliana Long Tyson's decision to follow in her footsteps as an actress.
Shelley also encouraged Juliana to get married, which she did in 2015 to management consultant Ryan Kissick.
Shelley herself never remarried after her two divorces but continues to work in television.
