 | |
| Sue Ellen Ewing | |
| Occupation: | Owner of Valentine Lingerie (1986-1988) Anonymous film producer (1986-1989) Shareholder in Westar Oil Gubernatorial Candidate for Texas Founder and Executive Director of the Sue Ellen Ewing Foundation Partner and Member of the Board of Directors of Ewing Energies |
| Marital status: | Divorced |
| Spouse(s): | J.R. Ewing (1970-1981, 1982-1988); Don Lockwood (1991-1996) |
| Other Relationships: | Clint Ogden Ken Richards Ray Krebbs Cliff Barnes (on-and-off) Dusty Farlow Peter Richards; Nicholas Pearce Don Lockwood |
| Parent(s): | Patricia Shepard Unknown Father |
| Sibling(s): | Kristin Shepard |
| Children: | John Ross Ewing III |
| Other relatives: | Christopher Ewing (nephew) |
| Played by: | Linda Gray |
| “ | Chances are the baby's yours. I've been just as faithful to our marriage vows as you have been, darling. | ” |
–Sue Ellen to J.R. Ewing | ||
Sue Ellen Ewing (née Shepard) is the ex-wife of J.R. Ewing, and the mother of John Ross Ewing III.
History[]
Early Life[]
Sue Ellen Ewing was raised by a single mother, Patricia Shepard, with one sister, Kristin. She was raised to be the perfect wife for a wealthy Texan man, and went to the University of Texas, was invited to join all the sororities but pledged one, and was part of the cheerleading team. She was also Miss Texas in the Miss America pageant.
Life in Dallas[]
Sue Ellen in the late 70s.
When the 20-year-old Sue Ellen Shepard wins the title of Miss Texas in 1967, she meets her future husband, J.R. Ewing, who is a judge for the pageant. After a courtship, they marry on February 15, 1971, but after several years, their marriage deteriorates, due in large part to J.R.'s numerous extramarital affairs and his disinterest in her.
In 1978, a lonely Sue Ellen begins an affair with J.R.'s nemesis, Cliff Barnes. Shortly thereafter, Sue Ellen finds herself pregnant and believes that Cliff is the father because she and J.R. had been married for years without conceiving, and by this point, they barely had marital relations. Sue Ellen believes she loves Cliff, but is unable to leave J.R. To console herself, she starts drinking heavily during her pregnancy. Worried about the safety of her unborn child, J.R. has Sue Ellen committed to a sanitarium in 1979, to gain sobriety. However, Sue Ellen manages to continue drinking and escapes from the sanitarium drunk and crashes a car she stole.
While in the hospital, she gives birth to a son, John Ross Ewing III. After her son's birth, Sue Ellen becomes severely depressed and shows no interest in the child.
She then begins an affair with rodeo cowboy Dusty Farlow and enters into psychiatric treatment. Eventually, she gains the strength to connect with her child. After Cliff sues for paternity of the baby, tests reveal that J.R. is in fact the biological father. Sue Ellen, meanwhile, makes plans to leave J.R. for Dusty; however, Dusty is reportedly killed in a plane crash, and this news sends Sue Ellen back to the bottle. In 1981, Sue Ellen learns that Dusty is in fact alive but has been horribly crippled as a result of the plane crash. Nonetheless, Sue Ellen remains dedicated to her love for him and leaves J.R., taking their son with her to live at the Southern Cross Ranch, the home of Dusty's father, Clayton Farlow. Sue Ellen divorces J.R. and gains custody of John Ross, but her relationship with Dusty ends when he regains the use of his legs and decides to resume his life's passion as a rodeo cowboy.
Sue Ellen then moves back to Dallas with her son and enters into another short-lived romance with Cliff. When J.R. gets wind of this, he becomes jealous and courts Sue Ellen himself in an effort to win back custody of his son, and, in the process, obtain his voting shares in Ewing Oil, the family oil company. In 1982, J.R. and Sue Ellen remarry, but their happiness is short-lived as J.R. quickly returns to his philandering ways and Sue Ellen catches him in bed with oil tycoon Holly Harwood. However, Sue Ellen decides to remain married to J.R., in name only, but moves out of his bedroom. In 1983, Sue Ellen enters into an affair with college student, Peter Richards, who had been her son's camp counselor. In 1984, Sue Ellen miscarries a child, but doesn't know whether J.R. or Peter is the father. When J.R. learns of Sue Ellen's affair, he arranges for Peter to be arrested on trumped-up drug charges and blackmails him to leave Dallas for good.
In 1986, Sue Ellen goes into business by buying a partnership interest in a lingerie company. She successfully lures J.R.'s latest mistress, Mandy Winger, away from J.R. by offering her a promising career as model and then as an actress.[25] Sue Ellen and J.R. enjoy a brief reconciliation; however, J.R.'s desire to regain Ewing Oil by having an affair with Kimberly Cryder destroys what is left of their marriage. Sue Ellen decides to leave J.R. for good, but he manages to take John Ross away and put him into hiding in a boarding school.[26] Sue Ellen and her new lover, Nicholas Pearce (Jack Scalia), confront J.R. at his penthouse and demand he tell them where he hid John Ross. A scuffle breaks out between J.R. and Nicholas, which results in Nicholas falling over the balcony and being killed. In response, Sue Ellen shoots J.R. three times; however, he lives and neither she nor J.R. are indicted for any crimes.
In 1988, Sue Ellen divorces J.R. for a second time. Deciding to get revenge on him, she decides to make a feature film exposé on her life with J.R., with the help of screenwriter Don Lockwood (Ian McShane).[28] She and Don soon become romantically involved and, in 1989, Sue Ellen moves to London with Lockwood, but not before blackmailing J.R. by threatening to release the film, which would destroy his reputation.[28] In 1991, J.R. learns that Sue Ellen and Don Lockwood have married. John Ross, her son by J.R., later joins her and Don in London. Sue Ellen appears in the final episode of the series during J.R.'s dream in which she is a successful actress married to her previous love, Nicholas Pearce.
In 1996, when her marriage to Don is in trouble, Sue Ellen returns to Dallas with her son, after J.R. was reportedly killed in a car accident. When J.R. is discovered alive, Sue Ellen reconciles with him.[30] However, upon learning that J.R. faked his death to manipulate his family, Sue Ellen becomes partners with Bobby in the family company, Ewing Oil, to spite J.R. In 1998, Sue Ellen becomes CEO of Ewing Oil.
On the Dallas (2012 Series)[]
Sue Ellen has become a powerful woman in Dallas, leading successful fundraising campaigns and making connections with influential Texans. Her success has led her to run for Governor of Texas, with campaign backers already lining up to support her. But despite this success, Sue Ellen harbors deep regret for her mistakes as a mother raising John Ross and will do anything to make things right for him. Upon seeing J.R. for the first time in years, there is a brief moment of romantic tension and nostalgia. However, Sue Ellen becomes wary of J.R.'s claims of having changed when Cliff Barnes returns to town. Then when a colleague and occasional lover of John Ross's, Veronica Martinez, is pushed off a balcony and killed, Sue Ellen bribes the medical examiner into ruling the death a suicide and finds herself looking for support from Harris Ryland, Ann's ex-husband. Harris later plans to use Sue Ellen's sure win to his advantage. Desiring to run a clean office, Sue Ellen seeks Ann's help; who later gets a recording of Harris admitting to his crimes and placing him into a spot of submission.
In the second season, Harris again gains the upper hand when he offers Ann information about their kidnapped daughter in exchange for the tape, Sue Ellen tells Ann to go ahead. However, her secret bribery comes out on the eve of the election and she loses the election and twelve donors towardher foundation. Facing the possibility of jail and the overall humiliation and disgrace, she pours herself a glass of wine (in the original series, her favorite tipple was Vodka). Yet, before she can drink it J.R. and John Ross arrive, with J.R. vowing to make things right by her and reminding her that she is a strong woman. After they leave she dumps out the wine and instead seeks comfort in Ann. J.R., through means of blackmail, is able to get the charges dropped. After thanking him, Sue Ellen invites him in for tea; a spark of their past romances being seemingly reignited. Later she comes to the aid of John Ross and helps him in securing control of the newly established Ewing Energies, by pushing his ex-girlfriend Elena Ramos out of the company. Despite pleas from Bobby, Ann, and Christopher she does so.
Then when J.R. is murdered, Sue Ellen becomes heart broken and relapses after his memorial service. She reads a letter he wrote to her and spends the night alone in his room. At his funeral, she reads the letter aloud in which J.R. declares his undying love to Sue Ellen and asks her for another chance. Heartbroken, Sue Ellen reveals her own unresolved feelings for J.R. and declares that had he not been murdered she would have happily reunited with him. She then collapses at his casket and says he was the love of her life.
Soon after, Sue Ellen's alcoholism returns, and her struggles with it become a recurring theme in the third season, putting a strain on her relationship with her son. Eventually she learns the truth about the circumstances surrounding J.R's death, and is angered at both Bobby and Bum that she had been kept in the dark about his illness and his final plan, although she later accepts it.
Quotes[]
"There is nothing in this world that Jock Ewing wants more than a grandson. And I haven't been able to give him his first, because of your disinterest in me. She is pregnant, J.R.! Little brother Bobby and that Barnes girl are going to have a baby named Ewing. Maybe even a boy! Now you just think about that!"
"Tell me J.R., which slut are you going to stay with tonight?"
"If you do anything to hurt that young man, you are going to wake up one morning and find out you no longer have a wife, even in name only.... and you will no longer have a son. So no threats J.R. or I will end this mockey we call a marriage once and for all."
"You bought me once J.R. But you can't anymore. I'm no longer for sale."
"Think of me as your ally!"
Gallery[]
