A look that opens the door to a bygone era

Hair-care products have played a large part in actress Gail O’Grady’s career. Three of her most high-profile roles have seen her in high-altitude bouffants.

She portrays Helen Pryor, the mom on NBC’s Sunday drama “American Dreams,” in a shellacked flip that requires much teasing and spraying. O’Grady also played singer Georgia Lee on “China Beach” and secretary Donna Abandando on “NYPD Blue.”

“I always have a bouffant,” she says. “My hair falls into a bouffant. That’s the way it is. My hair grows like a weed. On days off, I put it in a ponytail and wear it straight.”

On days off, O’Grady has been photographed wearing sexy clothes that show off her curvaceous size-4 figure, which she seems to keep by good genes and sheer luck. “I have the most incredible gym,” she says. “I have everything, a Pilates Reformer ... and it’s all mirrored in there. It’s a great gym. It’s a nice place to hang a towel.”

O’Grady, 41, concedes she has used the gym, but she will not succumb to the Hollywood pressure of starving herself. “In order for me to look like a Hollywood body, I have to be emaciated,” she says. “I am not happy that way, and I don’t think it’s the prettiest look.” When “American Dreams” started, O’Grady lost a few pounds and the show runner told her if she grew too thin, he would not write for her.

“To me, it is this vicious circle,” O’Grady says. “When somebody is too thin, they rip them to shreds. And then, when they gain weight, they crucify them. It sends a real mixed message.”

“I haven’t done anything in months,” she says of exercise. That could be because O’Grady is expecting her first child, a son, in June. “My focus right now is to raise a happy, healthy baby,” she says.

She is not revealing the father’s identity, and asks that people respect her privacy. Single, she remains friends with her three ex-husbands. Given that O’Grady has only gained seven pounds in seven months, it was not difficult to keep her pregnancy out of “American Dreams.”

Set in the 1960s, the show traces the Pryor family dealing with the issues of the time -- the Vietnam War, race relations, teen rebellion and women beginning to define themselves outside of the house, all set to a terrific soundtrack of rock ‘n’ roll.

“I am so proud of it,” O’Grady says of the show. “Tom Verica and I talk about how lucky we are to be working on something that you are proud to talk about and look forward to coming to work. When we do read-throughs once a week, we are so involved in what is happening to this family.

“When we walked on the set, the drawers were stocked with period items,” O’Grady says. “In the kitchen, there are different pieces I remember growing up with, that my mother had. In the bedroom, on the vanity table, the makeup is old and crumbling, the original makeup.”

“She is terrific,” says Verica, who portrays husband Jack. “She really is incredibly talented. To me, she is a throwback, especially to the classic actresses of the ‘40s and ‘50s, a classic beauty and that really comes across.”

Long before O’Grady knew what acting was, she was doing it as a child in Wheaton, Ill. “I used to play whatever I saw at the movies or on television for as long as I can remember,” she says. She debuted on stage in ballet and oboe recitals as a girl, but there was a break during her teen years because O’Grady never made the high school plays.

She modeled for Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs in Chicago, then acted in commercials. Her most memorable one starred Michael J. Fox, who careened off a fire escape and dodged traffic during a storm to fetch her a Pepsi.

Since moving to Los Angeles in 1986, O’Grady has worked steadily. After an initial adjustment, which included headaches from the pollution and missing her close-knit family, she put down roots. She has an exquisite house in Encino -- it has been featured in InStyle magazine -- that looks like a villa in Tuscany.

With the pressure off because “American Dreams” was renewed for the fall, O’Grady finds herself in a novel position. Usually at this time, she ponders what to do on hiatus. The soon-to-be-mom says, “I keep reminding myself what I am doing this hiatus.”

Jacqueline Cutler writes for Tribune Media Services.

“American Dreams” is shown Sundays at 8 p.m. on NBC. The show is rated TV-PG (may not be suitable for young children).

Cover photograph by Paul Drinkwater.