Deborah Shelton

Deborah Shelton is an American actress, model, and beauty pageant titleholder from Norfolk, Virginia. She is best known for winning the Miss USA 1970 title and for her television role as Mandy Winger on the series Dallas.

Shelton attended Old Dominion University, where she was enrolled in a pre-medical curriculum as a senior. In 1970, she entered the Miss Virginia USA pageant to spite her then-boyfriend. After winning the state title, she represented Virginia at the Miss USA 1970 pageant in Miami, Florida, in May 1970. She won the Miss Pixable photogenic award and was crowned Miss USA 1970 by previous titleholder Wendy Dascomb, marking the first time a state won the title back-to-back. For her victory, she received cash, a mink coat, and earnings from personal appearances. She subsequently represented the nation at the Miss Universe contest in July 1970, where she finished as first runner-up. During her reign, she traveled across the United States and internationally to countries including Japan, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and Puerto Rico.

After college, Shelton moved to New York City to study acting, model, and appear in television commercials. In March 1974, she was featured on the cover of Playboy Magazine. She made her feature film debut starring alongside José Ferrer and James Earl Jones in the 1982 horror film Blood Tide, which was filmed in the Greek islands and featured an end-credits song she co-wrote. In 1984, she appeared in Brian de Palma's film Body Double, though her dialogue was dubbed by actress Helen Shaver during post-production editing.

Throughout her television career, Shelton made guest appearances on series such as Fantasy Island, The A-Team, T. J. Hooker, The Fall Guy, Cheers, The Love Boat, Riptide, and Get a Life. Between October 1983 and May 1984, she portrayed Juliette Hollister in the series The Yellow Rose. She achieved her highest-profile television role playing Mandy Winger on Dallas from 1984 to 1987. Although her character initially left the show, fan mail prompted producers to bring her back. Decades later, in 2012, she reprised the role of Mandy Winger for a guest appearance in the revived Dallas series during a memorial service for J. R. Ewing.

Shelton returned to the Miss USA stage in 1991 and 1992 to provide commentary during the pageants. In 2008, she was cast as a rich housewife on the series Nip/Tuck. In her personal life, Shelton married Vici Castro in 1971, with whom she had a son named Christopher before divorcing within five years. In 1977, she married music producer Shuki Levy; the couple had a daughter named Tamara and collaborated musically, co-writing the song Magdelena for a Julio Iglesias album, before later divorcing.