Veronica Hamel

Veronica Hamel is an American actress and model who was born on November 20, 1943. She is best known for her role as attorney Joyce Davenport in the television police drama Hill Street Blues, a performance that earned her five Emmy Award nominations.

The daughter of a Philadelphia carpenter and a housewife, Hamel graduated from Temple University. Early in her working life, she was employed as a secretary for a company that manufactured ironing board covers.

Her career path shifted to fashion modeling after she was discovered by Eileen Ford. During her modeling career, Hamel appeared in print advertisements for Pall Mall Gold cigarettes as well as Virginia Slims. Notably, she appeared as the model in the final cigarette commercial televised in the United States, which aired for Virginia Slims at 11:59 pm on January 1, 1971, on The Tonight Show.

Hamel transitioned into acting, making her first film appearance as a model in 1971's Klute, followed by roles in the disaster films Beyond the Poseidon Adventure and When Time Ran Out. She began appearing in television series in 1975. She was considered for the role of Kelly Garrett on Charlie's Angels, but reportedly declined the part, which was subsequently given to Jaclyn Smith.

From 1981 to 1987, Hamel played dedicated public defender Joyce Davenport on Hill Street Blues, serving as the love interest of police captain Frank Furillo. Her performance on the long-running series gained her widespread recognition, including five Emmy nominations and a spot on Us magazine's "Best Dressed" list in 1983.

Following her time on Hill Street Blues, Hamel starred in Alan Alda's 1988 film A New Life as his doctor and love interest. In 1990, she played Elizabeth, the wife of Charles Grodin's character, in the film Taking Care of Business.

In her later career, Hamel appeared in the legal drama Philly, created by Hill Street Blues creator Steven Bochco, in 2002. In the late 2000s, she took on a recurring role in the NBC series Third Watch and portrayed Margo Shephard, the mother of character Jack Shephard, on the ABC television series Lost.